My Hot tub is on a 60A circuit therefore I purchased 100A ct. Looking at the thick cable (see pic below) I wonder though if I would be better to use 2 50A CTs instead of trying to loop those thick wires into the 100A. Not sure there would be enough “give” in either wire to make 1 come in from the top and the other from the bottom as described in the Users Manual/CT Basics/120/240V Circuits section.
Any suggestions?
Does the hot tub use a third neutral wire? Many do not.
When looking at my picture, I only see the 2 thick black wires. The white wire to the right of them is actually part of the dual 15A breakers “2 doors” down,
Curious to know why you asked if it had a neutral. Does that make a difference? I have several dual breakers and some have a neutral along with black, In those cases I assume I only put the CT around the black?
A neutral is a third wire that connects to a neutral bus in your panel. Neutral wires are usually white, but white wires are not always neutral. A white wire connected to a circuit breaker is not a neutral. Where there are a black and white connected to a double breaker, it usually means there is no neutral and the circuit can be measured with one CT on either the black or white and checking “double” in the setup to indicate double voltage (240V).
Where you have two black wires on the hot tub, if there is a neutral (probably white) you would need a CT on both of the black wires, or one CT with the blacks going through in opposite directions.
Can you post a hi resolution picture of the whole panel?
And if there is not a neutral wire? Still 1 CT on each?
I see a neutral wire. Look at where the two black exit the panel. There is a white neutral as well and a green ground. You would need to either use two CTs - 50A each is fine or, depending on your comfort level, one 100A. There is a lot of slack in the black wires. The left wire may be possible to bend into a U back along the right wire where it exits the breaker, allowing the 100A CT to clamp over both going in opposite directions.
I was reluctant to use the 100a CT for both cables. The way the electrician installed that cable makes it almost impossible to get any slack. He’ll be back this summer and then I’ll see if he can install it for me. If not I’ll just install 2 50a CT’s
In the mean time I installed the 100a CT on just one of the wires and doubled the input value. For now, that will have to do.