A 20 amp circuit must be wired with 12 guage wire according to "code". A 14 guage wire would be too small to carry the potential 20 amps. Doesn't that mean that my alarm clock (with a little skinny wire) is a danger?
Why do I ask?
I just purchased some 120 volt, under-cabinet lights. They come with plugs. Can I legally directly wire these in a box, or do I have to use the plugs that come with them.
Thanks!
I don't think you can wire lamp wire directly to a box because then they become part of the house and that type of wire is not code.
This sounds like another troll, the idea is stupid, just plug the things in as god intended.
You did not say what state you were in, but these lights are very low wattage and therefore low amperage. If you use the proper sized pigtail connector, you can safely connect it into a receptacle box but it is not recommended. Why don't you plug them in?
You are talking about the difference between branch circuit conductors, where the load may be virtually anything and a fixture wire to a predetermined load. An 18 ga wire will trip the breaker on a short circuit.
Not really. Circuit breakers are there to protect the house wiring, not the stuff you plug into the outlets.
That's prohibited by the National Electrical Code. Whether it's legal or not depends on whether the Code has the force of law where you live.
It dies bring out a great point, all those light gauge wires on a 15 or
20 amp breaker can cause a fire in the right circumstance.all plugs of light gauge wire things should have a internal fuse
Maybe like the fused plugs used for most holiday lights now.
Only related to show that some normal things are dangerous:
I used to work at Bethlehem Steel and one of the guys in the mills, not on the floor but in a control room I think, got killed by a table radio. After that they insisted that everyone, even the people in the office, use nothing but 3-prong appliances. Some people had radios, I had a fan. Etc. (I brought in a transistor radio. Don't remember about the fan. I could have added a ground cord to my fan, but there's more to the story.).
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