growler
Senior Member
- Location
- Atlanta,GA
romeo said:Sounds to me like a home owner doing wiring thinking that he did a great job because he over sized the conductors,then violated the conductor fill.
How would reducing the the breaker size help with conductor fill? It's still a #12 wire and has to be counted as a #12.
I have wired many homes using #12 on 20 Amp. breakers. I buy deep boxes. What ever the load is that's normally plugged in will not change but the voltage drop will be less.
There is an added advantage to using 20 AMP circuits. A vacuum cleaner can be plugged into any circuit without tripping. Many people now have such things as treadmills and humidifiers. You don't know where people are going to plug in some of their heavier loads. Bedrooms often become home offices ( for at least one of the owners ).
The advantages of using #14 Ga. wire is that it's cheaper and easier to work with. If you check the voltage drop on #14 you will see that it gets above 10% on many long runs. Just because the 5% overall voltage drop is only a suggestion and not enforceable doesn't mean it's not a good idea.