Strong power after wiring outlets


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Old 06-21-17, 06:22 PM
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Question Strong power after wiring outlets

Hello everyone! Hopefully the title didn't worry anyone. I just finished wiring 5 new outlets and a light switch in my basement. I am in the process of finishing off a portion of said basement.

With that being said, I got everything wired up, installed a new breaker and tested the outlets. Everything seems to be working fine. I have a jigsaw I have been using for this project that I plugged into each outlet just to make sure nothing crazy happened. Before the outlets were hooked up I was running an extension cord to a different outlet that is on a line of its own with a few other things. If I pulled the trigger lightly on the jigsaw, the blade would move very slowly. Pulling the trigger further resulted in the blade moving quicker.

HOWEVER, when I test the jigsaw on these new outlets/series, I don't get that. Any pressure at all on the trigger and I get full throttle. Is this anything to be worried about? I am assuming it has something to do with resistance.(?) Below is what I used to wire everything up:

20 amp Double Pole Circuit breaker at the panel
14-3 wire running from the panel to the first outlet
14-3 wire running between each outlet
20amp outlets used all the way around
5 outlets total, 1 light switch at the end of the series

This finished portion is maybe 20 feet away from the panel so I'm not traveling very far with my wire.

Ideas? Did I screw up?
 
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Old 06-21-17, 06:27 PM
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Double pole breaker and 14-3 ?

Did you set up the wiring for two circuits ?
You can share the neutral and get two circuits. That's called a multi wire branch circuit.

If you only have one circuit established..... you should be using the white and a color... either red or black.

Tell us how you wired the receptacles.
A voltmeter would be ideal to check the receptacle voltage.
 
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Old 06-21-17, 06:28 PM
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Did I screw up
Yes, BIG TIME!

14 AWG wire must be protected at no more than 15 amps. I have no idea how you wired the receptacles, but normally for 5 outlets I would use just one single pole breaker. You may have wired them at 240 volts by using the two pole breaker..
 
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Old 06-21-17, 06:39 PM
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For the receptacles I used white on white and black on black (gold). I used the top posts coming into it, and the bottom to go out to the next outlet.

At the panel, I connected both white and black to the breaker. Is this where I screwed up? I noticed some 20 amp breakers in the panel would use both the black and white while others would simply use the black while the white and ground lead to a post.

EDIT: As for the amps go, can I simply install a 15 amp breaker instead of the 20 amp breaker but leave the outlets? Even though the outlets are rated for 20 won't this simply bring 15 amps to them?
 
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Old 06-21-17, 06:41 PM
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Yes..... the white goes to the neutral bar and ONLY the black goes to a single pole 15A breaker.

You may have damaged your power tool.

The double breakers (2P) with white and black on them are for 240v devices like the water heater and dryer.
 
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Old 06-21-17, 06:45 PM
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Makes complete sense. This is why I ask early before I do any real damage. The saw is still okay.

I will pick up a single pole 15A breaker tomorrow and get it switched over. Until then, the breaker is off.
 
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Old 06-22-17, 06:48 AM
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PLEASE pick up a book on electrical wiring at the home improvement store - read it cover to cover! Be sure it includes pages on wiring breaker panels.
 
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Old 06-23-17, 10:02 AM
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can I simply install a 15 amp breaker instead of the 20 amp breaker but leave the outlets?
The 20 amp receptacles will have to also be replaced with 15 amp receptacles. You actually didn't need the 20 amp receptacles anyway even if this was a 20 amp circuit unless you have power tools that have a 20 amp plug on their cords.

At the panel, I connected both white and black to the breaker. Is this where I screwed up?
Yes, one of a couple screwups. You wired the receptacles with 240 volts. It's very possible you could have damaged your power tool used for testing.
 
 

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