15 Amp Outlets Running off 20 Amp Breakers

RE: 15 Amp Outlets Running off 20 Amp Breakers Post By Electrician 25 years (Guest Post) (08/07/2008) 15 A circuit is protected by a 15 A circuit breaker using #14 wire and one or more 15 A receptacles. 20 A circuit is protected by a 20 A circuit breaker using #12 wire, example 20 A kitchen appliance circuit with with more than one receptacle all receptacles are 15 A receptacles. A 20 A receptacle is only required if it is a dedcated 20 A circuit serving only one plug. Report Spam or Abuse RE: 15 Amp Outlets Running off 20 Amp Breakers Post By Electrician 25 years (Guest Post) (08/07/2008) 15 A circuit is protected by a 15 A circuit breaker using #14 wire and one or more 15 A receptacles. 20 A circuit is protected by a 20 A circuit breaker using #12 wire, example 20 A kitchen appliance circuit with with more than one receptacle all receptacles are 15 A receptacles. A 20 A receptacle is only required if it is a dedcated 20 A circuit serving only one plug. Report Spam or Abuse RE: 15 Amp Outlets Running off 20 Amp Breakers Post By RevMike (Guest Post) (06/24/2006) Thrifty, you don't know what you are taking about. If you refer to the National Electical Code, table 210-21[b](3) you'll see that it is permissable to have several 15 amp receptacles on a 20 amp branch circuit. As a general rule, a 20 amp branch circuit must be supplied with 12 gauge copper wire. There may be circumstances - unlikely to occur in residential settings - where a larger gauge wire is required. RevMike - at - gmail - com Report Spam or Abuse RE: 15 Amp Outlets Running off 20 Amp Breakers Post By Gary (Guest Post) (05/04/2006) Actually, if you have more than one receptacle on the 20 amp line, you can use 15 amp circuits for all the receptacles on the line. If you have a dedicated 20 amp line going to one circuit only, you need a 20 amp receptacle . Report Spam or Abuse RE: 15 Amp Outlets Running off 20 Amp Breakers Post By (Guest Post) (02/17/2005) The rule is: use number 12 wire for a 20 amp breaker and 20 amp receptacle; use number 14 wire for a 15 amp breaker and 15 amp receptacle. You must find out the size of the wire. Do not be misled by the sizes of the breakers and receptacles you currently have. Just find out the size of the wire and then you will know what size breaker and receptacle is needed. Report Spam or Abuse RE: 15 Amp Outlets Running of 20 Amp Breakers Post by ThriftyFun (3754) | (02/17/2005) Profile | Blog! | Contact Yes, that definitely would be cause for major concern. A 20 Amp breaker does not adequately protect a 15 Amp outlet. The breaker is supposed to pop instead of, or before the house burns down. Even in the very unlikely event that you have 20 Amp wiring, the appliances plugged into the 15 Amp outlet need to be protected with 15 Amp breakers. Your fire insurance would not have to pay in case of a fire, since your house is not up to code. It would be a good idea to get an electrical inspector or experienced electrician to check out your house and tell you what needs to be done to bring it up to code. Have FUN! DearWebby http://www.webby.com/humor/ Report Spam or Abuse