I have a 1956 built house. The circuits in the kitchen are all on one circuit, the stuff on this 20 amp circuit is:
- Kitchen lights and 2 other outlets in the kitchen
- 2 outlets on the N wall of the kitchen above the countertop on each side of the sink.
- Outlet which the refrigerator is on.
- range hood
I saw this statement on this site
http://www.buildmyowncabin.com/electrical/wiring-code.html and now I am wondering if I should be using 12-3 and a 20 amp double pole breaker to change the wire in the kitchen. I am putting in a new circuit for #2, the 2 outlets on the N wall.
"Outlets above the kitchen counter (for countertop appliances) should be fed by both circuits, not wired to just one circuit. The circuits for these outlets should not supply any other lights or outlets in the house. - See more at:
http://www.buildmyowncabin.com/electrical/wiring-code.html#sthash.6HY5hLrr.dpuf"
First, I am
NOT a fan of using **/3 cabling to feed multiple 120V circuits, especially in situations where those circuits could wind up being heavily loaded. Each circuit should be fed via its own **/2 cable of appropriate AWG. I'll further explain the "why" below.
Next, with respect to "splitting" the duplex outlets and feeding each socket from a different circuit, note that they say "should", not "must". Whether or not it's a good idea for your particular Kitchen will depend in part on exactly how you intend to use those outlets. The idea behind the recommendation is the fact that many folks tend to "cluster" their watt-hungry countertop appliances -- toaster, coffee pot, blender, etc. -- in one general area, which means they wind up all getting plugged into the same duplex outlet (or at least just the two or three closest ones). If you have, say, a toaster and a coffee pot fed from the same circuit, and you're making breakfast... You can easily exceed the capacity of that circuit. But if the Duplex is split and fed from separate circuits, that potential problem is eliminated.
OTOH, if you split your duplexes, then (as is typical) feed all the top outlets from one circuit and all the bottom ones from a second circuit, you could just as easily have a problem if you scatter your appliances around the room, but wind up plugging both the toaster and the coffee pot (plus perhaps a countertop griddle for pancakes, and maybe a few other things) into (for example) the bottom socket of those various duplexes.
Best practice is that EVERY single outlet (i.e., each half of each duplex outlet) which is located where an appliance might conceivably be plugged into it (i,e, those serving countertops) is fed directly from it's own dedicated breaker, with nothing else whatsoever on that circuit. But this is rarely done in real life, partly because it makes for a LOT of breakers (and a lot of wire) by the time you put in enough outlets to satisfy the inspector.
Beyond this issue, your current setup would not meet code for several other reasons. Depending on how much of it you replace, you MAY be required to bring the whole room up to current code. Something to think about before you start tearing into things.
You need about 6 120v circuits in a kitchen nowadays. You can get there with 3) 12/3 cables.
You can. But I wouldn't. See below.
So Zeke is this what you are saying:
This is the configuration of my kitchen: There are 4 outlets in this kitchen: 2 on N wall above counter on each side of the sink, one on the E wall at floor level & one on S wall above a small counter that the fridge plugs into.
1a. a 20 amp circuit for every outlet? or a 20 amp circuit for every outlet above the counter? w 1 GFCI?
You can probably get away with feeding the outlet that is low on the East wall from one of your common lighting circuits, as the odds are against a kitchen appliance being plugged in there. It would still be "better" on its own circuit, but it's not a major issue.
All outlets in potentially "wet" locations MUST be protected by a GFCI device. That device can either be built into the outlet itself, or into the breaker feeding that circuit from the panel.
IF you are running more than one (duplex) outlet off a given breaker (i.e., "daisy-chaining"), then you can also GFCI-protect them all by putting a GFCI outlet in the "first" location (i.e., the one to which the wire from the breaker panel connects directly), then feeding the other outlet(s) from the GFCI outlet (they have terminals on the back for just this purpose). Still, it's neater and cleaner to do this at the breaker panel, which also guards against any faults which may lie/develop in the line feeding that first outlet from the panel.
