jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,392
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Post by jamesp on Mar 10, 2018 4:31:03 GMT -5
Hi jamesp - "I just want to wire two duplex receptacles to a 20 amp 110 1 pole breaker. Is this allowable by code ?" Forgive me for quibbling, but we are dealing with your safety and all I have to go on is what your're telling me and a picture... If - the wires attached to the receptacles are 12 gage or thicker
- the receptacles are rated for 20 amps (the amp rating will be stamped on the receptacle & one of the slots will have a sideways "T" shape)
- the "power supply" wire is 12 gage or thicker and only has one hot conductor (typically black) plus one neutral conductor (white) plus one ground (typically bare copper)
then I believe it would be allowed by code (assuming you follow all the other rules like protecting the wire, using the right size wire nuts, etc, etc.) and should work as you described. And I agree with you - just treat the red pigtail as though it were also black. As I said before, I'm not an electrician. I only knew about the other stuff because I just recently had to deal with it in my house. I'm restoring a 1928 Craftsman bungalow that still has knob & tube wiring. I visit here regularly but am seldom able to contribute anything meaningful (shout out to Walt who was the first to welcome me!). I have a Lortone QT6 & have learned so much following all of you regulars. I think it's great the way you guys all share information & help everyone out. Thanks so much! Good luck with the bungalow kskid. When I was 27 I bought a 4 unit rental on a train track in Atlanta. An old converted Sears & Roebuck 1905 house and had to finish re-wiring a portion of it with Romex. Since then I wired several barns and houses with Romex. However I have welded several structures and hired out emt conduit/stranded wire and don't know much about it. These duplex had stranded wire and that red wire and threw me. The electricians installed metal box duplex's throughout the steel structures and I never had to mess w/them or understand them. These boxes are costly, got then for a song. I have installed them here and there. No problems, but it has been a while and I forgot how it was done. Thanks for clarifying. Sounds like you are on the job and are on top of the wiring codes. manofglass has helped me a bunch. He is an old master glass fuser and has been a big help in my endeavor in glass.
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Post by johnjsgems on Mar 16, 2018 13:26:28 GMT -5
Sounds like your question got complicated. Yes you can wire the two together. Code here is 6 duplex receptacles per 20 amp circuit. I'm guessing you are not getting a permit but that may vary around the country. You can use any color except green or white for your hot leads. Here you can't use common neutrals anymore. Older systems got pretty hazardous with shocking results when you shut off one circuit on a common neutral with multiple other circuits.
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Post by johnjsgems on Mar 16, 2018 13:32:45 GMT -5
By the way, voltage testers and even multimeters are really cheap nowadays. Best investment if you verify power is off before starting any electrical work. I'll never forget the time I tried to help my dad with his store light fixtures. Turned off switch. Went up aluminum ladder he had in store (also a no-no, never use conductive ladder), grabbed wire and got a good jolt. Turned out he wired the white neutral wire through a disconnect switch and ran the hot lead direct. I assumed lights out so power was off. Can't be too careful.
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kskid
Cave Dweller
Member since July 2014
Posts: 98
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Post by kskid on Mar 16, 2018 22:45:55 GMT -5
Hi jamesp, sorry so long to respond - for some reason my tablet won't let me login all of the sudden.
I'm glad the wiring is working out & happy to be able to help out.
Take care!
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,392
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Post by jamesp on Mar 21, 2018 12:34:01 GMT -5
By the way, voltage testers and even multimeters are really cheap nowadays. Best investment if you verify power is off before starting any electrical work. I'll never forget the time I tried to help my dad with his store light fixtures. Turned off switch. Went up aluminum ladder he had in store (also a no-no, never use conductive ladder), grabbed wire and got a good jolt. Turned out he wired the white neutral wire through a disconnect switch and ran the hot lead direct. I assumed lights out so power was off. Can't be too careful. Never Voltage tester Voltage tester Voltage tester Must be said before touching anything potentially hot. No excuse for getting shocked. Electricity does not even whisper.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,392
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Post by jamesp on Mar 21, 2018 12:39:22 GMT -5
Sounds like your question got complicated. Yes you can wire the two together. Code here is 6 duplex receptacles per 20 amp circuit. I'm guessing you are not getting a permit but that may vary around the country. You can use any color except green or white for your hot leads. Here you can't use common neutrals anymore. Older systems got pretty hazardous with shocking results when you shut off one circuit on a common neutral with multiple other circuits. Basically doing 3 duplex receptacles per 20 amp breaker John. I am counting that as 6 receptacles.... The real question boiled down on connecting up the duplex property for a 110 circuit. 6 individual receptacles - no problem at all. That is how the question should have been presented but these duplexes were pre-wired for legs of 220 which baffled.
