Help needed with some wiring


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Old 02-02-14, 05:41 PM
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Help needed with some wiring

Hello to all, and thank you for taking your time to clear some doubts i have.
I am currently going to install two 30 amp breakers. One is for some equipment that requires 25 amps. No help needed on that one. the second one though, i need to wire an outlet and a light switch connecting to a regular bulb. How can i wire them so that the outlet is "hot" at all times and connect the switch from that and/or the light bulb?

Thanks in advance

By the way i live in Puerto Rico, same guidelines as U.S.
 
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Old 02-02-14, 05:58 PM
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I assume the bulb is 120 volt. You can not use a 30 amp breaker for a 120 volt light. If this is 240 but the bulb is 120 there are more reasons why it can't be done. Tell us in detail what you are doing.
 
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Old 02-02-14, 06:08 PM
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I'm going to connect a small a/c unit to the receptacle as well and maybe some small electronic equipment such as a laptop and misc. That is the main reason i am installing a 30 amp breaker as well. Would it make a lot of difference if i install a 20 amp breaker instead of the 30 amp?
 
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Old 02-02-14, 06:13 PM
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General use receptacles and lights cannot be on a circuit greater than 20 amps.

If you are worried about tripping a breaker install two circuits.
 
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Old 02-02-14, 06:22 PM
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Ok, i'll go 20 amps for that one, but back to my original question; How can i wire them so that the outlet is "hot" at all times and connect the switch from that and/or the light bulb?
 
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Old 02-02-14, 07:17 PM
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back to my original question; How can i wire them so that the outlet is "hot" at all times and connect the switch from that and/or the light bulb?
Run 12-2/G cable from your panel to the box for the receptacle, from the receptacle to the box for the light switch, and from the light switch to the box for the light.

At the receptacle, splice the grounds together. Add one pigtail to connect to the receptacle and a second one to bond the box to ground, if the box is metal. Connect the ground pigtail(s). Splice the two white neutral wires together and add a white pigtail to connect to one of the silver terminal screws on the receptacle. Splice the two black hot wires together and add a black pigtail to connect to one of the brass terminal screws on the receptacle. Tighten all five terminal screws and mount and cover the receptacle.

At the switch, splice the grounds together. Add one pigtail to connect to the switch and a second one to bond the box to ground, if the box is metal. Connect the ground pigtail(s). Splice the two white neutral wires together and push that splice into the back of the box. Connect the two black wires to the two brass terminal screws on the switch. Mount and cover the switch.

At the light, connect the ground wire to the box, if it's metal, and to any ground wires on the fixture. Splice the fixture wires to the white and black wires from the switch, color-to-color. Mount and lamp the fixture.

In your panel, install a new 20A circuit breaker made for use in that panel. Terminate the ground wire to the ground bar or the combination ground/neutral bar. Terminate the neutral wire to the neutral bar or the combination ground/neutral bar. Terminate the black hot wire to the load terminal on your new breaker. Cover the panel. Turn the new breaker on.
 
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Old 02-02-14, 07:18 PM
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Wire the switch and light after the receptacle.
 
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Old 02-04-14, 07:56 AM
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See Power Coming In At Light - With 2-Way Switch and Outlet.

It's similar if the power is coming in at the switch or receptacle, just pigtail so the black runs straight to the receptacle instead of to the switch first.

edit; didn't realize the topic was two days old. Project is probably done already.
 
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Old 02-04-14, 08:48 AM
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See Power Coming In At Light - With 2-Way Switch and Outlet.
The writer seems to be American or Canadian but there is no such thing as a 2-way switch in either country and receptacle not outlet is the correct terminology for the device pictured.
 
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Old 02-04-14, 08:54 AM
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The writer seems to be American or Canadian but there is no such thing as a 2-way switch in either country and receptacle not outlet is the correct terminology for the device pictured.
While true, and we should all strive to use correct words (which is why I used "receptacle", and only used incorrect terms in a direct quote from that site) to aid in communication, isn't the diagram and advice otherwise correct? If it is not, I will gladly get rid of my post so that incorrect information is not being conveyed.
 
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Old 02-04-14, 10:33 AM
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Yes the diagrams or correct but my point is you shouldn't trust alleged experts if they don't even know the basics. If I wanted to nit pick I could also point out he shows the flow of AC as one directional in one diagram.
 
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Old 02-04-14, 10:42 AM
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my point is you shouldn't trust alleged experts if they don't even know the basics.
Very good point.

I know the correct wiring and did an online search to find a diagram that would illustrate it for the Original Poster. My fault for not continuing the search until I found a site that had correct language.

To be fair; while incorrect, the writer for that site did use the two most popular incorrect terms that the common citizen would use (outlet = receptacle, two-way = "one switch fewer than a three-way"), and viewing the electricity as one way does not impact the illustration (but is still incorrect, and thinking of it as DC instead of AC can lead to confusion in more complex runs).
 
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Old 02-04-14, 11:35 AM
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You should have heard what my father, a former concrete inspector, would say when someone said cement sidewalk. I think a bit of that is in my genes. But enough O/T before the mods ban us.
 
 

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