Clarification on sharing a neutral for 2 circuits

Question

This is a followup question to this answer

I plan to do something quite similar to the diagram Tester101 posted. I will pull 3-wire (10/3+g) into a junction box and then pull 2 separate 2 wires (12/2+g) from the J box to GFCI outlets. Here are the things I am looking for clarification on...

--Can I run two 20amp circuits with the above configuration?

--If so, will the dual pole breaker be labeled "40 amp" back at the panel? (like a large appliance 240v breaker, or is there some other kind of dual pole breaker that I should look for?)

Thanks!

Answer 1

You'll use a double pole 20 ampere breaker. It will have two handles that are tied together, and will say "20" on the handles.

It should look similar to this...

http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/productImages/400/d5/d5896b94-73d2-4c35-b7d5-88346e4795f7_400.jpg

I'm not sure why you're planning to run 10 AWG conductors, but typically 20 ampere circuits only require 12 AWG conductors.

Answer 2

Yes, this is a perfectly valid configuration.

The breaker will be labeled as a "20 Amp" breaker. The breaker ratings are per-conductor and not total current.

They generally look just like the "large appliance 240v breaker", though there do exist some which put four breakers in one module called a "quad". One uses the quad breakers when there are no empty slots in the breaker box (though one must double-check that the box is certified to be able to be used with the "quad" breakers").