The reason for multiple hot/neutral wires for one outlet is that the outlets are daisy-chained together. This means hot/neutral is only coming from one of the wires and it is being sent to the other wire.

Can you put two hot wires together?

Two hots of same leg but different circuits (i.e., 2 different fuses or breakers) - nothing should happen in most cases, but if you have GFCI protection either at the panel or upstream of at least one of the wires and any devices on (besides this nonfunctional switch) then the GFCI may detect that the hot (now coming

Can 2 hot wires share a neutral?

It is NOT permitted to share a neutral in any other situation. If you were to share a neutral with two breakers on the same leg of a panel, both circuits could draw the breaker limit (lets say 15A) making the shared neutral as much as 30A return current!

What is a second hot wire?

The two hot wires or multiple hot wires which would be put together usually have differing functions, with one of the hot wires transmuting voltage from the source or power panel, while the other hot wire serves as a means to carry the voltage to another device or series of devices.

How many hot wires can share a neutral?

two hot wires (Basically, two hot wires are sharing a neutral wire.) This circuit has also been referred to as: The Edison Circuit. Common Neutral Circuit.

Can a neutral wire be connected to a hot wire?

You can have multiple separate loads between the hot and the neutral. Each of them is connected to the hot side and the neutral side. When no device is working (drawing power), no current flows. There is never a direct connection between the hot and the neutral wires.