Kitchen Split Circuit Receptacles Explained 

Thank you - this was very useful and easy to follow. Clear concise instructions with steady camera work. Good job! Thank you again!

Thank you for explaining what an "unbalanced" load is. Much appreciated.

Brilliant! Thanks so much as I never would have thought to break the tab. Thanks so much!

I think this is dangerous if the two hots are not tied together at the panels it's possible to have both hots the same leg and then you wouldn't cancel the load you would add then would be running 30 amps under full load on the neutral which would overheat as it's only 14 gauge. . Hypothetical question. If it is done properly what happens if the neutral is cut or not connected properly or comes loose? When two items are plugged into this outlet both with floating neutrals in contact. what heppens? Nothing? They run as long as there is two electrical items plugged? They run as long as thy have a balancd load? A short? They will run as a 240V AC circuit in series (is that even possible on AC LOL) , none of the above, something different? or all of the above depending on the type of the two electrical devices? Switch loops tied in with 3 way switches are fun. Especially if someone upgrades the switch and mixes up a neutral with the power being run from the light. I think it's called a borrowed neutral. I call it why did it almost feel like I was getting electrocuted when I turned off the light switch. It seems to cycle up and after turning off the breaker and checking for power at the switch, no signs of a live wire and you tell yourself you are imagining the slight shocks and feel confident your safe, then you get bit a good blast once your fully grounded on the ladder or the ground. .

I have a split receptacle within 3 feet of the kitchen sink, so need to replace with a GFCI. I know to split a regular receptacle by breaking the tab on the hot side, but how do I split top from bottom outlets on a GFCI? It is the only outlet in both circuits, so no ‘line’ requirement.

IBEW Local 11 Los Angeles chapter here. Great video, fellow sparky!

Terry explained this so simply, and saved me the frustration when I saw red, black and white wires on a damaged receptacle. I also now know what the little hole on my wire stripper is for. I used to use my stripper, then my needle nose plier for the hook.

This was exactly the information I was looking for. Excellent video! Thank you.

Thank You Terry. You saved me at least a $100 for replacing a kitchen outlet. I replaced the outlet with no problem at all, it was easy enough, but the breaker kept tripping. I did NOT realize the two outlets are actually connected with a flat metal clip. After I watched your video, I broke the connection between the upper and lower outlet, now both outlets work like a charm. I have liked your video, and also subscribed. Thank you very much. Tom

Not an electrician, but I've played one on TV. But! seriously... thank you for this demonstration of The Olde Wayes of doing things. It remains! a useful bit o' information to have stored on a shelf in the ol' cranial warehouse. I did have to laugh for a second when we witness your unsafe pliers handling. Yes, you know and I know you had the breaker switched off, but... Kids, don't try that at home! This man's a professional, and all that. Cheers.

You saved my sanity with this video!! Keep up the good work!

wait, what!? you make the nice loop using that hole? dang...... so smooth!

Great presentation! How do you use this method for multiple outlets, just use pigtails?

So, as you mentioned, I made this exact mistake. I now understand exactly how the circuit works. Unfortunately for me, my breaker was defective and didn’t pop and the main to the apartment triggered. Needed an electrician to come re reset it. Good lesson. A mistake I will never make again.

Thank you just solved a problem. My daughter husband replaced old kitchen plugs with newer ones. There was no power to one of the split plugs. I noticed a red wire and black wire on the gold screws and a white wire on the silver screw. The breaker wont reset because he didn't remove the tab between the 2 gold screws. He said he wired it the exact same way as the previous plug but didn't break the tab. Does it make sense that the breaker wont reset because its 220 instead of 110 because the tab has not being removed.

Can’t thank you enough for the precise and practical instructions. This was exactly what I needed to replace my dishwasher/garbage disposal outlet. SO grateful for your expertise!

I like to take long nose and close the gap some, curling it back to the insulation, that way the wire can't come off the screw.

Thanks Terry. New garage was wired when i was on holidays. I said i would install outlets etc. I didn't realize it was set up for split switches. I'll fix this very shortly. P.S I accidentally hit the dislike tab but hit the like tab twice to make up. Chris

Thank you so much for this excellent video. I recently replaced all the outlets in my house and couldn’t understand why the kitchen ones would trip immediately. I can’t thank you enough for the clear and concise explanation!

#theinternetelectrician thank you for explaining 2phase. I am learning that whoever built my house, did not know what they were doing. Should i say, cut corners. I found 2 phase in my family room back stabbed and double wired. Makes me scared about what else is behind walls

Terry, If i were replacing a outlet wired just as you've shown us in your video with a new USB type recepticle which only has one stake for a hot wire would I just leave one wire not connected?? I certainly do not want both hooked in as that would be 240!

