Why would 2 220v circuits be connected together?

[Justind97]

Not garage related.

Working on a basement heat circuit. This is all pre existing.

I have 2 20amp 240v circuits

1 feed wire goes into a thermostat, feeds 5 heaters totalling 5500w. Way under powered, I think.

From this thermostat, 1 dedicated wire to a heater, 1 to the other 4.

Here’s where it gets weird ( at least I think.). There’s another wire that feeds to another thermostat on the continuous power line)

Thermostat #2 controls one heater.
Thermostat #2 has ANOTHER feed wire that goes directly to the panel on a second breaker.

Both feeds in Thermostat 2 are connected together, black to black, red to red.

What the heck am I missing here? How can there be two circuits connected together and no shorts?

 

[wyliesdiesels]

A short occurs when one phase contacts the other.

If both feeds have the hots connected to the same phase, then there is nothing to short out.

Having said that, this definitely needs to be fixed.

 

[ambenz]

Sounds like the electrician was trying to have a redundant circuit to the heaters in case one breaker tripped out do to its own failure. They could have been distributing the load thru 2 breakers to lessen the load on the breakers themselves if the heater continuously kept running during a very cold spell. You never mentioned how old the breakers were but I suspect they might be first generation breakers and reliability might have been an issue. People will do anything to keep the heat running so pipes don't freeze.

 

[checkthisout]

Not garage related.

Working on a basement heat circuit. This is all pre existing.

I have 2 20amp 240v circuits

1 feed wire goes into a thermostat, feeds 5 heaters totalling 5500w. Way under powered, I think.

From this thermostat, 1 dedicated wire to a heater, 1 to the other 4.

Here’s where it gets weird ( at least I think.). There’s another wire that feeds to another thermostat on the continuous power line)

Thermostat #2 controls one heater.
Thermostat #2 has ANOTHER feed wire that goes directly to the panel on a second breaker.

Both feeds in Thermostat 2 are connected together, black to black, red to red.

What the heck am I missing here? How can there be two circuits connected together and no shorts?

Does it all work?

Maybe they are wired in series so it's not actually drawing 5500 watts.

 

[Justind97]

It all works. There’s LOTS of heat, almost too much.

Old breakers, 32 years old.

I have removed one circuit and have dropped it down to 3 heaters, 3500w. It will be plenty for a well insulated basement that will get rarely used.

The real reason to remove the circuit is to free up some space on the panel. 200amp service, ALL full on a 3000sq ft house, no hot tub, no pool or anything.

The original electrician has 5 split plugs consuming 10 spaces which is killing me.

Thanks for the help!