Not really, since there aren't any consumer countertop appliances that
draw more than 15A. I much prefer having more outlets available as in
"quads" and multiple circuits to each quad. My current kitchen has four
such "quads", and each is a separate 20A circuit, so I have 80A
available to my countertops, and that doesn't count a built in microwave
outlet that is on a 20A circuit shared only with the light / vent hood
over the stove.
The high cost of GFCI breakers is a problem. I actually saw one
installation where a guy installed a bank of GFCI receptacles right
beside the main panel as the first device on each 120V circuit to
provide the functionality of GFCI breakers. Looked funky, but probably
saved him a couple hundred dollars.
Icky yes, but still could save a fair amount of money. If GFCI breakers
were the ~$10 more than regular breakers that they logically should be,
then it wouldn't be an issue.
Who said anything about _one_ countertop appliance? With a Canadian split,
you can run a 1200W toaster and 1200W electric kettle (or electric frypan or...)
simultaneously on a single duplex receptacle. No need to install something as
potentially "industrial looking" as a quad.
Minimum Canadian code (minimal counter length) was 60A (four 15A circuits
arranged as two split duplex receptacles). Now it's 40A (two 20A unsplit
receptacles).
[Not counting builtin microwave either - that's supposed to be a dedicated
circuit, just like yours. Doesn't have to be 20A tho. Fridge, garburator,
dishwasher each a dedicated circuit too. With some minor permissible addons
(clocks etc). CEC is stricter on dedicated kitchen circuits than the NEC.
Or at least it was.]
You can do the same trick with splits - remembering that the neutrals
on the split have to be split too (four current carrying conductors
into the box) - you have to split _both_ the neutral and hots on the line side
of the GFCI outlet pair. But that starts to get obnoxious. When the kitchen
gets reno'd, I _may_ splurge on dual GFCI breakers. And make 'em 20A while
I'm at it ;-) Same as your quads, but in just one receptacle ;-)
--
Chris Lewis,
Age and Treachery will Triumph over Youth and Skill
I like "industrial looking", and at any rate, it doesn't have to be a
"quad", it can simply be another duplex a few feet away on a separate
circuit.
It's not really a built in microwave, just a dedicated shelf space for a
regular one. Fridge is indeed another separate 20A circuit. Disposal and
dishwasher each share (separately) one of the 20A circuits feeding a
"quad".
I like my quads, particularly with the fixed use items in my kitchen
that take up outlets - wall wart for cat water fountain dish, wall wart
for cordless phone base, and night light - there go three outlet spaces
right there.
They're required to be dedicated circuits here (DW officially, disposal
"usually"), and you can't share kitchen counter outlets with anything
else regardless.
The older "split receptacle" requirement was that you could put
at most two split duplex receptacles on a dual breaker, you
couldn't put the two split receptacles adjacent to each other on
a counter, and every kitchen had to have at least two splits.
Eg: on a short counter requiring two receptacles, they had to be
different dual circuits. I assume they're doing the same thing
with the new single 20A/GFCI version.
That's what "hexes" are for ;-) [6-way receptacle blocks that
plug into a receptacle.]
They have the advantage of not being there if you don't need 'em. Most
(all?) are even compatible with split duplex receptacles -> meaning
three outlets each on two circuits.
--
Chris Lewis,
Age and Treachery will Triumph over Youth and Skill
It's hinky in my book, and I wouldn't wire it that way.
It avoids having 240V on a device where most people expect only 120V.
I'm fine with cycling through poles / phases box to box, but I don't
like it within a single box in a residential application where joe bozo
might mess with it. People blow things up with some regularity in
industrial environments with three phase "wild leg" delta service, and
in an industrial environment they're supposed to have a clue. Give joe
bozo homeowner an unexpected red wire in the box and he's likely to blow
stuff up too. I think it's an unnecessary risk in a residential
environment.
Fine, don't wire it that way -- but don't tell others it's a bad solution,
just because you don't like/understand it.
So how, exactly, is that an issue? You can't plug a *single* device into both
sockets of a duplex receptacle at once. Each socket has only 120V; that there
is a 240V potential between the two hots is of no relevance whatever.
I'd love to hear your explanation of how this will "blow stuff up."
--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)
I understand it, and I recommend against using it in a residential
environment for a good reason.
It has plenty of relevance. See below.
It has a decent potential to "blow stuff up", when Joe Bozo homeowner
yanks on the vacuum cleaner cord, cracks the receptacle and goes to
replace it. Joe Bozo homeowner who has no business being in the box to
begin with and doesn't remember which wire went where. I've seen some
pretty screwed up stuff like that and I see no good reason to add this
risk when simply installing a separate box and outlet for the $2.50 will
eliminate that risk.
That's not a problem with the solution, it's a problem with the
problem - and Joe Bozo is the problem - split circuit or not he's got
about a 90% chance of screwing something up.
--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com
I actually bought an old house and rewired it to my satisfaction, only
to find that the previous owner, a knowledgeable individual IMO, had someone
helping him (teenage son probly) who had wired outlets by pushing the wires
into the little slots instead of the holes on those cheap push-in
receptacles! I guess you'd call him Joe Bozo, Jr.
That's probably better actually. It wouldn't have the sharp edge to keep
the wire from pulling out, but it would have better contact pressure
over a larger contact area.
I've got a good one. I discovered, BEFORE I connected the power to the
breaker box, that someone connected the 220V water heater by using 2 15A
breakers. Really confused me when I had an extra breaker in the box.
If Joe Bozo homeowner doesn't have enough sense to turn the breaker off before
he sets about replacing the receptacle, and doesn't pay any attention to which
wires go where -- there are much larger problems than having an Edison circuit
in the box.
That's just nonsense. Having only 120V present in the box does nothing to
eliminate the risk caused by homeowners who are stupid enough to work on live
circuits without knowing what they're doing.
You're seeing the wrong problem here.
--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)
I wouldn't expect to need to flip two breakers to kill a single outlet. I'd
discover it because I check to see if the wires are hot after I flip a
breaker and before I start messing around with things. A multimeter, neon
tester or if all fails I short the wires I would rather have a shower of
sparks than get 'bitten'.
And you wouldn't need to, if the circuit was installed in compliance with the
NEC -- which *requires* a double-pole breaker if both legs are connected to
the same device.
--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)
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