Another laundry circuit question

[goldstar]

Does any one remember how far back the NEC required a 20 amp dedicated circuit for the laundry ? I recently upgraded the electrical service in my own house (which was built around 1970) and discovered that the rocket scientist that wired my house put all the receptacles on the front of the house on one circuit, all the receptacles on the back of the house on one circuit, etc. As luck would have it the dishwasher, den lights, master bedroom receptacles and laundry are on one circuit. As if that weren't bad enough it's a 15 amp circuit. I wish I could change it but that part of the house was built on a slab and the wiring is not accessible without doing a major renovation. I've worked in a lot of older houses built before 1970, and even those with K & T had dedicated laundry circuits.

 

[al hildenbrand]

Re: Another laundry circuit question

Phil,

What a great question!

That's right on the edge of my recollection back from the days of being a wee little Spark. And it's something, as an apprentice, that I didn't pay much attention to ("Yes, Master, I'll do whatever you tell me. . .").

But the answer to your question surprised me. The change happened in the 1968 NEC.

I apprenticed and first tested under the 1965 NEC. Pulling the book from the shelf yields the following (and, parenthetic, I add, to my surprise):

1965 NEC 210.22 Receptacle Outlets Required.
(b) Dwelling Type Occupancies. . .At least one outlet shall be installed for the laundry.

And:

1965 NEC 220.3 Branch Circuits Required
(a) Lighting and Appliance Circuits.. . .<This is the 3 W/Ft? section - Al>
(b) Receptacle Circuits, Dwelling Occupancies. . .<No mention of Laundry - Al>
(C) Other Circuits. For specific loads not otherwise provided for in Section 220-3(a or b), branch circuits shall be as required by other sections of the Code.

That got into whether the wash machine and/or gas clothes dryer were "fixed, portable or stationary" and what the nameplate ratings of the motors were. As I read and recall this, if the washer was something like an Easy Spin Dryer (which was a rolling open tub with agitator, roller to squeeze wash water out, and a separate spinner tub that cetrifugally extracted more water, finally preparing the clothes to be line hung to dry), then the appliance was portable. The motor drew less than 7.5 Amps so it was just another "general lighting load" as we'd think of it now, but with the curious quirk of needing 1500 watts added to the service calculation because there was a "laundry receptacle" (NOTE - not "laundry circuit" )

Things were changing, bigger modern wash machines that were "fixed appliances" were becoming popular. So in the 1968 NEC we see:

1968 NEC 210.22 Receptacle Outlets Required.
(b) Dwelling Type Occupancies. . .<This is unchanged - Al>

But a new sentence was added to:

1968 NEC 220.3 Branch Circuits Required
(a) Lighting and Appliance Circuits.. . .<This is the 3 W/Ft? section - Al>
(b) Receptacle Circuits, Dwelling Occupancies. . .At least one 20-ampere branch circuit shall be provided for laundry receptacle(s) required in Section 210-22(b).
(C) Other Circuits. . . .<This is unchanged - Al>

So, given the Local Jurisdiction's adoption of the NEC into law that the local AHJ can enforce, and when your original wireman pulled the permit, it sounds like your house was probably wired originally to the 1965 NEC.

Does the time line look like it would fit with the history you know about your house?

 

[goldstar]

Re: Another laundry circuit question

Al,

Thanks for the lengthy and detailed feedback. It's healthy to massage our brains once in a while. I was all set to hunt the installer down and tar and feather him ! Time line seems accurate. However, I still think there was a serious code violation here (not that I can do anything about it at this point in time). Even back then there should have been a distinction between lighting and receptacle circuits. This guy put about one fifth of my house on one 15 amp circuit knowing full well that the washer and dryer would be on with the master bedroom receptacles and hallway lighting. Not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed !!!

Regards,

Phil

[ April 09, 2005, 07:26 AM: Message edited by: goldstar ]

 

[al hildenbrand]

Re: Another laundry circuit question

Phil,

The patterns of how our trade developed and how electrical energy has been utilized by and has shaped society has fascinated me since I first read Cheney's Tesla: Man Out of Time. The hundred year history of our general use and dependance upon electricity is, to me, astonishingly short. Usage expectations have evolved as rapidly as has our society.

That said,

I try to imagine what it was like in the minds of the framers of the 1965 NEC back in 1963 & 1964. </font>

• <font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Elvis was King</font>
• <font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">The Beatles appeared for the first time on Ed Sullivan</font>
• <font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Electronics were primarily vacuum tube based</font>
• <font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Nuclear power was going to do away with power bills</font>
• <font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Most TVs were black & white and did not have UHF</font>
• <font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Ranger 7 returned the first close range photos of the Moon</font>

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">
Bottom line it was a very different time to be alive in.

Was your home built as part of a speculative subdivision, or was it owner built?

Basically then, as now, the NEC that the contractor used would allow a minimum installation that was safe, but not necessarily convenient nor easy to live with.

Do you know, for a fact, that there was a dryer in the original laundry?

Hit the Post button prematurly - Al

[ April 09, 2005, 11:30 AM: Message edited by: al hildenbrand ]

 

[goldstar]

Re: Another laundry circuit question

Yes Al,

There was a dryer originally installed in that location because the gas line is there also. I am the 2nd owner of the house. It was the last house in the development and I've learned from experience now that you should never buy the first or the last house in a development. Most of the start-up mistakes are made in the first house and most of the debris from the site is buried on the last job. I found that out when I had my septic system updated. You can't imagine what was buried in the back yard.

Anyway, getting back to the original installation, all the wiring was done in AC cable. There was a 100 amp Federal Electric panel installed with a split buss. There were about 8 single pole circuits with a 2-pole, 50 amp breaker was the main for the lighting and receptacles and there were 4 slots (with no main) in the upper left hand corner for appliances such as an air conditioner or electric range. There is currently a class action lawsuit ongoing in New Jersey for those homeowners with Federal Electric panels but you have to be an original owner. The lawyers are claiming that you might get up to 3 times the cost to replace the panel with an updated one. Their claim is that Federal (way back when) pushed through their breakers onto the unsuspecting market without putting them through UL testing. Who knows what will happen.

Anyway, I appreciate your feedback. You may be correct in that there might not have been a code violation. But, if you stop and think about the logic of what this installer did, you still want to tar and feather him !!!

Regards,

Phil