So I got one of those clamp on ammeters from Harbor Freight Tools the other day, not bad for $13! Anyway, I tried it out on the mains coming into the house. Each leg was drawing about 4 amps. The question is what should I see on the neutral, 8 amps or 0?

 

You're right...that is a dumb electrical question. Remember, it's better to have everyone THINK you're stupid than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.

The answer, obviously, is 42. Duh.

 

Uh, zero,......right? Same as the ground.

The only "dumb" electrical question is, "What does this switch do"?

I've been light up so many times I can't count them anymore.

 

Hoss, no response would have been preferred to a lame, sarcastic and useless one! If you don't know, just say so, or not.

PJ, I thought so too, but I was seeing about 2 amps in the neutral line. It gets more interesting, there was about 0.5 amp in the ungrounded water pipe where it enters the house! The line to the ground rod read 0. What the heck is going on?

 

You don't know me very well, do you?

How's this...

I don't know, but I'm guessing the answer is zero.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong but you should see something on the neutral (whatever is "leftover" from something using a circuit). You shouldn't see anything on a ground, unless something is wired incorrectly (it is using ground as the neutral). Although if you have something on using 220 wouldn't the "leftover" go to ground?

I don't think any of that makes sense since you're talking amps...maybe I should delete this post while I still can.

I'm like the others, no electrician, but a DIY that have found the hot wire the hard way several times too

 

All the neutral wires I have ever seen in a box go on the same lug as the main ground.

 

You should see the unbalanced load, IE 10 amps on A phase, 4 amps on B phase you should see 6 amps on the neutral (typical 240 volt single phase residential system) Sometimes electronics will put return currant on the ground conductor, also true of some older appliances

 

So, 6 amps, zero volts then?

 

Correct when reading between the neutral bar and ground bar or point

 

Yeah but if you are balanced and running efficiently the reading should be zero.

 

240 V only loads are balanced (no 120 V tap) but with the 120V loads it will depend on what you have turned on or off and what phase those loads are connected to as to the amount of balance you get, In a house you will almost always have some unbalance

 

I have always wondered how much power on the meter could be saved if you have a computer to switch 110 loads between L1 and L2 to achieve a balanced load all the times.

In practice older homes and buildings that have had much add on circuits, are the most out of balance. For efficiency, a measurement should be made and an effort to balance the loads. And this with normal use as you use the house. If you take the amperage on both legs, you pay the rate for the higher of the two, the amperage going to the neutral is wasted.

 

Actually you pay for watts over time, which is why you have a watt-hour meter. Its kinda hard to explain in words but a residential watt-hour meter is nothing more than a simple motor. One coil of this motor produces flux in proportion to the voltage between the two hots and the other produces flux in proportion to the average of the current of the two hots.

Balancing a panel is a good thing to do but the only losses you are mitigating are the conductor losses experienced because of higher current on any one conductor and any losses in the transformer windings. This is really of no consequence because you dont pay for those transformer losses and you only pay for the small losses in the short section of wire between your meter and your load. The losses from the transformer to the meter are not registered by the meter.

 

thanks for the info. I was told by the locals that you pay for the 220 as measured from the two legs, so balancing was very important.