Electrical: 20A gfci on 60A breaker?

[texansfan]

Did I almost electricute myself this weekend?

Finally got electric company to put meter in

Figured I'd install a outlet so I could charge my phone and saw/drill batteries.

I got power coming into the breaker (and to the gfci) but the gfci will not reset and there is no power coming from the outlet.

In the pics:
1. Neutral
2. Hot
3. Ground (you can see it going to the earthen ground rod)

[Tx.Fisher]

If I’m understanding correctly what you did, you are trying to hook up 220 volts of electricity to a 120 volt plug. Yes you could’ve killed yourself (or at least had a really bad day) if you’d of touched the 220 wires. A 60 amp breaker with two hots coming out is intended for a stove or something similar.

[Tx.Fisher]

To clarify, the black and white coming out of the 60 amp breaker are BOTH
hot. You need a 20 amp breaker where only the black wire is coming out of the breaker, the white should be hooked up down where the other whites and grounds are connected.

[db@100]

Well, nothing is right about what you did! You need a single ole breaker, not a double pole 60. The white wire should go on the bottom and the black should go to the breaker. If that is the main service panel, then the ground wire also goes on the bottom where you have it connected in the top picture.

[texansfan]

If I’m understanding correctly what you did, you are trying to hook up 220 volts of electricity to a 120 volt plug. Yes you could’ve killed yourself (or at least had a really bad day) if you’d of touched the 220 wires. A 60 amp breaker with two hots coming out is intended for a stove or something similar.

Yup
I thought I was outsmarting the fox by only using ONE of those wires from the breaker to the outlet so I should have only been getting 110v to the breaker.

This 220v setup went to feed a mobile home

[texansfan]

To clarify, the black and white coming out of the 60 amp breaker are BOTH
hot.

Yup
Tested them with my noncontact power tester

You need a 20 amp breaker where only the black wire is coming out of the breaker, the white should be hooked up down where the other whites and grounds are connected.

I'm not touching it anymore and will wait for an electrician to get to my neck of the woods and hook it up correctly

[texansfan]

Well, nothing is right about what you did! You need a single ole breaker, not a double pole 60. The white wire should go on the bottom and the black should go to the breaker. If that is the main service panel, then the ground wire also goes on the bottom where you have it connected in the top picture.

This is the main panel being fed directly from the meter.
It sits on the pole outside with the meter

[Graysonhogs]

Maybe you should ask BEFORE doing this kind of stuff.

[Sparkles]

Turn in your non contact tester (which are liars anyway) and your wire strippers before you seriously hurt/kill yourself or somebody else.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[PEC]

Just for future reference
1. Ask when you don't know.
2. 220 has 2 hot legs 110 only has 1 (you would have been okay with the concept had you not put a wire in each of the load terminals).
3. In your second pic read up on Neutral wire vs Ground wire/Insulated wire vs non insulated wire.

[hpdrifter]

Also, if the power company hooked up your panel, they effectively eliminated use of one your 220 breaker slot. That middle feed should have come from the bottom which should actually be the top; box mounted upside down.

In second picture; do I see a black wire on the green grounding screw? If that is the case, the 60 amp breaker may have tripped also if you plugged anything in. May have burned the wire completely up and let the smoke out.

The black goes to the "gold" colored screw on the plug, white to silver, and bare wire to the green....if it were fed the proper polarity and voltage!!!

On another note: What size wire goes to trailer? looks like #12. #12 is only good for 20 amps. The breaker is to protect the wire so it doesn't sit there and get real hot by a 300% overload. By putting #12 or even #10 on 60 amp breaker, you are creating a fire hazard.

[texansfan]

Maybe you should ask BEFORE doing this kind of stuff.

It was literally a "hold my MGD"" type situation
Buddy actually held the beer but stepped back forty paces while I flipped on the breaker

[texansfan]

Also, if the power company hooked up your panel, they effectively eliminated use of one your 220 breaker slot. That middle feed should have come from the bottom which should actually be the top; box mounted upside down.

In second picture; do I see a black wire on the green grounding screw? If that is the case, the 60 amp breaker may have tripped also if you plugged anything in. May have burned the wire completely up and let the smoke out.

The black goes to the "gold" colored screw on the plug, white to silver, and bare wire to the green....if it were fed the proper polarity and voltage!!!

On another note: What size wire goes to trailer? looks like #12. #12 is only good for 20 amps. The breaker is to protect the wire so it doesn't sit there and get real hot by a 300% overload. By putting #12 or even #10 on 60 amp breaker, you are creating a fire hazard.

Like said above
I'm not touching it anymore
Hiring a professional now

[BrianL]

Like said above
I'm not touching it anymore
Hiring a professional now

Really good idea!! There are lots of things wrong, missing parts, and backwards stuff going on in those pics...

[Marco]

Wow.....smh... could of been REALLY bad.