Splicing #14 wire, hot to neutral ratios....

Existential Angst · 2009-11-06T16:37:55+00:00

Awl -- A two-part Q:Due to some remodeling, I'm forced to splice/lengthen some old bx cable that has #14 wire in it, and re-connect to the fuse box.Should I splice the #14 with #14, or splice with #12?The reason I would continue with #14 wire is just to remind me and future people that Hey, this old wire is a little lighter than modern #12, and to not take liberties with 20 or 30 amp fuses or breakers. Other than that, #12 would be fine with me.Next, is there a rule of thumb for how many hot wires can share one neutral of the same gauge? If using different gauges, is there a "gauge ratio", ie, some formula for cross sectional area between total hots and total neutrals?tia.