Remodeling basement due to minor flood last year and just got all the
insulation and wall framing up and adding some wiring while everything is
open. I want to add an outlet near the new stairs I just built which will
be carpeted - soon. Wife wants an outlet nearby for the vacuum. Only
circuit that is handy is a lighting circuit for the basement lights (14ga
wire, 15A circuit).
I've traced it out and it goes around the basement to 3 light fixtures then
terminates going up through the 1st floor into a living room outlet where we
have a lamp plugged in. I was under the impression (obviously wrong) - that
wiring for lighting circuits were supposed to be on their own circuits and
have no outlets. Rationale being that if the circuit breaker trips while
using say a vacuum cleaner, you still have lights.
At any rate, anyone know if the NEC has anything against this for
residential? I was planning on making it a GFI outlet since all other
basement outlets are on a GFI breaker. That line is not near where I want
to place the outlet...
Figured that if the contractor that built the house 30+ years ago must have
had an electrical inspection and that the wiring scheme met code - then.
I'll give our local code office a buzz in the am to see if they have any
qualms about it but they have given me bad/wrong advice in the past - so
they're hard to believe.
Thanks for your time,
Bob S.
On Thu, 8 Nov 2007 09:56:16 -0500, "BobS" <[email protected]> wrote:
>But at any rate, adding more circuits means opening two walls so I can get
>at the cables and box - not a 10 min project. I have installed plenty of
>20A circuits where I need them - it's just this one location. Maybe I'll
>just get her a cordless vac and end the hassle.........;-)
>
>Thanks,
>
>Bob S.
>
Have a look at the $30 Shark cordless vac. I got one because it was
cheaper than a replacement set of heavy duty batteries for the
Dustbuster.
My wife likes the motorized brush attachment for cleaning the carpet
on the stairs - no cord, very little weight. She's happy, so I made a
good choice ;-)
John
"BobS" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Remodeling basement due to minor flood last year and just got all the
> insulation and wall framing up and adding some wiring while everything is
> open. I want to add an outlet near the new stairs I just built which will
> be carpeted - soon. Wife wants an outlet nearby for the vacuum. Only
> circuit that is handy is a lighting circuit for the basement lights (14ga
> wire, 15A circuit).
>
> I've traced it out and it goes around the basement to 3 light fixtures
then
> terminates going up through the 1st floor into a living room outlet where
we
> have a lamp plugged in. I was under the impression (obviously wrong) -
that
> wiring for lighting circuits were supposed to be on their own circuits and
> have no outlets. Rationale being that if the circuit breaker trips while
> using say a vacuum cleaner, you still have lights.
>
> At any rate, anyone know if the NEC has anything against this for
> residential? I was planning on making it a GFI outlet since all other
> basement outlets are on a GFI breaker. That line is not near where I want
> to place the outlet...
>
> Figured that if the contractor that built the house 30+ years ago must
have
> had an electrical inspection and that the wiring scheme met code - then.
> I'll give our local code office a buzz in the am to see if they have any
> qualms about it but they have given me bad/wrong advice in the past - so
> they're hard to believe.
>
> Thanks for your time,
>
> Bob S.
>
>
The only thing wrong with your plan is that if anything causes that breaker
to trip you won't be able to see how to get out of the basement. If it were
my house I would connect the outlet to some other circuit no matter how long
the wire needed to be.
You can get a ground fault outlet to install instead of changing the breaker
to achieve ground fault capability. These will shut off the power only to
the GFI outlet and to any additional outlets that are wired after this
outlet in the string and the rest of the circuit will stay on. There isn't a
code problem no matter which way you do it, but it sure would be a good idea
to have at least one light stay on when the breaker trips.
Charley
"Charley" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "BobS" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> Remodeling basement due to minor flood last year and just got all the
>> insulation and wall framing up and adding some wiring while everything is
>> open. I want to add an outlet near the new stairs I just built which
>> will
>> be carpeted - soon. Wife wants an outlet nearby for the vacuum. Only
>> circuit that is handy is a lighting circuit for the basement lights (14ga
>> wire, 15A circuit).
>>
>> I've traced it out and it goes around the basement to 3 light fixtures
> then
>> terminates going up through the 1st floor into a living room outlet where
> we
>> have a lamp plugged in. I was under the impression (obviously wrong) -
> that
>> wiring for lighting circuits were supposed to be on their own circuits
>> and
>> have no outlets. Rationale being that if the circuit breaker trips while
>> using say a vacuum cleaner, you still have lights.
>>
>> At any rate, anyone know if the NEC has anything against this for
>> residential? I was planning on making it a GFI outlet since all other
>> basement outlets are on a GFI breaker. That line is not near where I
>> want
>> to place the outlet...
>>
>> Figured that if the contractor that built the house 30+ years ago must
> have
>> had an electrical inspection and that the wiring scheme met code - then.
>> I'll give our local code office a buzz in the am to see if they have any
>> qualms about it but they have given me bad/wrong advice in the past - so
>> they're hard to believe.
>>
>> Thanks for your time,
>>
>> Bob S.
>>
>>
>
> The only thing wrong with your plan is that if anything causes that
> breaker
> to trip you won't be able to see how to get out of the basement. If it
> were
> my house I would connect the outlet to some other circuit no matter how
> long
> the wire needed to be.
