120v Receptacle from 240v A/C feed

[pierre]

There is a 240 volt feed to a 20 amp A/C air handling unit (the A/C unit does not require a neutral). A 3 wire feed including, 2 hot conductors, 1 neutral conductor and an eqiupment ground conductor feeds the A/C unit.
Can a 120 volt receptacle be taken from the 240v circuit feeding the A/C unit, utilizing 1 of the hot conductors, the neutral conductor and the EGC? The 2 pole-20 amp breaker will be protecting both the airhandler, and the receptacle.

I know this is physically possible, is this permitted by the NEC?

Pierre

 

[luke warmwater]

Re: 120v Receptacle from 240v A/C feed

Cutler Hammer now makes an A/C disconnect that has a 125v. GFCI receptacle mounted in the bottom of the enclosure. It states on the unit that it Must be fed from a seperate 125v. circut. It cannot be tapped off of 1 of the legs of the 240v A/C line.

 

[jim dungar]

Re: 120v Receptacle from 240v A/C feed

luke,

I do not see any NEC restriction against tapping off any 20A branch circuit to feed an associated 20 receptacle.

The C-H restriction for integrated 15A GFI has to do with the probability of the AC system being feed with a breaker larger than 15A.

Warning possible thread hijack:
Manufacturers do not build equipment based solely on the NEC. NRTL do not test equipment for compliance with the NEC. The NEC is not a design manual. The current edition of the NEC is not, and has never been, a universally accepted standard or code. Also, it seems the NEC is driven more by manufacturer's designs than vice a versa.

[ August 26, 2003, 10:49 AM: Message edited by: jim dungar ]

 

[websparky]

Re: 120v Receptacle from 240v A/C feed

If the 2 pole 20A CB supplied the AC unit and it includes a neutral conductor, we would then have a multiwire circuit. No?

NEC 2002 210.4 Multiwire Branch Circuits.(C) Line-to-Neutral Loads. Multiwire branch circuits shall supply only line-to-neutral loads.

 

[luke warmwater]

Re: 120v Receptacle from 240v A/C feed

Originally posted by jim dungar:

I do not see any NEC restriction against tapping off any 20A branch circuit to feed an associated 20 receptacle.

210.63. The tap would not be allowed on the load side.
There would also have to be overcurrent protection for the receptacle.

Being that this is a 20 amp circut, if all of the associated tap rules were followed, then I guess it would be allowed.

But then again, this is an A/C circut. It might be protected by a 20amp cb, but what is the wire size that is feeding it??
It could possibly be 14awg. And that, I think would make it a different animal.

But, should this be included : 210.23(A)(1) and especially (2).