The thing I screwed up on was both feeds on the same 120 leg. Works perfect but then the neutral was carrying the combined loads from both sides🤦

Thank you so much. We live in a house built in the 70’s and we had no idea we were dealing with an old-school split receptacle. We looked everywhere to find a video with ‘red wire’ - then we found you. Thanks again 😊

Thank you so much!! This was exactly the step I did not know I needed to do! I replaced an old receptacle and it kept shorting under load. Thank you again

thank you very much for the useful video. can I change this split outlet from 120 volt to 240 volt? I have a European made device that requires 240 volt line that i like to use. I was told that it is possible by using a dual volt outlet? please advice and if possible how to wire the new outlet..thank you in advance

OMG thank you so much! after replacing all my outlets in the kitchen and blowing the main power several times I am so glad you made this video! Excellent sharing of knowledge!

Darn it. I have this wiring in my kitchen. Two outlets wired like this. I need to replace them with gfci and wired them the same way. Now neither work.

AH! Thanks, I forgot to remove the tab to split it. Thanks! I thought the breaker needed replacing, and I do not touch the breaker box stuff, so this saved me a service call and probably a couple hundred bucks. Thanks again sir!

Hi. I have a question for you.. as u said this is not in the code, and it was used long ago. Lets say I have a place with this kitchen configuration (double pole 15 amps breaker as you described, and I want to change it by a GFCI outlet to be in the code.. (the 14/3 wire will be still there) in this case I should just ignore one of the phases in the outlet box (putting a wire cover on it) and then use the other phase to be connected to the gfci outlet? Just wondering if a part of being a slot waste in the panel, the breaker will protect me in the same way since it is for 240V (2 poles as I mentioned before) and I will be technically using just 120V? Is it the 15Amps that it supports what really matters? I will be protected in the same way I was before on the breaker side? I know the gfci is supposed to protect but the breaker in the panel should be a backup protection in case the GfCI fails. Your advice will be much appreciated. What should be done in this case? Tks in advance.

Some living room outlets are wired for the top outlet to be controlled by a wall switch and the bottom one to be hot all the time. This setup also requires that tab to be removed.

I bought GFCI plugs for the kitchen before realizing it has split receptacles. Would it be against code now if I just replace new plugs in the kitchen and split them or do I have to eliminate the red wire and wire in the GFCI's? I am in Canada so depending on where you are you may not know the code. Thanks.

Hello Terry, I changed my plug in kitchen from old one to usb power. I connected all the wires but power is not coming :(

Lol, I only blew up one receptacle , 3 fuses, and got me one heck of a shock before watching this tutorial ffs!

Thanks alot, your video helped me alot, I leardned new trick from you, I really apprciate it.

Thank you for the Video. Any advice on how to change the split rec. to a GFI?

What if you want to change a split outlet to a GFCI in the kitchen? There is no tab to break off on a GFCI? I actually have 2 separate outlets in the kitchen that are both split outlets and they are both on the same 2 circuits. Meaning both upper outlets are on the same fuse and both bottom outlets are on the same but different fuse. Help

How do you wire this if you are continuing on to another receptacle? Also, we have a stablok panel, does it matter where the double breaker is located on the busbar to get the different phases?

damn this is close to what i'm looking for what if you want to wire a 12/3 from 20amp double pole breaker to power two areas i recently got a deck and by the door i want a sconce an outdoor outlet and indoor outlet on one side of the patio doors and then wire an outlet on the opposite side for a beverage fridge. What would that look like?

Thank you! I had to replace my old kitchen plugs and i keep tripping the breaker. That was the last step i forgot to take that fricking tab off!

What part of the tab you break off on a Leviton USB outlet? It doesn't look like the standard outlet you have.

What happens when all first steps checks correctly until when you check for the 240 and don't have the 240?

Thank you! Got everything myself, just didn't know I had to break the tab off.

Hi Terry, My Kitchen is wired that way ... but with all the new outlets that have USB connection for charging device, I would like too had one of those outlet, do I just condemn the red wire with a marrette and hook up my outlet with the black and white like usual ? Thanks

HUGE THANKS! saved me tons of money. My breaker kept tripping. That tiny little bit of copper tab hint was priceless! It should tell you that on the package

My question is what if you were installing a GFI outlet, can you still split it?

Thank you for your explanation in the comments of how each 120 AC phase is 180 degrees away. That explains how the one white neutral wire will carry only 2 amps difference instead of 10+12 @22A. Next, for me, to figure out how 120 volts - 120 volts = 240 AC volts.....??????

So if I had this set up and I was looking to install GFCI outlets, how would I go about installing those outlets?

You don't need to break the tab for the white wire? Only the tab connecting the red and black?

