Is it ok to wire into a ceiling light fixture (regular old bulb screw-in fixture) a circuit of outlets?
It's on a 20A circuit and using all 12ga wire.
Visually.. breaker box -- light switch -- bulb socket -- outlets (to plug in shop lights).
So when I flip the switch, I can turn on/off the outlets.
Use a 20 A rated switch and avoid possible current surge problems, Just good practice to keep everything on the run matching.
Joe
Ah.. 20A switch.. good point..
The breaker is 20A, the wire is all 12ga, the outlets are your standard household 15A circuits.
The switch leg was wired off the shop outlet circuits - 20A, but I pulled the power off the switch and wired in a dedicated 20A circuit from a new 20A breaker. The only reason for 20A is just to keep it consistent. I suppose I could drop in a 15A breaker instead. I also thought it might be handy to have some overhead outlets to plug in a drill, circular saw, etc. Now I realize that would be on my lighting circuit, but it would be low load devices and infrequently used. The shop 110 outlets are now all on their own circuit, and I have a dedicated 220 for the dust collector and 220 for tablesaw, jointer, and whatever else comes along.
Use a 20 A rated switch and avoid possible current surge problems, Just good practice to keep everything on the run matching.
Joe
Not likely he would have 20 amps flowing when turning off the lights, presumably to leave the room. But excellent point and thanks for the reminder Joe. I have double pole 230/115 (30 amp) switch with fuses above the work bench that turns off 'everything' in the workshop, outlets, lights above bench, even the 230 bench saw if it is plugged in, etc. Except for a conventional light switch for some ceiling lights, on another circuit, by the door.
If all the wire is 12ga you can stay with the 20a breaker. It is less likely to trip when your tools start..
15a receptacles are fine but you might find the "quality" can be an issue. If they are the 50 cent bargain barrel specials you might want to swap them out with "spec grade" units. They will last a lot longer, less heating, better plug retention etc ... but that is good advice for all receptacles.
You don't need spec grade, they are great, but very expensive. You can get an intermediate grade, there are several names for it, but I've been using the Leviton pro grade receptacles, they're pretty well made. Code allows 15A receptacles on a 20A circuit so long as there is more than one of them on the circuit. If it is a single receptacle on a 20A dedicated circuit, it has to be a 20A receptacle.
Last time around I used 20A receptacles, but this time I figured I'll go with the box of 10 for $15 and see how it goes.
Here's my diagram.. any thoughts?
2gang 2gang | | | | light socket ----- light socket ---- | | | | | | 2 gang 2gang | | switch | 20A breakerI'll plug in shop lights to 2 or 3 of the outlets in the 2gang (4 receptable) boxes.
I"m just using the light sockets because they are already wired in. All I have to do is retro in the 2 gang boxes, and wire them to the sockets. I did pull in a new 20A circuit from the breaker to the switch.
related question..
Is it ok to leave "dead" wires in the box?
The old power leg from the 2 gang receptable box to the switch box is now dead. In the outlet box I unhooked the white/black and wire nutted them together. In the switch box I cut back the bare ends and folded them to the back of the box.
I would wire nut them off and fold them up into the back, tagging them wouldn't be a bad idea either. You never know when they might be needed for something.
Do watch out for fill violations, there is a limit to the number and size of wires you can have in a given size box, not to say that these are never violated, even by professional electricians.
Technically, you're not supposed to have lighting on the same circuit as outlets. It's a safety issue. The theory is if you pop the breaker, you'll also be in the dark.
On the dead wires, code says you're supposed to remove abandoned wires. But I also think there's a caveat that says "where practical." If you wire nut them, tape and tag them, you should be ok.
Yeah, in the shop that's why I have pulled in a seperate lighting circuit.
But I installed a pair of duplex receptables in the ceiling to plug in shop lights. They might occassionally double as a place to plug in a drill, etc. But I have wall outlets as well on a seperate circuit.
You can use just about any electrically-approved box to make your connections. But, there is a limit and there are various size boxes. Lighting typically uses 14 g wire, but 12 g is fine to use also. The cirsuit should always be off when any electrical box is exposed (cover removed).
Tell THAT to any electrician in North America and he'll have a good laugh!!!!!
I was chuckling a little.
#1 is a design decision, not a code issue. #2 is only defined for low voltage wiring. chapter 3 wiring does not have any "removal" requirements, perhaps because the installation and the wire itself has to meet flame spread and smoke standards.
You can't put lights on kitchen appliance or laundry circuits. Otherwise it is rather common.
As others have said, there is no requirement for power wires.
Best to put a wire nut on each dead wire.
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