Karsoncookie Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 Can a rocker switch wall plate and a GFCI wall plate interchange? I give up, can they? Yes. The plate screws go into the device strap, so they are positioned accordingly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted February 23, 2016 Author Share Posted February 23, 2016 Can a rocker switch wall plate and a GFCI wall plate interchange? I give up, can they? Apparently so Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coytee Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 How many forums can go three pages on a wall switch/outlet conversation? (I should qualify that to say how may non-engineer forums... ) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsoncookie Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 A couple of years ago when I was wiring our basement, Home Depot had 250 ft. rolls of 12/2 for such a cheap price, I cold have bought it, taken it to the recycle place and got more money for it that what I paid. I went to JVS for construction electricity. When you got detention to stay an hour over after class, you got to take your strippers and strip all the instructors left over wire scraps so he could sell them for the copper. Naturally, he had a motive to give you a detention if he could, and you would be surprised at how bad a continuous hour of wire stripping will hurt your hands! Roger How many strippers did you bring? How many wires can a stripper strip if a stripper could strip wires ? ? Lars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsoncookie Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 A couple of years ago when I was wiring our basement, Home Depot had 250 ft. rolls of 12/2 for such a cheap price, I cold have bought it, taken it to the recycle place and got more money for it that what I paid. I went to JVS for construction electricity. When you got detention to stay an hour over after class, you got to take your strippers and strip all the instructors left over wire scraps so he could sell them for the copper. Naturally, he had a motive to give you a detention if he could, and you would be surprised at how bad a continuous hour of wire stripping will hurt your hands! Roger How many strippers did you bring? How many wires can a stripper strip if a stripper could strip wires ? ? Lars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taz Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 20 Amp circuits need 12 gauge wire ran from the panel. 12 gauge is standard for receptacles, only use the small/cheap stuff for lighting! roger I have to disagree about the wiring for lighting. I have seen lighting wires burnt due to the tiny size of the wire and oversized bulbs put in the light fixture. I have never used anything smaller then #12 when wiring for my homes. And recomend not exceeding the rated size for bulbs in the fixture. 20 amp breakers and #12 wire did not make a noticible increase it the cost of my build. I'm not an electriction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 14ga isn't enough for light fixtures? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsoncookie Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 20 Amp circuits need 12 gauge wire ran from the panel. 12 gauge is standard for receptacles, only use the small/cheap stuff for lighting! roger I have to disagree about the wiring for lighting. I have seen lighting wires burnt due to the tiny size of the wire and oversized bulbs put in the light fixture. I have never used anything smaller then #12 when wiring for my homes. And recomend not exceeding the rated size for bulbs in the fixture. 20 amp breakers and #12 wire did not make a noticible increase it the cost of my build. I'm not an electriction. Taz - Everything you said is very good, but it needs to be clarified that the "wires burnt" were not at all due to inadequate wire size, but due to cooking the insulation by overheating, usually due to overwattaging lamps as you said. #14 CU is perfectly adequate for 15 A ckts, Not always, but in almost all applications. Excessive ckt length, hence excessive voltage drop, is the most typical exception to above. Lars Lars 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted February 23, 2016 Author Share Posted February 23, 2016 All the can lights I put in are running LED bulbs. The exhaust vent has a single CFL. I should be good there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted February 23, 2016 Author Share Posted February 23, 2016 #14 CU is perfectly adequate for 15 A ckts, Not always, but in almost all applications. It will pass code here for some uses. I always buy 12ga for projects though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsoncookie Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 #14 CU is perfectly adequate for 15 A ckts, Not always, but in almost all applications. It will pass code here for some uses. I always buy 12ga for projects though. Same here, CECAA. I should back up, and say I wasn't speaking as per current code, but based on historied electrical uses and codes over the years and as a Master up till about 15 yr ago. By far, probably 90% of existing US homes use 14 GA CU "general lighting" ckts, which is like, o , probably like 80% of the total footage run in a home. It has proven over mannyy yrs to be more than adequate. This discussion could go much deeper considering specific different applications, but now I digress. It's just WAY easier to use 14 over 12 ----- IF it's acceptable ---when wiring new homes all day, every day. Way easier on hands stuffing into boxes. Anyway, way to many details to type in that don't matter in this context anyway. Lars 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason str Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 20 Amp circuits need 12 gauge wire ran from the panel. 