OK heres the deal.

I have a small utility room
It has a single bulb
its wired to a switch
power to the switch goes directly to the panel to the breaker for that utility room AND that panel is located in the room itself. So, i have one wire from the panel to the switch and then from the switch to the light.

I want to add a couple of electrical outlets in there for a 'frigerator and a freezer.

How do i tap into that wire?? Do i simply cut it and put a junction box in? What is the PROPER method of accomplishing this. I believe the breaker is a 15A

 

Jason, I hope this does not come off as sarcastic. A little knowlege in this area can be dangerous, deadly, and can burn your house down. The fact that you are asking how to do it, worries me. I do not feel comfortable posting an answer to this. Get expert help, or hire an electrician to do it. You might even leagally need to get a permit to do any rewireing in your town.

 

I would install a dedicated 20 amp breaker for the fridge and a dedicated 20 amp breaker for the freezer. Use 12 gauge wire. Not sure if they need to be GFI?

 

I do have an electrician who is going to help, he said he would do it. Since we are out in the country, they are sticklers for work. I have a lot of things to do at the house electrically, and he has agreed for me to buy the parts and he will wire one or two to show me how to do it, and let me take care of the rest.

Thats what ill do. I worked with an electrician wiring a new construction two story house, but that was about 10 years ago, and i cannot remember how we handled this stuff. Plus, we ran wires where they needed to be, we did not RE-wire anything.

Im not so much asking HOW to do it, but rather, whats the best approach. I mean, my objective to to get power to the receptable and switch and light, which i can two via a couple of different ways. They all accomplish the same thing, but im not sure which is BEST. I could run the wire from the breaker to my receptable and then from there to the switch like its supposed to be, or i could install a junction box and branch circuit or i could put it on its own breaker, which is a good idea, but im pushing the limit on wires in the breaker box, i don't know how manyi can physically squeeze into it to get to an open breaker.

 

[QUOTE=scole250]I would install a dedicated 20 amp breaker for the fridge and a dedicated 20 amp breaker for the freezer. Not sure if they need to be GFI?

You don't need GFI outlets if you are 3ft or more from a water source.
You will need 12ga wire to the outlets. The homeowner can run all wires and outlets, But it must be tied into the box by a licenced electrician.

 

Jason, I feel better now. My personal choice, is an independant branch circuit. You do not want to turn off the referigerator, and have your "barley pop" get warm, Especially if you live in Texas.

 

You can put a piggy back 20amp breaker in for the two units. That only takes up one space. Then you can tie in a standard outlet off your light switch. They make combos.
Switch and outlet in one.

 

I Think if I was doing it I would see if I could add another breaker in the breaker box.Then I would simply run the circuit for my outlets off of that breaker.That way,if I overloaded that circuit and blew the breaker,I would still have light to get to the breaker box.

 

If you plan on putting in a refrigerator AND freezer, make sure you find out what the peak power demand is going to be. They can pull 3-4 times their rated wattage every time they kick on. If the freezer is running and the refrigerator kicks on, a single 20amp circuit may not handle both.

 

each should be on it's own dedicated circuit and need not be GFCI unless water is attached or in the utility room. 15 amp in that room is NOT enough for the appliances you want, but with the panel in the room you have options.

 

I had posted this link for people to read the Electrical Codes .
http://www.codecheck.com/eleccode.htm


Look like we are doing the same thing in our houses.

I have been rewiring & adding wiring in the basement for a few weeks now.
all the lighting and odd receptacles are done

New Freezer Outlet
New Fridge Outlet
8 receptacles in 3 different rooms


.....are next

 

I totaly gutted the house I am Living in now. The house was built in 1945. Replumbed and rewired entire house. I recieved an A+ from the inspector. The only thing he told me was I did not need 12 wire through out the house. This I knew but when the kids are grown. We will probably reconfigure a few things and did not want to pull wires all over again.

 

Using bigger wire can save you money, according to this article anyway...

http://www.handymanwire.com/articles/wiresize.html

 

I'm not sure where he's getting his $0.11/ft #12 wire.. (Or was that for hot and neutral?) I'd buy it.

I figured it using #12 THHN @ 0.2 Ohms/100' and #10 THHN @ 0.13 Ohms/100', from the Ugly's book I have handy.

For the load I used 1800W total resistive, (like a heater). Plus, I figured it for 100W, (lightbulb). No PF

Basically, if you ran that heater 24hr/day, 365/year @ $0.10/KWh, it would cost around $1575/yr and you would save yourself about $13/year going to #10.

For a 100W lightbulb, on all the time - $87.60/yr with a $0.04/yr saving by going to #10.

Does this sound about right? I think the original info came from Copper.org, which benefits from the sale of copper. Conductor diameter makes a huge difference on low voltage DC, but not as much on AC housewire.