2nd Laundry Area

[Little Bill]

If you have a normal laundry area on the main level of a house and there is an additional stacked washer & dryer on another level, are you required to treat the additional area as a laundry area? I know even if the appliances are a stacked unit in a single laundry area and only needs a 30A circuit for both, we have to also run a 20A circuit. But would a 20A circuit be required for the additional laundry equipment even though a 30A is all that is needed for the equipment?

 

[dan the electricman]

Per the code, a laundry area needs a 20 amp circuit. I'd play it safe and put one in. The owner will probably need an outlet for an iron, or other misc 120 volt devices.

 

[acin]

additional 1500 va for load calcs 220.52

 

[suemarkp]

Perhaps you could use the same laundry circuit for both areas (kind of like how a bathroom receptacle circuit can supply multiple bathrooms), but that doesn't sound prudent to me. Better to just have a 2nd separate laundry circuit unless that puts your load calc just over the limit.

 

[Little Bill]

Perhaps you could use the same laundry circuit for both areas (kind of like how a bathroom receptacle circuit can supply multiple bathrooms), but that doesn't sound prudent to me. Better to just have a 2nd separate laundry circuit unless that puts your load calc just over the limit.

I was planning on putting a subpanel on the top floor instead of running a bunch of HRs up there. A second laundry circuit might put me over the subs limit. Of course I can up the size of the sub but rather not if I don't have to.

 

[don_resqcapt19]

I don't see any way to get around the rules requiring a 20 amp circuit for each laundry area.

 

[Little Bill]

I don't see any way to get around the rules requiring a 20 amp circuit for each laundry area.

I guess the "s" in areas & circuits would mean if you have more than one. I was afraid of that.

 

[don_resqcapt19]

I guess the "s" in areas & circuits would mean if you have more than one. I was afraid of that.

That is how I read it.

 

[Greg1707]

If you have a normal laundry area on the main level of a house and there is an additional stacked washer & dryer on another level, are you required to treat the additional area as a laundry area? I know even if the appliances are a stacked unit in a single laundry area and only needs a 30A circuit for both, we have to also run a 20A circuit. But would a 20A circuit be required for the additional laundry equipment even though a 30A is all that is needed for the equipment?

One piece stacked units have been around a long time. They are powered by a single 30 amp receptacle. Now, front loading two piece stackable units are the norm. These units need a 20 amp and a 30 amp receptacle. We have been making money lately running the 20 amp 120 V circuit to laundry closets in condos. It involves a lot of cutting and drilling. Some times people return the new units to the store and have them send out the old fashioned machines to avoid the expense of running the additional circuit.

 

[LarryFine]

One piece stacked units have been around a long time. They are powered by a single 30 amp receptacle. Now, front loading two piece stackable units are the norm. These units need a 20 amp and a 30 amp receptacle.

I recently plumbed and wired a new Electrolux stackable laundry pair for a cousin. The dryer has a receptacle for the washer.

 

[Little Bill]

One piece stacked units have been around a long time. They are powered by a single 30 amp receptacle. Now, front loading two piece stackable units are the norm. These units need a 20 amp and a 30 amp receptacle. We have been making money lately running the 20 amp 120 V circuit to laundry closets in condos. It involves a lot of cutting and drilling. Some times people return the new units to the store and have them send out the old fashioned machines to avoid the expense of running the additional circuit.

I recently plumbed and wired a new Electrolux stackable laundry pair for a cousin. The dryer has a receptacle for the washer.

I have wired several of these and some were a single 30A that the washer plugged into the dryer and some of them required a separate 20A & 30A circuit/receptacle.