1b. Or could I put the 2 outlets on N wall that are above the counter on the same 20 amp circuit (w 1 GFCI)?
I wouldn't. Think of all those countertop appliances.
2.The outlet on the W wall at floor level would stay on the circuit it is on?
Probably.
3. Outlet on the S wall above the counter would go on a new circuit?
Probably. While you're at it, get an "old work" box, and give the refrigerator AT LEAST its own outlet, located directly behind the 'fridge, where it won't show. Better yet, make it a dedicated circuit (not so much because the load is large -- most refers don't draw all THAT much; but because if you pop a breaker because of whatever else might be on that circuit, your food starts going bad.
4. No DW or disposal right now but put in a new circuit for DW & separate new circuit for disposal?
That would be prudent.
5. And leave the rest of the kitchen on the circuits they are on.
The microwave, if any, MUST have its own dedicated circuit.
The lighting can probably all be on one circuit, unless you've gone way over the top on that. Still, it is always a good idea to split the lighting load in any one room between at least two different circuits, even if those circuits also handle some of the lighting in another room. This way, if/when you pop a breaker, you won't be left totally in the dark.
I am talking 2 circuits, just for recepticals in the kitchen, when I was planning out my kitchen wiring, I was going to go with 12/3, I mentioned this to the electical inspector before I started and he urged me to use 12/2 running two completely separate circuits for the recepticals. I dont remember why he would rather see two complete circuits but thats how i did it.
Your Inspector did you a big favor with that "urging", even if it wasn't absolutely required by code.
The reason for this is that, when you "siamese" two 120V circuits onto an "**/3" cable, both circuits must share the single Neutral conductor. This effectively cuts the REAL current-carrying capacity of those two circuits in half, if there is any possibility of their being used simultaneously. It might meet code (at least in some places); but I would
NEVER do it if given the choice. IMCO, the ONLY proper places to use "**/3" cable is for the "Traveler" lines between two "3-Way" wall switches, and for a 220/240V outlet/device which does NOT require a Neutral (and that might not even meet code any more -- I'm not sure).
When you say 12/2 it is one black wire, one white wire and one copper ground correct?
Correct.
You will use 12/2 for outlets and lights with only one switch. If you use two or more light switches for a light that's were 12/3 would be used.
Well... That's an oversimplification, at best. When wiring "3-Way" switches, **/3 cable gets used between the two switches in order to provide the extra "Traveller" line. But **/2 still gets used to feed power to the first switch, and to feed the load(s) from the second switch.
When you run a circuit you need to determine the load so that the breaker will not be overloaded. The average large micro wave is 1100 watts which should be on its own circuit or you will make many trips to the breaker box.
As you figure you circuit load keep in mind that you will realistically only run one maybe two counter top appliance at a time. Say a coffee maker and toaster but if you add a pancake griddle then the outlet is going to pop again. Start by drawing out your lay out and set your outlet up so that you daisy chain them along the counter top with two circuits leap froging them over each other.
As I said above, while some would consider it overkill, the BEST way to avoid such issues, now or in the future, is daisy-chain NOTHING; instead, give each individual outlet its own run of (at least) 12/2 (10/2 if it's a long run), fed from its own breaker.
Thanks, I understand where you are comming from.
There are only 2 circuits over the counter top that I want to rewire, the counter top is not that long and not really that much room to put a bunch of **** (appliances) on the counter. It will be hard enough to get the wire to the outlets anyway, that wall is cantilevered out about 18-24" anyway, I'll have to crawl up into the bay almost...LOL
The difficulty and inconvenience of the job might inspire you to take shortcuts and/or make compromises you otherwise wouldn't. Don't fall into that trap. Do the job right, and do it ONCE.
Speaking of microwave, I have it plugged into the outlet on my 40" stove( Not sure what year it is from but it is cool, has push buttons and 2 ovens). The microwave is circa 1988 (yep had it new since then....no kids) and is only 700 watts
That is a VERY bad idea. Fix this while you're doing everything else.
