#12 only?

[notoriousdln]

it varies by city here....county codes are bassically as minimal as the NEC but certain cities require a minimum of 12 AWG.....hard to keep track of what city is what code but luckily we dont wire new houses....phewww=]

 

[e57]

No we do not know that, 14 AWG is rated 20 to 25 amps and 12 AWG is rated 25 to 30 amps.

See 310.16

You're gonna make me do it aren't you?

 

[e57]

Sorry bud...Texas born and Texas bred...this inspector just so happens to be a friend of mine. And by the way, its called a Texas draw...not an accent. Its a brotherhood down here, so I'll suggest to any of you who may want to come to Texas to work, bring your "accent".

FINAL ANSWER: #14 MIGHT MAKE SENSE IN SOME AREAS, BUT HERE WITH SO MUCH AREA NOT COVERED BY AN AHJ...#12 IS SAFEST. IMHO.

QUINN IS OUT

Still sounds 'southern bell' to me... Weel, in respect to the reference below for example... (I bumped it up to 'Texan Accent' to not demasculinize with my response...)

(12) With respect to residences, all references concerning service entrance conductors (meter loops) are amended to require a conduit of at least ridge metal, intermediate metal 2, one and one-quarter (1 1/4) inches consisting of a #2 copper or #1/0 aluminum wiring (aluminum allowed only on underground service) for residences of one thousand (1,000) to one thousand five hundred (1,500) square feet and consisting of #0 copper or #3/0 aluminum wiring (aluminum allowed only on underground service) for residences of one thousand five hundred (1,500) square feet or more.

As for wire - I know size matters - but not so much in this case... JMSO. 12 and 14 have their place - but will flat out disagree with Bob that 12 should be pulling 30A in just about all cases short of free air....

 

[LarryFine]

Sorry bud...Texas born and Texas bred...this inspector just so happens to be a friend of mine. And by the way, its called a Texas draw...not an accent. Its a brotherhood down here, so I'll suggest to any of you who may want to come to Texas to work, bring your "accent".

Sorry bud ... but it's a "drawl" . . . y'all.


By the way, the plural of "y'all" is "all y'all."

 

[quinn77]

Still sounds 'southern bell' to me... Weel, in respect to the reference below for example... (I bumped it up to 'Texan Accent' to not demasculinize with my response...)

As for wire - I know size matters - but not so much in this case... JMSO. 12 and 14 have their place - but will flat out disagree with Bob that 12 should be pulling 30A in just about all cases short of free air....

ok ok ok...."yooz guyz". so call my AHJ and tell them how stupid and ignorant they really are. If I conducted business in that manner, I wouldn't be generating millions in revenue, I wouldnt have over a thousand clients, and I woulnt have the on time, consistent, reliable, trusted, and most importantly...SUCCESSFUL company that I have. So lets drop the geographical prejudice, the differences of OPINION, and get down the root of the OP.

 

[quinn77]

Ive never seen all twelve wire in a house, but the other replies make sense.

me neither...ive seen #12, #10, #8, #6, #4, #2, #1, 1/0, 2/0, 3/0, 4/0, all in one house...

 

[76nemo]

Heres the deal...i am not an engineer...yet...i will follow instructions... I will do my job as instructed by my engineer...who designed and installed the first vfd in our country...i as a master electrician will install work per state law... If you do not want to cohere to your state laws...you are just as much of a liablity as a terrorist...period. Who are we to judge the law? Until it becomes tyrrany... It is our job to follow instructions. In my opinion...as a service electrician...you installers who use side cutters to strip wire are more of a liability. Ive seen families loose everything because of you....if you want to pick bones let's go...i'm ready

Good morning Quinn. Not trying to "pick any bones", by any means, that's thee exact reason I hate most public forums. I have to ask you,....you say your engineer was thee first to design the VFD in America, would you care to iterate any more on that?
I'll leave more questions for the latter.

 

[papa#1]

#12 wire

#12 wire

We do not allow anything smaller than #12 for any branch circuit. #14 can be used for control circuits but that is it. This rule is for this county only which has 9 cities and has been that way for close to 50 years.

 

[charlie b]

This rule is for this county only which has 9 cities and has been that way for close to 50 years.

Just out of curiosity, did the county enact a local code that made the rule into law, or is this just something that the inspectors have been requiring?

Welcome to the forum.

 

[petersonra]

IMO, it is simpler to just do everything in #12 these days, and use 20A CBs on all circuits.

I realize it may not be needed, or even desirable for some circuits. The cost difference is minimal, and it might even end up saving a little money, being able to put more outlets on the same circuit.

There is a lot to be said for standardizing on a set of components you can use for multiple things and buying them by the skid load.

 

[growler]

We do not allow anything smaller than #12 for any branch circuit. #14 can be used for control circuits but that is it. This rule is for this county only which has 9 cities and has been that way for close to 50 years.

papa#1 which state are you from? I know of several states ( about 6 ) that have similar rules in some local jurisdictions.

The reason I ask is that I'm thinking there may be local jurisdictions all over the country that have these local rules.

 

[bjronca]

14 safer?

14 safer?

Would you rather have a lamp wired with 16 guage wire and sometimes from China, only 18 guage, plugged into a 15 amp or 20 amp circuit? I would still use a 15 amp breaker on 12 guage for basic circuits.

 

[hillbilly1]

Would you rather have a lamp wired with 16 guage wire and sometimes from China, only 18 guage, plugged into a 15 amp or 20 amp circuit? I would still use a 15 amp breaker on 12 guage for basic circuits.

A 15 or 20 amp breaker would trip the same on a short circuit, an arcing fault severe enough to start a fire in all probability would not trip the 15 or 20, thats where arc fault is supposed to work. Unless you are sticking in a 1000 watt light bulb, overloading the cord is not likely.

 

[quinn77]

Good morning Quinn. Not trying to "pick any bones", by any means, that's thee exact reason I hate most public forums. I have to ask you,....you say your engineer was thee first to design the VFD in America, would you care to iterate any more on that?
I'll leave more questions for the latter.

good afternoon nemo,

This engineer helped design one of the first vfd's ever installed in the country. He and his 2 brothers own a water treatment engineering and design firm. He designs his own SCADA systems, controls, etc...my company installs his equipment, all over the south. I would tell his name but I think that might be a little unprofessional on this forum but you could IM me if you wish. He has a phd in physics, electrical engineering, and process engineering, all from Rice University. Very interesting to work for.