Hello
Our family room’s existing outlets are on the same circuit as my washer (20amp). Can I (or is it safe to) add lighting on this circuit? Also, some thing curious… all the outlets are rated 15amp but they are on 20amp (12g) wire! Why did they do that. Is that even legal? The house was constructed in 1968.
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Replies
Yes, you can have 15 amp receptacles on 20 amp circuits as long as there is more than one receptacle on circuit. And the common duplex receptacle counts as 2.
The 15 amp duplex recptacle is rated for 20 amp pass through and 20 amps total between the 2 halves. And I doubt that you have any applicances that have a 20 amp plug. Might not have even ever seen one.
So that part is safe.
And it is safe to add a light to a 20 amp circuit assuming that it is not unwise loaded to capacity.
However, current code requires a 20 amp circuit for the laundry room and limited to receptacles in the laundry room.
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A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
Thanks for your response bill. Actually I was planning on adding 6 recessed lights (max 75w) which I calculated to about 3.75 amps. I'm guessing washing machines don't pull more than 10amps or so. Well within the 20amp limit. What do you think?
I think that the code was written so that you could also operate an iron on the same circuit as the washer.As I said it would not meet current code, but I don't see any safety issue with adding the lights..
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A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
As I said it would not meet current code
Given your response to one of my recent posts, I have to ask you: what code and what jurisdiction exactly are you referring to here? How do you know that your statement is true in the OP's area?
Edit to add: http://forums.taunton.com/tp-breaktime/messages?msg=97205.1
Ed
Edited 11/24/2007 5:21 pm ET by edlee
Dat true. But I have never heard of any local amendments that affect the washing machine circuit. But there might have been.However, I have heard of ones that do limit lights to 15 amp circuits and others that don't allow anything less than #12 wire in a house, and others that limit the number of receptacles on a circuit.But I have never seen any specific amendments for these and only gotten it from the posters comments. Those might have been local inspectors "imaginery" codes..
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A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.