Basement utility room electrical

[signcrafter]

Cleaning up the old stuff and redoing the utility room in the basement. This room has the furnace and water heater(gas), water utilities, a toilet and wash sink, washer and dryer(gas), fridge and then a light or two(LED). So for electrical I'm going to need a circuit for the furnace, and then outlets for fridge, washer, gas dryer and lights. Fridge is 11.6A, dryer is 6A and washer is 8A.

My thought is to run a 12-3 wire for two 20A circuits in there and then another dedicated circuit for the furnace. So thinking to put the fridge on it's own circuit and then the washer and dryer on a circuit together since they are only 14 amps together. The washer and dryer are allowed to be together I believe? Then I could put the lights on either of those circuits. Or if it would be better I could put the lights on with the rest of the basement lights? I'm planning on redoing the rest of the basement in the near future so could just run another 15A circuit for the utility room lights for now and plan on tying the other basement lights into that circuit when I do them if that is a better way to do it? Does my plan for the circuits sound good or would you do it another way?

The washer will be next to the sink so I think that has to be a GFCI outlet right? So should I run the wire to washer first and then to dryer so they are both GFCI protected then?

Does the fridge need to be GFCI protected being that it's in a basement? Is there a code that the outlets should be at a certain height? My plan is to put them just above the washer and dryer so they are accessible. The walls are block so planning to use 4 square boxes with conduit running up to the floor joists. Is that fine to run romex from the panel in the floor joists and then stick it down the conduit? I know romex isn't supposed to go in conduit but it's only going to be a couple feet down the wall.

If I wanted another outlet in there just to be able to plug something in if needed can I put that on with one of the other circuits? If so which circuit? And is there any code as to what height this outlet has to be?

The furnace says "max amps 12.0, FLA 11.0, HP 1.0", should I do a 15 or 20 amp circuit for it? Right now there is a 20 amp but the romex is run sloppy so want to redo it anyway so could do either 15 or 20 amp.

 

[exranger06]

Code requires a 20 amp circuit dedicated to laundry area receptacles. You can put the washer and drier on the same circuit, but you're not allowed to put any lights on this circuit, and you're not allowed to put outlets that are in other areas on this circuit. ALL basement receptacles need to be GFCI protected.

Putting the Romex in the conduit down the wall is perfectly fine. There's a common misconception that Romex in conduit is a code violation. It is NOT.

The furnace could be on a 15 amp circuit, but it's right at the tipping point of needing a 20 amp circuit. I would use a 20 amp. That gives you a little wiggle room if you ever need to replace the furnace, and the new one uses more amps.

The fridge can be on a 15 or 20 amp circuit. I would put any other "general purpose" receptacles on the fridge circuit. I'd put the lights on their own 15 amp circuit and put the other basement lights on that circuit too.

 

[signcrafter]

Code requires a 20 amp circuit dedicated to laundry area receptacles. You can put the washer and drier on the same circuit, but you're not allowed to put any lights on this circuit, and you're not allowed to put outlets that are in other areas on this circuit. ALL basement receptacles need to be GFCI protected.

Putting the Romex in the conduit down the wall is perfectly fine. There's a common misconception that Romex in conduit is a code violation. It is NOT.

The furnace could be on a 15 amp circuit, but it's right at the tipping point of needing a 20 amp circuit. I would use a 20 amp. That gives you a little wiggle room if you ever need to replace the furnace, and the new one uses more amps.

The fridge can be on a 15 or 20 amp circuit. I would put any other "general purpose" receptacles on the fridge circuit. I'd put the lights on their own 15 amp circuit and put the other basement lights on that circuit too.

Perfect. Thank You.

I got to thinking that if I use a duplex recepticle for the washer there will already be an extra plug in if ever needed. This washer and dryer are just for extra dirty stuff like dog beds and shop stuff. We have our "everyday use" washer and dryer upstairs. So these will only get used once a month or so. So that shouldn't be an issue at all.

I will do a 20 amp circuit on the furnace then and run a separate 15 amp circuit for basement lights. Thanks again.

 

[SarcasticDwarf]

Then I could put the lights on either of those circuits. Or if it would be better I could put the lights on with the rest of the basement lights?

Use one or more circuits that are dedicated to the lights. Even if you are not required to by code, it makes things much easier as you will never lose both lights and outlets when a breaker trips. I would suggest using #14 with a 15A breaker for the lighting as many interior lights are not designed for the thickness of #12.

The walls are block so planning to use 4 square boxes with conduit running up to the floor joists. Is that fine to run romex from the panel in the floor joists and then stick it down the conduit? I know romex isn't supposed to go in conduit but it's only going to be a couple feet down the wall.

This is the correct way to do it, just make sure the conduit is appropriately anchored and has bushings where required. You *might* get away with running a bare wire down the wall, but the inspector is just as likely to require you to either sleeve it in conduit or use metal clad cable in order to "protect from physical damage."

 

[signcrafter]

Use one or more circuits that are dedicated to the lights. Even if you are not required to by code, it makes things much easier as you will never lose both lights and outlets when a breaker trips. I would suggest using #14 with a 15A breaker for the lighting as many interior lights are not designed for the thickness of #12.



This is the correct way to do it, just make sure the conduit is appropriately anchored and has bushings where required. You *might* get away with running a bare wire down the wall, but the inspector is just as likely to require you to either sleeve it in conduit or use metal clad cable in order to "protect from physical damage."

Where all are bushings required? Just at the top of the conduit where the romex enters or inside the box also? And I already mounted the box and conduit on the wall after my original post so no bare wires will be run down the wall.

 

[mike93lx]

Where all are bushings required? Just at the top of the conduit where the romex enters or inside the box also? And I already mounted the box and conduit on the wall after my original post so no bare wires will be run down the wall.

I have always used a NM clamp where romex enters conduit.

Hopefully a bushing isn't required in the box as I have never used one on connectors below 1". At least with NM, the sheathing would offer protection, right?

Make sure you leave the jacket on while in the conduit. The individual conductors are not rated to be bare

 

[wyliesdiesels]

Use one or more circuits that are dedicated to the lights. Even if you are not required to by code, it makes things much easier as you will never lose both lights and outlets when a breaker trips. I would suggest using #14 with a 15A breaker for the lighting as many interior lights are not designed for the thickness of #12.



This is the correct way to do it, just make sure the conduit is appropriately anchored and has bushings where required. You *might* get away with running a bare wire down the wall, but the inspector is just as likely to require you to either sleeve it in conduit or use metal clad cable in order to "protect from physical damage."

MC cable has the same protection requirements as NM

 

[brewchief]

Does the furnace have a max overcurrant listed? Normally they will, if it's 15 you can still run #12 and just put it on a 15 amp breaker.

There should be a receptacle within 25' of the furnace for service.

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