Double Tapped Breakers

Double Tapped Breakers are notorious for overloads and present a potential fire hazard and if nothing else, a possible trip nuisance. To solve this issue, you should have a qualified Electrician assess and correct the faulty work done within your electrical panel. Whenever a breaker trips, or a fuse is blown, that serves as an indicator that something is wrong, whether ground fault, short circuit or an overload. FYI, if your circuit breaker trips every time you use an appliance like an iron or vacuum, yet the circuit was completely operational prior to using that appliance, then you can safely assume that you have an overload. And if you were to take things a step further and upon your investigation via qualified Electrician, you discover that that circuit breaker was Double Tapped then “there’s your problem right there”… If that circuit isn’t Double Tapped, then the load is in excess of the Over Current Protection Devices rating (Circuit Breaker) and it’ll trip due to the obvious overload and you’ll potentially need to have a dedicated line installed rated for the appropriate usage in demand. Circuitry should be free of unintended loads, and whenever you’re subjected to limited space in your electrical panel, you’d do well to consider upgrading your panel size. It’s TRUE, you can add a Tandem breaker aka (twin breaker) to allow for the addition of a new circuit, but you could be venturing outside of that panels design and load capacity. Panels are rated for a specific amount of amperage, and if you exceed that amperage, you could damage sensitive equipment or be at risk of a fire. You should always familiarize yourself with the electrical panel installed in your home. You should know exactly where it is, if its grounded properly, how many amps does your system supply, is it properly labeled and if there’s room for adding circuits. NEVER store things in front of your electrical panel, if there was an emergency and you needed to deenergize the power within your house, you’ll need immediate access to your main disconnect, or main breaker in order to shut the power off.

Tandem breakers come in many different styles designed by many different manufacturers. Always be sure of the panels make and model whenever pairing breakers as some are interchangeable however some are not. Interestingly enough, some panels are designed to limit the installation of excessive circuitry and therefore you’d have to upgrade your panel.