Repurpose range wiring


  #1  
Old 04-28-22, 12:08 PM
J
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2022
Posts: 2
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Repurpose range wiring

Hi All,

First post here.

I'm in a new to me home and I've recently removed a wall oven - it was there in addition to our main range.
The wall oven was wired directly to a breaker with a wire loom containing Red, Black, White, and Ground. We will be replacing it with a wine/beverage fridge and I'd like to repurpose this wiring to an outlet for this.

So I guess the question is - what are my options? Can I simply/safely wire an outlet to this wire loom? If so what do I do with the red wire?

I'm usually decent at figuring this stuff out but it's been incredibly hard to google this specific thing!




 

Top Answer

 
04-28-22, 08:34 PM
PJmax's Avatar
PJmax
PJmax is offline
Group Moderator
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Jersey
Posts: 64,939
Received 3,952 Upvotes on 3,545 Posts
Welcome to the forums.

So we need to know what size breaker is currently in place.

I'm a little confused. I'm seeing a bare copper ground wire. (not usually seen in MC cable)
That's telling me that that whip is spliced to a nearby junction box.
 
  #2  
Old 04-28-22, 12:49 PM
2
Member
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: USA near Boston, MA
Posts: 2,261
Received 388 Upvotes on 337 Posts
First item to consider is the circuit breaker. For a wall oven it is probably a 20 amp 2 pole breaker. It will have to be replaced with a 20 amp, single pole breaker. (You can add two such breakers for separate circuits in the same space as the existing 2 pole breaker but the existing cable can only be used for one circuit. One breaker can be spare for now. There is a configuration called a multi-wire branch circuit that uses a 2-pole breaker and a shared neutral wire. That might apply here if you wanted to add a separate outlet, say for a coffee maker or microwave at the same location.) If the existing 2 pole breaker is the type that just has the handles tied together, you may be able to remove the tie and use them for separate circuits. The red wire should be capped and not connected in the panel.

Second item is the wire size. If a 20 amp breaker then the wires should be #12 and can be used for a new 20 amp receptacle.

Third item: You will have to install a box on the end of the cable. Boxes are available for use with that type of armored cable, get the correct one. The red wire should be capped and left unconnected in the box.

If the breaker is larger than 20 (it might be a 30A) then the wires might be #10 (but they don't look that large). You can still downsize the circuit to 20A but the new connections at the breaker and at the outlet will be more difficult due to the larger wire size.

If for some reason the existing circuit is 15A-2P and the wires are #14 then that will limit the circuit size to 15A. Check the refrigerator instructions for recommended circuit size. If the existing breaker is 15A but the wires are #12 then you can upgrade to 20A.
 
  #3  
Old 04-28-22, 08:01 PM
J
Member
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: welland ontario
Posts: 8,038
Received 515 Upvotes on 420 Posts
First if it is a 20 amp two pole breaker you must NOT replace it with two singles. The red and black share the neutral must be on a double breaker.
Second it would be surprising to me if it was a 20 amp. An oven is more likely 30 amp. You can't put a duplex receptacle on anything over 20 amps so the breaker would need to be changed.
If the breaker is 20 amp then you can install a receptacle one the black and white and cap the red.
 
  #4  
Old 04-28-22, 08:34 PM
PJmax's Avatar
Group Moderator
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Jersey
Posts: 64,939
Received 3,952 Upvotes on 3,545 Posts
Welcome to the forums.

So we need to know what size breaker is currently in place.

I'm a little confused. I'm seeing a bare copper ground wire. (not usually seen in MC cable)
That's telling me that that whip is spliced to a nearby junction box.
 
joed, Tolyn Ironhand voted this post useful.
  #5  
Old 04-29-22, 06:36 AM
T
Member
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: US
Posts: 1,191
Received 198 Upvotes on 174 Posts
I'm a little confused. I'm seeing a bare copper ground wire. (not usually seen in MC cable)
I see no marking on the current carrying conductor's insulation and would guess they are from a cable stripped of its jacket. Maybe not even spliced in the box at the other end of the flex.
 
CasualJoe voted this post useful.
  #6  
Old 04-29-22, 07:29 AM
Tolyn Ironhand's Avatar
Group Moderator
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: United States
Posts: 14,332
Received 877 Upvotes on 740 Posts
That is likely the whip that came with the oven and it was disconnected from the oven instead of disconnecting the whip from the nearby junction box.
 
  #7  
Old 04-29-22, 08:01 AM
J
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2022
Posts: 2
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
It is in fact a 30 amp breaker. So likely my easiest remediation is changing the breaker and then capping the red wire?


Thanks all!
 
  #8  
Old 04-29-22, 05:41 PM
CasualJoe's Avatar
Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: United States
Posts: 9,871
Received 185 Upvotes on 166 Posts
I'm seeing a bare copper ground wire. (not usually seen in MC cable)
I don't think it's MC cable. It could be a whip that came with the oven or a piece of flex with 10-3 NM-B cable with the PVC jacket stripped off. I suspect the later.
 
  #9  
Old 04-29-22, 06:26 PM
Tolyn Ironhand's Avatar
Group Moderator
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: United States
Posts: 14,332
Received 877 Upvotes on 740 Posts
I agree, that is not MC cable. That is 1/2" Flexible Metal Conduit (FMC)

Just by looking at the insulation on the wire, I can tell that is 105C insulation. It is also likely #12 based on my experience wiring wall ovens. There is writing on the black wire.

I would say that it is like OK to use it but if I was doing it I would pull out that wire and install some THHN unless all three wires have writing on them identifying the type of wire.
 
  #10  
Old 04-30-22, 07:01 AM
pcboss's Avatar
Forum Topic Moderator
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Maryland
Posts: 13,976
Received 194 Upvotes on 170 Posts
I suspect there is a buried splice where the flexible appliance whip connects to the building wiring.
 
CircuitBreaker voted this post useful.
 

Thread Tools
Search this Thread
 
Ask a Question
Question Title:
Description:
Your question will be posted in: