new circuit questions
#1
05-09-03, 09:16 AM
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: USA
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new circuit questions
Hi,
I just had a new panel & meter installed to replace an old 30A fuse setup. The old box is now just a junction box with conduit running to the the new panel. The old circuits in the house were left alone.
I'd like to run several new circuits to get the major appliances (washer, dryer,fridge) off the old wires and get them grounded to the new panel. None of the outlets in the house are grounded. I'm still in the planning stages, but I have a few questions.
1) How do I get the new circuits into the new panel? The panel is outside and is surface mounted to a stucco wall. If the wires run into the side of the panel, there will be exposed NM where it exits the panel and goes into the wall. I don't think my inspector will let that pass.
2) Should I drill into the back of the new box through the stucco? That sounds wrong too.
3) How about conduit out the bottom of the box and then through the wall and into the crawl space? If I do this, how big of conduit can I run? Eventually I can see all the circuits in the house would enter the panel via that conduit. Does the NEC allow you to run NM in conduit? I've heard that it may
cause the wires to overheat?
4) There is a crawl space vent below the panel. Can I use that to run the conduit into the house? The guy that did the panel ran the grounding line through it to get to the water main.
5) If I run conduit, do I need a box in the crawl space where it ends and the circuits fan out? Or can I just staple the wires to the floor joists near the end of the pipe? It seems odd to me to have NM just running out of the conduit without restraint.
6) I have a gas dryer, can I run a single 20A circuit to run it and the washer? The book I have says the washer and dryer must be on separate circuits, but I think that is just for electric dryers?
7) Should the washer/dryer or frig be on GFCI recepticals? It seems safer to me, but I have not heard either way.
Sorry for all the random questions and thanks in advance for answers.
S.
I just had a new panel & meter installed to replace an old 30A fuse setup. The old box is now just a junction box with conduit running to the the new panel. The old circuits in the house were left alone.
I'd like to run several new circuits to get the major appliances (washer, dryer,fridge) off the old wires and get them grounded to the new panel. None of the outlets in the house are grounded. I'm still in the planning stages, but I have a few questions.
1) How do I get the new circuits into the new panel? The panel is outside and is surface mounted to a stucco wall. If the wires run into the side of the panel, there will be exposed NM where it exits the panel and goes into the wall. I don't think my inspector will let that pass.
2) Should I drill into the back of the new box through the stucco? That sounds wrong too.
3) How about conduit out the bottom of the box and then through the wall and into the crawl space? If I do this, how big of conduit can I run? Eventually I can see all the circuits in the house would enter the panel via that conduit. Does the NEC allow you to run NM in conduit? I've heard that it may
cause the wires to overheat?
4) There is a crawl space vent below the panel. Can I use that to run the conduit into the house? The guy that did the panel ran the grounding line through it to get to the water main.
5) If I run conduit, do I need a box in the crawl space where it ends and the circuits fan out? Or can I just staple the wires to the floor joists near the end of the pipe? It seems odd to me to have NM just running out of the conduit without restraint.
6) I have a gas dryer, can I run a single 20A circuit to run it and the washer? The book I have says the washer and dryer must be on separate circuits, but I think that is just for electric dryers?
7) Should the washer/dryer or frig be on GFCI recepticals? It seems safer to me, but I have not heard either way.
Sorry for all the random questions and thanks in advance for answers.
S.
#2
05-09-03, 07:10 PM
questions 1-5 I think I can answer in one suggestion. This is what i would do; Run 2- 1 1/4" pvc pipes out the bottom of the panel and run them into the crawl space. Mount a 12x12x4 pvc j-box on the end of each. Now that you have pipe all the way to this point there is no need to run nm-b in the conduit, you can simply use individual THHN conductors. This should give you plenty of room in the two pipes and boxes for any circuits you plan on re-running in the course of your remodelling.
Make sure you seal all penetrations you make in the stucco really well.
question #6, I see no problem plugging a washer and an electric dryer into the same outlet on the same circuit. After all, the code says nothing about a "washer" circuit, its actually referred to as the "laundry" circuit which i see the dryer as being a part of.
Question #7, Absolutly not on the refer. If your gone for a couple days and the gfi trips, your freezer could defrost and cause a huge mess, its not required by code. As for the laundry receptacle, it only needs to be gfi protected if its near a sink and its not a single receptacle for one appliance.
Make sure you seal all penetrations you make in the stucco really well.
question #6, I see no problem plugging a washer and an electric dryer into the same outlet on the same circuit. After all, the code says nothing about a "washer" circuit, its actually referred to as the "laundry" circuit which i see the dryer as being a part of.
Question #7, Absolutly not on the refer. If your gone for a couple days and the gfi trips, your freezer could defrost and cause a huge mess, its not required by code. As for the laundry receptacle, it only needs to be gfi protected if its near a sink and its not a single receptacle for one appliance.
