Wiring for New Range.
#1
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Wiring for New Range.
Hello all,
Starting my kitchen cabinets, need to get all the electrical done first. My home is a 1950's ranch, but the electric was completely redone in 1986, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that my 220v line had two hots, a neutral, and a bare ground, allowing me to install a 4 pronged outlet. However, the previous kitchen setup had a separate oven/cooktop configuration. The wiring was ran to the oven through the cabinet, and then a junction box was installed in the cabinet with a wire out to the cooktop through the cabinets. So all of the wiring was done outside of the wall. Is it safe/up to code for me to keep the wiring outside the wall in conduit as it comes up through the floor and mount the new outlet on the outside of the wall near the floor behind the range?
Second question is if I don't have enough slack in the wire to reach the new range location, is there any reason I couldn't mount a junction box in the basement before the wire heads up through the floor in order to extend the wire?
Is there anything else I should be cautious about? The breaker is a dual 50 amp. Anything else I should check on the wire (gauge, sheathing, etc)?
Thanks for the help!
Starting my kitchen cabinets, need to get all the electrical done first. My home is a 1950's ranch, but the electric was completely redone in 1986, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that my 220v line had two hots, a neutral, and a bare ground, allowing me to install a 4 pronged outlet. However, the previous kitchen setup had a separate oven/cooktop configuration. The wiring was ran to the oven through the cabinet, and then a junction box was installed in the cabinet with a wire out to the cooktop through the cabinets. So all of the wiring was done outside of the wall. Is it safe/up to code for me to keep the wiring outside the wall in conduit as it comes up through the floor and mount the new outlet on the outside of the wall near the floor behind the range?
Second question is if I don't have enough slack in the wire to reach the new range location, is there any reason I couldn't mount a junction box in the basement before the wire heads up through the floor in order to extend the wire?
Is there anything else I should be cautious about? The breaker is a dual 50 amp. Anything else I should check on the wire (gauge, sheathing, etc)?
Thanks for the help!
#2
Everything you propose is ok. Any and all J-boxes are required to remain accessible. They can be in a cabinet, behind the range, or behind an access panel, etc. The basement might be the best option.
Your wire should be #6 copper or #4 aluminum.
Your wire should be #6 copper or #4 aluminum.
#3
Be sure to check the installation manual for the stove. Only certain areas behind the stove have room for the receptacle to be mounted.
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Thanks for the replies guys. J-box is installed in basement, running new wiring now (6/3 nm-b with ground). Plenty of room behind the range as long as I keep the receptacle down by the floor. Only question (and i hate to ask something so elementary) is how to actually connect my wiring to the receptacle. Just want to make sure it's done right. Pictures below. Any help would be great.
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#7
And it doesn't matter which brass terminal gets red and which one gets black. Only the neutral and ground matter.
Also, a little tidbit I learned when installing my new range.. Mount the receptacle sideways at the floor (with the slots horizontal).. This makes it accessible when you pull the bottom drawer out, and you can plug it in from the front, instead of having to plug it in and then hop over the counter if you have a short pigtail..
Also, a little tidbit I learned when installing my new range.. Mount the receptacle sideways at the floor (with the slots horizontal).. This makes it accessible when you pull the bottom drawer out, and you can plug it in from the front, instead of having to plug it in and then hop over the counter if you have a short pigtail..
#8
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Also, a little tidbit I learned when installing my new range.. Mount the receptacle sideways at the floor (with the slots horizontal).. This makes it accessible when you pull the bottom drawer out, and you can plug it in from the front, instead of having to plug it in and then hop over the counter if you have a short pigtail..
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Thank you guys very much for the advice. However, my question is how do I physically attach the wires to the receptacle. The screws tighten down against a little metal tab and unless that is removed they don't seem to want to go all the way down to where is looks like the the wire would lay. Am I missing something?
#10
Those tabs should tilt out of the way and then you insert the conductors and tilt the tab back. Tighten the screws.
Play with it and you should see how it works.
Play with it and you should see how it works.
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Thanks pcboss, will mess with it when I get home. Just didn't want to have to go buy another one because a jammed I screw in somewhere it didn't belong.
Final question (I hope): I realized last night that when I went to Lowes to buy an extra 10 ft of wire to extend my run, what they gave me was 6/3 NM-B w/ground, but it is stranded....any problems connecting this to the existing solid wire?
Final question (I hope): I realized last night that when I went to Lowes to buy an extra 10 ft of wire to extend my run, what they gave me was 6/3 NM-B w/ground, but it is stranded....any problems connecting this to the existing solid wire?
#12
You need to use a properly sized connector rated for the conductor materials. Other than that there should be no issues. I would suggest a pre-insulated connector like a Polaris if a blue wire nut was not used.
The issue you may have is the size of the existing wiring. What size is it? Larger sizes are stranded and I suspect your old cable might be too small to use with the new range.
The issue you may have is the size of the existing wiring. What size is it? Larger sizes are stranded and I suspect your old cable might be too small to use with the new range.
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Got it all figured out, thanks guys so much for the help. As it turns out, I was wrong; the existing wire was multi-strand 6 gauge. Also, due to where I was moving the range, I ended up having enough existing wiring to go without any extensions (and still include an extra "coil" for any future movement/work). So I didn't even need to make any connections. I got the outlet connected properly and mounted securely to the wall, and the new range has been working great. Thanks again!