12 gauge is standard for receptacles, only use the small/cheap stuff for lighting! roger Here 14 gauge is standard for 15 Amp circuits, the only exception would be for excessively long runs. Never heard of using 12 gauge for all normal 15 Amp circuits but its not going to hurt anything using larger gauge wire. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taz Posted February 24, 2016 Share Posted February 24, 2016 20 Amp circuits need 12 gauge wire ran from the panel. 12 gauge is standard for receptacles, only use the small/cheap stuff for lighting! roger I have to disagree about the wiring for lighting. I have seen lighting wires burnt due to the tiny size of the wire and oversized bulbs put in the light fixture. I have never used anything smaller then #12 when wiring for my homes. And recomend not exceeding the rated size for bulbs in the fixture. 20 amp breakers and #12 wire did not make a noticible increase it the cost of my build. I'm not an electriction. Taz - Everything you said is very good, but it needs to be clarified that the "wires burnt" were not at all due to inadequate wire size, but due to cooking the insulation by overheating, usually due to overwattaging lamps as you said. #14 CU is perfectly adequate for 15 A ckts, Not always, but in almost all applications. Excessive ckt length, hence excessive voltage drop, is the most typical exception to above. Lars Lars I agree that #14 is adequate for lighting circuits. It meets code. However Code is bare minimum of what is legal. As I stated I'm not an electriction. But when the electrical inspecter came in to inspect, everything passed. Would have had to buy #14 wire and already had lots of #12, No 15amp breakers. All 20amp or larger. I knew a guy that wired all plug ins and lights with #10. He said that was a real pain in the arse. I'm not a carpenter either. So I overbuilt everything. 8" x 20" rough cut timbers exposed in the livingroom made the upstairs capable of holding 18" to 2' of gravel. Just cuz I thought it would look better then the 6" x 20" specified. Inspectors would come in, shake their heads and sign off. Never had any problem when exceeding the code. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsoncookie Posted February 24, 2016 Share Posted February 24, 2016 "Code" can be seen as "minimal", but it's not. There is a cushion built in. All good. Possibly like feeding speakers with over 14 GA, but sure doesnt hurt, Lars 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsoncookie Posted February 24, 2016 Share Posted February 24, 2016 If #12 makes you more comfortable, It's good, And not at all dumb. Lars 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsoncookie Posted February 24, 2016 Share Posted February 24, 2016 #10 is just plain silly for general receptacles. Lars 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsoncookie Posted February 24, 2016 Share Posted February 24, 2016 Just like using 2x12 12" OC for short span floor joists. Totally silly useless overkill. Lars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taz Posted February 24, 2016 Share Posted February 24, 2016 (edited) "Code" can be seen as "minimal", but it's not. There is a cushion built in. All good. Possibly like feeding speakers with over 14 GA, but sure doesnt hurt, Lars Agreed that there is a cushion I just felt comfortable with a biger cushion. If #12 makes you more comfortable, It's good, And not at all dumb. Lars Seems like I heard somewhere that the resistance is higher in the #14 thus increasing electricty used by the "HOUSE". If you plan to own a home for your lifetime it might be cheaper in the long run to run the larger wire. Just like using 2x12 12" OC for short span floor joists. Totally silly useless overkill. Lars Funny I thought I had done that. But no 2x12 on 16" centers and no longer then a 12' span on the upstairs floor. I'll ask you to understand that I was in my early 20's, had just got married, and decieded to build my house, Had a guy tell me I was building an Arkansa house when I was buying insulation. Said it was way over insulated. Told him "Mister this is my house! Now when you build Your House, You can build it anyway YOU want. I sure wish I still lived there. Still own it though, that's something anyhow. Edited February 24, 2016 by Taz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJkizak Posted February 24, 2016 Share Posted February 24, 2016 I used stranded #10 in conduit in my workshop/barn but it's a real hassle wiring up the outlets. JJK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivervalleymgb Posted February 24, 2016 Share Posted February 24, 2016 It is hard to find 14 ga wire here and Oklahoma. 12 ga is the minimum allowed by code. Even though most locales have the International Code or the Southern Building Code, local communities have made 12 ga the minimum for 15 amp circuits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.