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I had a single 20amp outside breaker with one red and one black wire connected to it. it kept flipping. i had unused double 20amp breaker. i put red wire in one spot and black wire in other of double 20amp breaker. is that safe or not

Leeza
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    Why does it keep flipping? When the breaker trips, what loads lose power? Are you talking about a [tandem](https://diy.stackexchange.com/questions/110151/what-is-a-tandem-breaker-aka-duplex-cheater-twin-double-stuff-etc) breaker (because no, that is not safe at all). – Harper - Reinstate Monica Jul 06 '23 at 02:28
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    A picture of the panel and a list of what loads are currently powered by the circuit would help. – manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact Jul 06 '23 at 02:49
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    Do the red and black wires lead into the same cable or different cables? What are you trying to run on the circuits in question? What do you mean by a "double 20A breaker"? – ThreePhaseEel Jul 06 '23 at 03:39

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Man oh Man>>>>>> no way. I don't do be mean, but you obviously have no idea where these cables lead or how they are connected , could be a MWBC could be an repurposed cable....you just can't know until you test and test some more until you know where this stuff goes. you'll need a multi-meter and test that circuit thoroughly . Regularly tripping a breaker is a major issue and and dangerous . You may need to call a pro.

George Anderson
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    Well regularly tripping a breaker may be as simple as the user intentionally overloading it because they want more stuff to work than the circuit can safely power. – Harper - Reinstate Monica Jul 06 '23 at 02:39
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    And it may be that the red/black used to be two separate breakers and now doubled up under one breaker and separating is a *good* thing. Or it could be something else and separating could end up with causing all kinds of problems. *Too many unknowns*. – manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact Jul 06 '23 at 02:49