Connecting 120v receptacle to furnace


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Old 07-21-16, 09:18 PM
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Connecting 120v receptacle to furnace

Hey I'm posting a video with my question as soon as it uploads so basically I got a furnace and a outlet housing in-between said furnace and the wall some conduit running from outlet housing to furnace in the outlet housing the wires are joined and have caps on them am I right to assume that I can just turn off power from breaker and connect the outlet?
 
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Old 07-21-16, 09:25 PM
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Welcome to the forums.

Not quite sure what you are trying to do there. Typically the furnace is on its on circuit and nothing except for HVAC equipment should be added to it.

Hopefully the video sheds some light on the job.
 
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Old 07-21-16, 09:28 PM
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Thanks glad to be here and yea the video should explain it all hopefully you are here in 25 mins haha
 
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Old 07-21-16, 09:59 PM
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Old 07-21-16, 10:43 PM
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Idk why the title says 120 and receptacle must have typod
 
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Old 07-21-16, 11:29 PM
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I changed the title. It looked like a typo and it was. You had "connecting 20 v outlet to furnace"

The device you want to install is called a receptacle and it is 120volt.
The 20 you are referring to is the 20 on a 20A breaker.

As I mentioned before..... the furnace is normally on it's own circuit. In my opinion it would not be a good idea to share it with the tread mill.

That being said..... yes.... you could install your new receptacle in that box. You'd connect to the white, black and ground wire.

The reason for that box in that location is for a service switch for your furnace. However since the panel is within view of the furnace... a service switch is not required.

Technically by code... since that's an unfinished basement.... the receptacles down there should be ground fault protected.
 
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Old 07-21-16, 11:37 PM
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Cool I understand and respect your saftey concerns but ask this.. if I were to not run my HVAC while using treadmill would that be safe? also unplugging treadmill from receptacle after use. And if I can and do when I split those pig tails do I just run each separate line into the respective hole on its side to re route power to HVAC? Hope you understand the question and thanks for your help and any alternative measures are greatly appreciated. I have another outlet next to breaker maybe I can just change that one if gauge of wire is 12? How can I check. And it's a garage not a basement do I still need gfi I'm in California... Thanks again 😎
 
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Old 07-21-16, 11:52 PM
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Yes.... you can connect the two whites wires to the silver side and the two black ones to the brass side. Use the side screws not any push-in connection.

I would definitely not run the tread mill and the furnace-A/C at the same time.
 
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Old 07-22-16, 12:27 AM
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So I'm up late and done for the night that's what I put together as you can see the shortest black one is disconnected for the picture.... My last questions are about the exposed copper wire it was pigtailed (capped) to that exposed (steel?) Silver colored wire.. now that all other wires are joined does that one still need to be joined with copper I had a hard time getting both on... I'm assuming that's the ground. And also when I'm done I noticed it took quite the amount of force to shove that reseptacle into that small space is that a bad idea should I get a bigger housing peice? Thanks again friend for being up so late. I'm going to sleep now I left the switch off for the night
 
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Old 07-22-16, 12:38 AM
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Ahhh I n understand what you said about no push in now I assumed you were making sure I did not put exposed copper wire in the hole. But you mean all wires should go on side screws Il fix that in the morning... I watched a video the guy was using push connections and someone on comments said they are not reliable and could come loose so it's all coming together now so don't spank me when you see that in pic below all those questions still stand
 
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Old 07-22-16, 07:32 AM
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Bumpty bump is this OK to run
 
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Old 07-22-16, 07:44 AM
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Is it ok to run ?

Did you move the wiring to the screw terminals ?
If yes then you are ok.
Be careful folding the wiring back in the box. If you force the receptacle in the wires will get nicked and short out.
 
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Old 07-22-16, 02:51 PM
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I n understand what you said about no push in now I assumed you were making sure I did not put exposed copper wire in the hole. But you mean all wires should go on side screws Il fix that in the morning
The backstab holes won't accept wire larger than 14 AWG, how did you get the wires in the holes? Is this a circuit with 14 AWG conductors with a 20 amp breaker?
 
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Old 07-22-16, 03:14 PM
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Joe... he shows a 20A receptacle in his video. I'm assuming the tread mill comes with a 20A plug.
 
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Old 07-22-16, 03:41 PM
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I didn't bother with the video, just looked at the picture in post #9. That brings up another question. Do 20 amp duplex receptacles have the backstab feature? I thought they almost all had a backwire feature where the screws are tightened to secure the wire.
 
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Old 07-22-16, 03:49 PM
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As far as I know even cheap 15a receptacles only take #14 back stabbed. Been that way for probably 20 years.
 
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Old 07-22-16, 04:01 PM
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Back stabs are only listed for use with #14 wire. Older receptacles used to accept both #14 and #12.
 
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Old 07-22-16, 10:55 PM
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Hey I'm back guys so days over and decided to do more research I ended up doing what I was told not to do and hooking up connection in back simply because my pliers couldn't get the job done. I ran the treadmill and HVAC separately several times all day so it worked. So is what I'm doing just against code because the wiring fit in the back and I screwed it down I see conflicting reports on wether this is ok or not is that wire I'm using 14 awg and that's why it fit in the holes or what? If anything I'm gonna get myself a better pair of needle nose pliers since those cutters aren't right for the job and do the side wiring if its dangerous to keep them in the back I just would like to know why/how its dangerous to do It the way I did.
 
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Old 07-23-16, 12:37 AM
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As stated by Joe GFCIs don't usually have backstabs. They may be back wired or side wired. Either way makes a good connection. Can you post a picture of how you wired it? The picture I see has a bunch of un-needed tape so I can't really see it. Throw away the tape and give us a new picture.
 
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Old 07-23-16, 10:48 AM
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So is what I'm doing just against code because the wiring fit in the back and I screwed it down
If you inserted the wires in the back holes and tightened the screws to secure the wires the receptacle has a backwire feature and that is fine and a good connection. The backstab receptacles earlier referred to are the type where the wire is secured by a small spring clip. The picture in Post #9 looked to me like a backstabbed receptacle, but now from your statement I believe I was wrong, it must be a backwired receptacle.
 
 

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