>
> You can get a ground fault outlet to install instead of changing the
> breaker
> to achieve ground fault capability. These will shut off the power only to
> the GFI outlet and to any additional outlets that are wired after this
> outlet in the string and the rest of the circuit will stay on. There isn't
> a
> code problem no matter which way you do it, but it sure would be a good
> idea
> to have at least one light stay on when the breaker trips.
>
> Charley
>
Charley,
Thanks for the input. The outlet will be a GFI type. Having a light remain
on if a breaker trips is obviously a good thing - my shop is wired that way.
But in the 20+ years we've lived here, my basement has never gone dark
because of something tripping the breaker. It has gone dark many, many times
because our local "Flicker & Flash" power company has dropped power. Backup
generator plus emergency UPS's keep things humming and flashlights all over
keep us from tripping over things that go bump in the night.
Bob S.
"spaco" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I'd skip the "handy" circuit completely. Start from the box and run a
> couple of new circuits. They can be surface mounted in plugmold if
> needed. But you say everything is open, so now's the time to prepare for
> the next 30 years.
>
> Pete Stanaitis
> -------------
>
Pete,
Thanks for your comments. I have a 200A service and all the breaker slots
are full. About 10 years ago, I opened up the garage wall where the breaker
box is located so I could run extra circuits along with adding 60A service
to my shop. The wall I want to put the outlet on has only shelves for
storage (pantry items) and never had a need for power in this area other
than the light above it.
My question was about code for lighting circuits. See my reply to Charley
below for a bit of an explanation.
Thank you,
Bob S.
"spaco" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Okay, I see. But, as one last thought, how about "piggyback" breakers?
> Two of them fit in each slot. ----At least a thought for future changes.
>
> Pete Stanaitis
> -------------------
>
Pete,
I've installed one of those (dual 20A breakers) for a circuit in the garage
where I have a small dust collector and my Performax drum sander. Neither
unit draws anywhere near 20A but if I plug the sander in one circuit and the
DC into the other, the DC breaker will trip....? I plug it into another 15A
circuit in the garage and it works fine. Could be I have a defective
breaker.
But at any rate, adding more circuits means opening two walls so I can get
at the cables and box - not a 10 min project. I have installed plenty of
20A circuits where I need them - it's just this one location. Maybe I'll
just get her a cordless vac and end the hassle.........;-)
Thanks,
Bob S.
I'd skip the "handy" circuit completely. Start from the box and run a
couple of new circuits. They can be surface mounted in plugmold if
needed. But you say everything is open, so now's the time to prepare
for the next 30 years.
Pete Stanaitis
-------------
BobS wrote:
> Remodeling basement due to minor flood last year and just got all the
> insulation and wall framing up and adding some wiring while everything is
> open. I want to add an outlet near the new stairs I just built which will
> be carpeted - soon. Wife wants an outlet nearby for the vacuum. Only
> circuit that is handy is a lighting circuit for the basement lights (14ga
> wire, 15A circuit).
>
> I've traced it out and it goes around the basement to 3 light fixtures then
> terminates going up through the 1st floor into a living room outlet where we
> have a lamp plugged in. I was under the impression (obviously wrong) - that
> wiring for lighting circuits were supposed to be on their own circuits and
> have no outlets. Rationale being that if the circuit breaker trips while
> using say a vacuum cleaner, you still have lights.
>
> At any rate, anyone know if the NEC has anything against this for
> residential? I was planning on making it a GFI outlet since all other
> basement outlets are on a GFI breaker. That line is not near where I want
> to place the outlet...
>
> Figured that if the contractor that built the house 30+ years ago must have
> had an electrical inspection and that the wiring scheme met code - then.
> I'll give our local code office a buzz in the am to see if they have any
> qualms about it but they have given me bad/wrong advice in the past - so
> they're hard to believe.
>
> Thanks for your time,
>
> Bob S.
>
>
Okay, I see. But, as one last thought, how about "piggyback" breakers?
Two of them fit in each slot. ----At least a thought for future
changes.
Pete Stanaitis
-------------------
BobS wrote:
> Remodeling basement due to minor flood last year and just got all the
> insulation and wall framing up and adding some wiring while everything is
> open. I want to add an outlet near the new stairs I just built which will
> be carpeted - soon. Wife wants an outlet nearby for the vacuum. Only
> circuit that is handy is a lighting circuit for the basement lights (14ga
> wire, 15A circuit).
>
> I've traced it out and it goes around the basement to 3 light fixtures then
> terminates going up through the 1st floor into a living room outlet where we
> have a lamp plugged in. I was under the impression (obviously wrong) - that
> wiring for lighting circuits were supposed to be on their own circuits and
> have no outlets. Rationale being that if the circuit breaker trips while
> using say a vacuum cleaner, you still have lights.
>
> At any rate, anyone know if the NEC has anything against this for
> residential? I was planning on making it a GFI outlet since all other
> basement outlets are on a GFI breaker. That line is not near where I want
> to place the outlet...
>
> Figured that if the contractor that built the house 30+ years ago must have
> had an electrical inspection and that the wiring scheme met code - then.
> I'll give our local code office a buzz in the am to see if they have any
> qualms about it but they have given me bad/wrong advice in the past - so
> they're hard to believe.
>
> Thanks for your time,
>
> Bob S.
>
>