Can I wire a multiwire branch circuit to 2 separate GFCI's using the same neutral. I have a kitchen that did not originally require GFCI's, but my receptacles are one separate 20 amp circuit breakers? I have already tried it and it seems to be working, but my concern is will it eventually, possibly give me problems in the future? It also raises the question, what if the incoming power shows 120 volts only not 240? Will that stress the neutral. The circuit breakers are not duplex, they are individual. I have wired it up, and the GFCI's are not tripping. I'm confused. Could this possibly cause my neutral to carry too much of a load?

Nice informative video. Thank you for not feeling the need to play annoying music like most others have.

Good video, but one problem. 3:07: You started multitasking. You showed how to connect the ground wire, but talked about split receptacles. I found that confusing. I had to rewatch that section more than once, to ignore what you were showing and just focus on what you were saying.

Thank you for the reminder to split the tab, saved me an electrician call out.

This was incredibly helpful, saved me a lot of frustration and a call to an electrician. I never would have figured this out on my own.

Can you add more receptacles two this setup.

All this time I've been over here trying to find why no one carries split duplex outlets. I just have to break the plate on the standard outlets!

The wiring behind you looks terrible

Thank you saved my marriage

Isn't it recomended to use two neutral wires on this application?

Thank u so much! U saved me from constantly tripping the breaker and spark fire the house down! On a more serious note, may i ask if its possible to add another receptacle from this set up on the same circuit of course. Basically, we need to add a receptacle in an area where the close by receptacle is a split receptacle... Can i do pigtails to create extra set of new wires from the original split receptacle circuit before it enters into the original split receptacle. Then connect to the 2 (old and new)split receptacles? Or is there a simple way to go about this since the new receptacle doesn't have to be a split receptacle. It could be a regular receptacle since very little power will be drawn from it. Maybe 30 watts at most. Thank you so much in advance for ur answer ☺️

Just curious, is it fine if neutral goes to either of the silver terminal 3:51? I notice my kitchen one has neutral attached to the silver terminal close to the ground.

How to replace GFC in that kind of circuit ? As new code requires GFC on kitchen counter.

I'm assuming i do the exact same if I'm putting a GFCI outlet? Also is a 20amp GFCI ok to use even if the breaker is a dual 15 like what your showing

Question.. I have a 240 outlet on my welding machine. I’d like to make a cord that goes 240 from machine into two 120 receptacles in a box. I have 4 wire 12gauge cord. Now on each 120 receptacle I have … red black neutral ground / red black neutral ground. Reds pigtailed with the red coming in. Blacks pigtailed with the black coming in. I have the tabs broken off on each hot receptacle. Would this configuration cause any issues to power tools? Grinders, lights, heaters etc… thanks!

My breaker is not labeled right… the so called gas dryer outlet breaker is tied to the washer outlet and when I flit the double breaker off it shuts all 110 outlets off in my laundry room… can you possibly come to my house and help me?

I recently upgraded to a 200 amp panel. The elctrician installed split breakers where we had singles before. The expalnation given was a change in the code that requires shared neutrals for two circuits. The house was built in 1992, and I am in CA. So now if one circuit trips, another one goes down with it. So I asked if that happens, how do I troubleshoot each circuit to find the culprit. ) He said I can pry off the plastic bar connecting the 2 circuit breakers. Am I asking to get zapped when changing out recepticle later?

Why can't you use 2 GFCI receptacles in the kitchen and still use the Load side to feed regular receptacles in the normal fashion downstream? Clearly, you can't split a GFCI, but if you use 2, one powered by the black wire, and the other powered by the red. Create a joint for the neutral wire to connect to each one.

Thanks, Terry. After watching your video, it became clear to me for the first time after so long time of not understanding how a 3-wire split receptacle circuit works. I'll look at your other videos for more knowledge on home electrical wiring.

So in 2023 , we’re still doing this aye.. I have yet to see /hear an electrician answer the “unanswered “ question of all time…. Can you do this using a gfci under the sink to run a disposal and washer in 1 plug?.??? (😂He’ll never answer this along with others that left him comments years ago )

love the video! i do have a question, i removed a light in my garage and i place a 15 amp outlet thinking that my light switch would work, to turn off and on my two shop lights however when i remove the light fixture it had 7 wires 2 black 2 whites 2 grounds and 1 red wire. so test the line, one of the blacks was hot. i connect 1 back 1 white and ground to the outlet all work find , however light switch didn't turn on or off the lights also looks like the other 4 wires that i did not use are connected to my kitchen so had no lights there. grr. could you please give me any ideas how to make this work...

can you do this method with a gfci receptical?

