Replacing thermostats without explosions.
Hey, I'm replacing some thermostats (double pole,20A circuit) the ones connected now are mechanical ones (aka no batteries) but are getting old and not working so well. I tried connecting a ritetemp one that required two AA batteries, I hooked up everything just as the other one was hooked up: top(two wires to one) to top, bottom to bottom(one wire to one) and reversed sides because on the old one, the line was on the right and on the new one it's on the left. As soon as I flipped the breaker back on, it shorted, well.. exploded is a better term but not as helpful...
What in bloody heck did I do wrong?? L1 on each side got the double wire, L2 got the single, I hooked it up according to how the old one said where the line and load were.
Any tips?