Electrical Questions

I have several electrical questions:

  1. Is it allowable to connect 12 gauge wire to a 15amp breaker in the service panel ?

  1. How many half height single pole breakers are allowed in the main panel rated for 200amp ?

  2. I noticed something very interesting in a 3-way switch arrangement in my home. To power a receptacle, they grabbed an unswitched feed from the light fixture by connecting a black wire to both travelers in the box. Since there is always power on exactly one of them, this seems to work. Is this allowable ?

  1. Is it ok to wire more than 4 receptacles downstream from a GFCI outlet ?

Thanks...

Reply to
GeorgeSchaaf
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Yes.

As many as will fit.

Not sure on 3 &4.

By the way I noticed your name, we are probably distant cousins.

Reply to
Roger Shoaf

Sure, but you only run 15a through it. Sometimes you are required to use #12 to avoid voltage drop.

As many as you want. However, it will obviously still be good for just

200a.

As long as the neutral runs with it, I don't see why not. Someone could object that it violates a basic requirement that devices only be used for the purpose they were intended, but I can't see why this would be unsafe; assuming it is done reasonably.

Obviously you have to beware that you don't overload the circuit, but aside from that it is fine. Just beware that long circuit may be subject to problems and those problems can be hard to find. My house had one GFCI breaker, and they put 4 bathrooms and 3 outdoor outlets on it. When one outdoor outlet went bad and created a ground fault it was a real trip to find the problem; especially since I didn't even know it was on the breaker.

Reply to
Toller

Yes, it's called a loop switch.

It's fairly a common way to power a switch.

It also comes in handy when you want to switch half of an outlet.

Reply to
greg6755

Yes

It varies by panel and manufacturer. Check the labeling inside of the panel or the panel cover. It will tell you exactly how many are permitted. The maximum allowable circuit breakers (Thin or full size) in any panel is 42.

LOL. I've never seen that set up before. Off hand I can't think of any code violations, but by having the travelers connected isn't the 3-way function disabled?

Yes.

You're welcome.

John Grabowski

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Reply to
John Grabowski

How does it keep from shorting between the 2 travelers, preventing the light from turning off?

Reply to
Mark Lloyd

Reply to
Art Todesco

Not disputing you, just curious -- do you have a Code cite for that? I don't remember seeing that anywhere...

Reply to
Doug Miller

Yes.

That depends on the panel. Consult the manufacturer's label on the inside of the panel door.

Allowable, yes. Smart, no -- since both travelers are connected to the same black wire, the 3-way switching function is disabled.

Yes.

Reply to
Doug Miller
408.35

Reply to
RBM

In a normal 3-way switch set up one of the two travelers is either hot or dead and vice versa depending on the position of the 3-way switch handle. By connecting them together each will always be hot and as RBM pointed out the light will always be on.

Reply to
John Grabowski

Thanks -- I learned something new today.

Reply to
Doug Miller

No, I think you are misunderstanding him. (or I am reading too much into it) The light is wired normally to the common. A second device is wired to both travelers; as such it always has power, but does not affect the light controlled by the 3way switch.

Reply to
Toller

How can you connect something to both travelers and not have the travelers connected to each other? Suppose you connected one traveler to one brass screw on an outlet, then connected the second traveler to the other brass screw on an outlet? The only way to keep them separate would be to break off the middle tab on the outlet, but then the top and bottom of the outlet would alternate being hot.

Reply to
John Grabowski

Of course it affects the light: wiring a single wire to both travelers is exactly equivalent to shorting the travelers to each other. The light will always be on.

Draw yourself a diagram.

Reply to
Doug Miller

I think the hot wire from the receptacle is connected to ONE traveler and the neutral wire from the receptacle is connected to the OTHER traveler (not one wire connected to both travelers). Is that right?

This wouldn't work with the 3-ways connected the "right" way, but would work if they were wired a different way (where hot and neutral are connected to both switches, and the light to the common terminals).

BTW, that was the first way I knew to connect 3-ways, but had not actually connected any that way before learning it was unsafe (the light can be off and hot).

Reply to
Mark Lloyd

When Roger Shoaf first answered the question by saying " as many as will fit", should be a correct answer as panel manufacturers now, design the buss and rails to allow only a limited combination of breaker sizes in them, but many of the panels made in the sixties and seventies had nothing for preventing overloading . It seemed to me their main concern was keeping other manufactures breakers out of their panels

Reply to
RBM

good point, you couldn't.

Reply to
Toller

I always wondered why my box has two different seatings; to keep excessive halves out.

Reply to
Toller

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