Commercial wiring

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Kevin C

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Hi guys,
I was wondering if any of you have use 14/2 mc for commercial wiring. I've always used 12/2, what's the price different between the two. I don't see them often in my supply house. The upcoming project have about 120 3" recessed lights and a few hand dryers, I think 14/2 is much easier to work with in those small cans.
 
480sparky

480sparky

Senior Member
Location
Iowegia
You might have an issue with switching those lights.

If you use 14, you're limited to a 15a breaker. And you can only load the circuit up to 12a. So how many lights are going to be on a single switch, and can 12a run them?
 
quogueelectric

quogueelectric

Senior Member
Location
new york
Kevin C said:
Hi guys,
I was wondering if any of you have use 14/2 mc for commercial wiring. I've always used 12/2, what's the price different between the two. I don't see them often in my supply house. The upcoming project have about 120 3" recessed lights and a few hand dryers, I think 14/2 is much easier to work with in those small cans.
Click to expand...
We generally dont go smaller than 12 for commercial installs here. 14-4 comes handy for wiring boiler and hvac controls however.
 
K

Kevin C

Member
480sparky said:
You might have an issue with switching those lights.

If you use 14, you're limited to a 15a breaker. And you can only load the circuit up to 12a. So how many lights are going to be on a single switch, and can 12a run them?
Click to expand...

about 8-10 per switch
 
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btharmy

Senior Member
Location
Indiana
Most heavily engineered jobs I have been associated with spec #12awg minimum wire size. Always check the specs. I would NEVER even consider using #14 personally. It is a waste of breaker space to limit yourself to a 15a. breaker. Panels will fill up quick. If you want the wire to be easier to work with then try stranded MC cable.
 
A

Article 90.1

Senior Member
No problem at all getting 6 #12's into a recessed can. I 'm saying six=2 black, 2 white, 2 greens. If you use a duplex MC connector, make your splice up in mid air, except for the wirenuts, put the entire harness into the K.O., install the locknut, connect the fixture wires, wirenut, close, repeat 119 more times.

Most of the time we make the whips up on the ground first anyway, sure beats working on the ladder all day!

You might want to look that MC cable with the #10 AL ground that you snap off in the connector if you want to keep the grounds out of the JB, I don't like the looks of this stuff though, and it is probably cost prohibitive. Anyone out here using it? I'll look at EC&M later and get the product name.

Wait, we're not talking about those "Commercial Electric" recessed fixtures that Homer sells with a 1.5"x1.5"x1.5" JB on them, are we?
 
LarryFine

LarryFine

Master Electrician Electric Contractor Richmond VA
Location
Henrico County, VA
Occupation
Electrical Contractor
Article 90.1 said:
If you use a duplex MC connector, make your splice up in mid air, except for the wirenuts, put the entire harness into the K.O., install the locknut, connect the fixture wires, wirenut, close, repeat 119 more times.
Click to expand...
Interestingly, I do the exact same thing whenever I can, like when inserting two NM's into a plastic box.
 
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NewOnMyOwn

Member
Location
NJ
Article 90.1 said:
You might want to look that MC cable with the #10 AL ground that you snap off in the connector if you want to keep the grounds out of the JB, I don't like the looks of this stuff though, and it is probably cost prohibitive. Anyone out here using it? I'll look at EC&M later and get the product name.
Click to expand...

I used that but the HCF version so it still had a green insulated ground wire, I liked it just fine. It does seem stiff because that thick aluminum wire inside, but the stiffness helps in a lot of instances, such as when working it across a ceiling and trying to get it over trusses/etc. further away from you. The less trips up the ladder the better ;)
 
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