Hi all. Today I was helping a Jman with a service upgrade. We set a J-box next to the new panel to splice all the old circuits in. When it came time to make up the connections the Jman said to run only one #12 from the neutral buss to the J-box for every two existing circuits. In other words one short piece of #12 was to be spliced to two neutrals so if there were 10 circuits we would only have 5 neutrals from the J-box to the buss. I asked if we should put the paired circuits on separate phases and he said no it didn't make any difference if they were on the same phase. Now I am confused. If the paired circuits are on the same phase wouldn't it be possible to overload the single wire when it tries to carry the unbalanced load of two 120 (L/N) circuits with a combined load over 20 amps?
The J-man said it makes no difference because the neutrals all go to the same place. I'm not sure if he didn't really know what I was talking about or if I really don't know what I am talking about! He said it will pass inspection. Please help! If I am right I will not say it to him but I want to know for my own peace of mind. Also, could it pass inspection?
thanks...Brian
