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<< Back to: Electrical Wiring FAQ (Part 1 of 2)

Question by dawn home
Submitted on 4/25/2004
Related FAQ: Electrical Wiring FAQ (Part 1 of 2)
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What does double lug wiring mean and is it a problem  I have lived in this home for 4 years and it was inspected for selling  and they said our wiring was double lug at sub panel  


Answer by Medievalist
Submitted on 2/13/2006
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Double-lug means there are two wires under a single screw in your sub panel.

Double-lugging is perfectly safe and legal if the connection is mechanically sound and both the local code and the panel manufacturer allowed it at the time of installation.

Panel makers generally do not allow double-lugged neutrals (white wires) any more but sometimes allow double-lugged safety grounds.

I have probably seen hundreds of double-lugged wires of all types - hot, neut,  & ground - and I have never seen or heard of any problems with them other than the one you've just mentioned - home inspectors do not like them.

Home inspectors typically have little or no understanding of electricity and just work from a book.  If the book is inappropriate for your area (a generic book or one designed for a different code authority's jurisdiction) you will have these problems.

Make your home inspector show you the law that says you can't have a double-lugged panel.  If he can't, then DON'T PAY HIM (consumers need to put a stop to BS "generic" home inspections and insist on competence in the actual local code).  If he does prove he is right, tip him extra for his trouble and have an electrician figure out a way to eliminate the double-lugging.  Tell the electrician you would prefer not to have a wirenut/pigtail inside the panel, since any jurisdiction that outright bans double-lugging may also ban wirenuts in panels.

 

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