Wiring a 4 way switch with bipolar outlets
I’m remodeling our home and have retained a electrican to do the electrical work. Unfortunately, things have changed and he’s now having trouble getting on site. In his absence I’ve started to pull wires so that he gets here he can focus on twisting them. This doesn’t really bother me as the budget has been taking a beating. Anyways, in one room I’d like to have a 4-way switch. Pulling the wires for the switch seems to be fairly straight forward: 2 wire supply to a 3 way switch, 3 wire between the 3 way and a 4 way switch, and then 3 wire between the 4 way switch and a second 3 way. Easy breezy. However, I’d like to switch one plug in a duplex outlet while the second plug remains hot. Don’t know if this is the correct term, but I’ve always call these bi-polar outlets. To wire an outlet like this I need to have a second hot wire run to the outlet. To the best of my knowledge they don’t offer Romex with a 4 wire. I’m wondering if I should pull two 2 wires between the switches and use some colored electrical tape to designate them or can I pull a single strand wire next to the 3 wire? If it’s allowed (which I don’t think it is) what type of single strand wire would I need?
Replies
Ignoring ground wires (which we always do, when counting wires) you only need three wires to run power between split outlets -- one neutral, one hot, and one switched. But you do need an extra wire in the switch circuit, if you're feeding from the end farthest from the breaker (but not if you connect the outlet wires to the switches at the end closest to the breaker.)
Romex is available in up to seven wires/cable, from what I've heard. Some inspectors allow you to use two 2x cables in place of a 4x, and some won't. It depends on how you read the NEC, IIRC.
And a little Depakote will fix up the bipolar outlets, if they're not too depressed.
And a little Depakote will fix up the bipolar outlets, if they're not too depressed.
At least it would make sure that they were level ...
I used those bipolar outlets once
and they were problematic. Sometimes they wanted to work, other times not.
Actually Romex
is available with 4 insulated, current carrying conductors. I see / use it most commonly powering bathroom fans which contain a fan, light and night light; or, fan, heater and light.
Marked 12-2-2 w/ ground. Contains black, red, white with a red stripe, and a plain white plus a bare ground. Have not seen (or looked for) other gauges. I can actually buy this at a local HD, sold by the foot or in coils.
Running a single unsheathed conductor would be a no-no unless in conduit.
Like you said, two parallel runs of xx-2 with ground would solve your problem, just recode one of the whites to another color in all boxes involved. I would use blue to avoid confusion at the switch box.
I am not aware of a code issue with the two parallel runs, but you could check with your local inspector or your electrician since he will be handling the inspections.
Jim
Unfortunately my HD can only special order 14-2-2. Looks like I'll be making two pulls. Thanks for the help.
btw- I was pleasantly surprised today when my electrican stop by. Sadly he was only there for about 5 minutes. He did point out one thing that I'm not very happy to hear: Because this is a remodel, I don't have too many spots where I can install the vertical runs. I have two locations where I've installed most of them. Because clearances are tight, I cored a hole and was stringing all the wires through the one hole. He wants all of these vertical runs to be through an individual hole. One hole, one wire. This means I have to repull almost every wire. A bigger issue is that other than making swiss cheese of my framing, I'm thinking that there might not be enough space to punch all of these holes. I mean if the concern is fire stopping, why can't I just caulk my one hole instead of two dozen little ones?
Code does not like to see you bundle wires together. It's subject to interpretation (I think most would say that 2 wires per hole is fine) but a bunch of wires bundled together can cause overheating.
I had heard of this requirement. I asked my electrician and he said that horizontal runs would be fine. Stuff as many wires in a hole as I could. Vertical runs, could only be one wire per hole. Initially he mentioned penetrations through the vapor barrier, so I thought the restriction applied to the energy code. Didn't realize that he was referring to the top and bottom plates. I'm also finding that as I'm pulling wires that they're wearing through the outer jacket. Will this be cause for a rejection?