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Post by johnjsgems on Mar 21, 2018 14:53:19 GMT -5
No 220v involved. They just had each duplex on separate 120v circuit. You can also break off the connecting tabs and have each 1/2 of a duplex on separate feed. Or having one half on a switch and one energized all the time. I have several short extension cords I made up with two duplex receptacles in a 4 x 4 box and wired together on one circuit. Very handy when doing a project having several tools ready to use but using only one at a time.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,392
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Post by jamesp on Mar 22, 2018 10:14:00 GMT -5
No 220v involved. They just had each duplex on separate 120v circuit. You can also break off the connecting tabs and have each 1/2 of a duplex on separate feed. Or having one half on a switch and one energized all the time. I have several short extension cords I made up with two duplex receptacles in a 4 x 4 box and wired together on one circuit. Very handy when doing a project having several tools ready to use but using only one at a time. Am concerned about turning circuit breaker on lol. I get lost in AC in a big hurry. DC and water flow OK, alternating flow befuddles the hell out of me. Had it explained a hundred times and it just won't sink in. Thanks I do get the 2 - 120 circuits though. That makes perfect sense. Two guys running two 15 amp grinders plugged into one duplex(one on left and one on right) with out kicking breaker. Each dude has his own 20 amps....nirvana
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Post by johnjsgems on Mar 23, 2018 10:33:06 GMT -5
If the red (or black) lead is long enough, use it to connect to other duplex. They make it easy now with color coded screws. Here the neutral is grounded so not too different than your DC circuits. One "hot" wire, grounded neutral white wire, and green safety ground in case something shorts out. Whenever you combine anything electrical with water you really should incorporate a GFCI. Newer houses have them but easy enough to add or use adapter.
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Post by parfive on Mar 23, 2018 11:07:43 GMT -5
Here the neutral is grounded . . . Better explain that one a little more. : )
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Post by Rockoonz on Mar 23, 2018 13:01:30 GMT -5
If the red (or black) lead is long enough, use it to connect to other duplex. They make it easy now with color coded screws. Here the neutral is grounded so not too different than your DC circuits. One "hot" wire, grounded neutral white wire, and green safety ground in case something shorts out. Whenever you combine anything electrical with water you really should incorporate a GFCI. Newer houses have them but easy enough to add or use adapter. Yes, essplain us that please... My power comes to me in 220v 1ph on 3 leads, 2 are 110v "hot", 3rd is neutral. All of the neutral wires and input in my breaker box are connected via bus bar. All "hot" wires are routed through breaker switches. Earth grounds are all on a completely separate bus bar and connect to a copper grounding rod that is in the ground whatever length was code in 1971. Neutral is not grounded, at least not at the point of service. Is code different in Cali?
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Post by parfive on Mar 23, 2018 13:26:32 GMT -5
Neutral is not grounded, at least not at the point of service. Yes, it is. Might only be a screw you haven’t noticed.
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NRG
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2018
Posts: 1,656
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Post by NRG on Mar 23, 2018 14:56:01 GMT -5
Sounds like your question got complicated. Yes you can wire the two together. Code here is 6 duplex receptacles per 20 amp circuit. I'm guessing you are not getting a permit but that may vary around the country. You can use any color except green or white for your hot leads. Here you can't use common neutrals anymore. Older systems got pretty hazardous with shocking results when you shut off one circuit on a common neutral with multiple other circuits. No permit? No biggie. Not built to code? Insurance won't pay out in the event of a loss. Be careful!
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Post by johnjsgems on Mar 29, 2018 11:47:24 GMT -5
Technically they call it a "bonded neutral". On the neutral bus bar there will be a screw long enough to connect to the box. Box is grounded (two separate ground rods required here for some reason now). Neutral bonded to grounded box so is grounded.
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