In an electrical panel, a double tap is when two or more wires are connected to a circuit breaker that is designed for one wire.
Double taping is one of the most common issues that home inspectors find when inspecting an electrical panel. Some circuit breakers are designed to be double tapped and it is ok to connect two wires to them.
The problem with double tapping is that the manufacturer has engineered the circuit breaker for one wire. Two or more wires can lead to problems in the circuits. One of which is overheating of the circuit and the other is Arcing. Both these issues have the potential to cause fire.
WHAT TO DO ABOUT DOUBLE TAPPING
Double tapping is a safety hazard and a non professional way of wiring an electrical panel. Double tapping can cause fire due to either overheating or arcing. It is hard to predict when it will happen but it is an accident waiting to happen anytime so it should be repaired by a professional electrician. Although it is not an emergency situation, it shouldn’t be delayed unnecessarily.
TIME AND COST OF FIXING DOUBLE TAP
Fixing a double tap is easy, quick and cheap. There are a few solutions to double tap, such as, pigtail or adding a new breaker. Professional electricians would know which one of them to apply in any particular case. The cost of fixing this should be around $100 to $150 and it would take 15 to 20 minutes to apply the fix.
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