Thanks Terry. I shorted out a plug in my kitchen and ran into this problem when I replaced it. Could not figure out why the breaker wouldn’t go back on. I disagree that it’s a good wiring style. I feel like it’s one of those little bombs that tradespeople use to obfuscate their, for the most part, simple and mundane work. In an attempt to keep the normals away from DIY. Sure appreciate people such as yourself making information freely available.

Question........can you do the same thing by using two completely different breakers in the panel with two sets of wires coming into the receptacle box. 2 hots, 2 neutrals, 2 grounds?

My kitchen is wired this way for the outlets and the dishwasher. I have no idea now how to add GFCI protection. Any ideas on how i'd do that?

Hi terry, I have a multi wire multi circuit on a receptacle, it’s bees nest, 1 split circuit R B N & G, the other into the box is 2 B wires, no N no G ? The 2 blacks from each circuit are joined by pigtail, But now I have this lone black, that I think is a N. Because that’s all that makes sense. Any suggestions? Going to test. It’s been working for years p, the pigtail starting arching. So I have not reworded the box.

My kitchen plugs are fused independitly, can I add a circuit to it?

Isn't it dangerous having the two 120v circuits so close to each other in the same box enclosure?

Why the neutral on that side?

Terry, you've solved my problem with my son's condo ... thank you so much. Why this video did not ranked higher behoves me ... it was the only video (out of 20) to provide a solution ... keep up the great work.

Hello. I really hope you see this because I just switched 7 of them without even seeing if the first one worked. The way mine works is red and black are on the right and two whites on the left instead of one like this video. This is all in my bedroom too. Would it be a problem if connect both the white instead of the one like you did? Thank you.

That friggin split thing... man you’re a lifesaver 😂

Thanks for the video. It is a good example of 3 wires Edison circuit right there.

Very clear installation., but what happens in the white neutral white line when both receptacles are used at 15 amps each which then equals 30 amps for the single neutral line, when each line is only rated at 15 amps?

**edit** so i just redid the kitchen fridge outlet and the plug in tester is showing its wired correct but the sniffer is not showing power on the neutral side. Do I need to be worried? Ok, this is one is better. I am trying to replace my moms 1990 trailer kitchen plugs and every other video starts with 3 that cuts into 5 but this one only has 3 and only 3 a hot, neutral, and a ground. And i got so worried till i found this one. Thank goodness. So i guess the hot and neutrals will just be split between the two plugs. Good thing she doesnt use alot of appliances. *The only difference i have found is the counter one went to split the tab and it refuses to split all the way down. And i found the fridge plug does have the 5 wires. So hopefully things will work.

Thx. Why is it important to tie both breakers together?

Marry me !!! Thank you so much. I was wondering what the heck was this red wire. It all make sense now.

great videoTerry.thank you sir.

Would it be better to change the split circuit with a GFI outlet in the kitchen? Would this be difficult? Thanks again!

Can you add a light switch and light after this? Previous receptacle was 1 plug and light switch in 1 unit. I want to take that out and have and outlet and add a switch to the light. Thanks!

I should of watched this before !!

I have a kitchen switch for turning a celing light on/off. It is only using red and black plus ground, with the white unused not even stripped. How do I add a new switch to this location.

Quick question, answer ASAP! I have the red, white and black wire that’s it?

Do you have to use the quad breaker or could you donthis with just a regular double pole? And if so, do you just leave the top and bottom terminals unused?

I appreciate that I learned some thing from you and I did exact connections but I have no power/current on bottom one. Pls help me thanks

I did everything you said here,broke the tab but only the bottom half works the top of the receptical doesn't work when switched on ,I also have two red wires that connects to the switch,I a tandem 15 amp circuit, please help.

I have 2 110v lines going into my garage both are on a 15A seperate breakers on one 15 amp breaker is two plugin receptacle boxes on the other 15A breaker line is an outlet and light switch box is there a way to wire both 15Amp lines to a seperate plugin receptacle box to give me 110v with 30Amps without changing out a 15Amp breaker for a 30Amp?

On separate plug 120v can you still use kettle on 120v??😊

After years of daily use, the dual breaker tripped during the night. After unplugging everything, it would instantly trip off again when i tried to turn it on. I checked the plug and saw this red-black-white configuration I didn't know of. Looked at your video and thought to myself there is no way this tab between red and black is there after 15+ years of use! Well there it was! I know it doesn't make any sense but I swear it was there. So I broke the tab like you showed and voilà, I turned on the breakers and it stayed on. How it that possible?

thank you so much for the lesson on breaking the tab. Awesome and solved my problem

I tried this, and now the bottom plug doesn’t work anymore. Ha ha.

Help! I have this exact receptacle with both red and black conductors… the isn’t split and it doesn’t trip at the service. Does that mean it’s a 220?