15 amp breaker
#1
05-18-03, 08:41 PM
15 amp breaker
I cannot tell if the wire coming from a 15 amp breaker in my panel
is 12 g 0r 14 g.
I am installing recessed lights in my kitchen.
If it is 14 g, can I connect a 12 g wire to this 14 g wire?
Thanks,
Lucita
is 12 g 0r 14 g.
I am installing recessed lights in my kitchen.
If it is 14 g, can I connect a 12 g wire to this 14 g wire?
Thanks,
Lucita
#2
05-19-03, 06:31 AM
Member
Go to your local home improvement store and buy one foot of 14-gauge wire and one foot of 12-gauge wire. The cost is pennies. Compare those samples to what you have.
In most cities, you can connect 12-gauge wire to it whichever of the two sizes you have now. Of course, once you have the 12-gauge wire in your hand, it will be easy to tell what the existing stuff is. However, many people would suggest that it is bad form to connect 12-gauge to 14-gauge, since it may fool somebody later into thinking that all the wire on this circuit is 14 gauge.
In most cities, you can connect 12-gauge wire to it whichever of the two sizes you have now. Of course, once you have the 12-gauge wire in your hand, it will be easy to tell what the existing stuff is. However, many people would suggest that it is bad form to connect 12-gauge to 14-gauge, since it may fool somebody later into thinking that all the wire on this circuit is 14 gauge.
#3
05-19-03, 06:35 AM
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John is absolutely correct. To make clear though, it is not a code violation to connect #12 wire to a #14 nor connect #12 wire to a 15A circuit breaker according to national codes, your local codes may differ, but probably not.
