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SteelToeSnow t1_ir1j1w8 wrote

Don't downsize if you don't have to. Every splice is a place where it can fail, whenever possible just run whole lengths.

Don't cut the third wire, just cap it off and tuck it into the back of the box. As an electrician, I fucking hate seeing wires chopped close to the box. In ten years or whatever, maybe codes have changed and you'll need a neutral, but now there's not enough to work with and it becomes a major pain in the ass.

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mname t1_ir32962 wrote

This guy gets it. Knows a future PITA when he sees one!!!

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TheRealRacketear t1_ir478gc wrote

Why would code require a neutral? A neutral on a 240v circuit provides nothing in terms of safety.

I agree with cuttin and capping, but this isn't a good reason to do it.

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FavoritesBot t1_ir4bqcb wrote

But it lets you run 120v devices

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frollard t1_ir4gpqu wrote

Some newfangled device might want it, not that code will change. (like a stove with 120v plugs, or merely breaking it out to another sub panel)

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SteelToeSnow t1_ir5yqig wrote

Things change. Used to be you didn't need a neutral in a light switch. Now you do.

Used to be you didn't need a neutral in a dryer plug. Now you do.

Used to be you didn't need bond wire in emt. Now you do.

Code changes. Constantly.

The point is that cutting wires flush to the box doesn't help anything, it just means now there's a hindrance in the future. Maybe code changes in the future. Maybe a future person living in the house wants to do something else with that wire, but now they can't, bc an important wire is snipped.

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WackyWRZ t1_ir4xmi6 wrote

3-wire dryers used to be OK and now they have to be 4-wire with a neutral.

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