Current on a 12 gauge wire

[GregbkH]

I was wiring y new house and asked an industrial electrician if I would be better off running 12 ga for lights instead of 14 ga for lights. He reached into his pocket and feigned throwing money on the ground. I got the picture. 14 ga. for lighting circuits after that.

It all depends on the load being placed on the circuit. The 12 ga. will give you 4 more amps to work with over the 14 ga.

 

[woody]

Six pages and I have read everyone of them :shocked: Lots of good information here though

 

[GregbkH]

More power to ya! I can't find copper in anything over 4/0, and it is just darn near impossible to bend. That's why it is all alum in the bigger gages.

You must not be looking in the right places for the big copper. I've run miles of the big copper up to size 750 kcmil. Any electrical parts house should be able to get whatever size you want in any length you want and deliver it to your house.

 

[GregbkH]

With all of the problems the OP is having with his "electrician", Panel too high (max height to center of breaker handle = 6.5 feet max) ethernet and low voltage wires under the same staple as romex etc, it's time to cut him loose and hire a competent electrician and get the job done right.

 

[ray66v]

He said that is what power companies use and if they use it for hook up to a meter, why wouldn't it work for a service run. I got aluminum and worked fine for 12 years I owned the house.

Great.

My first house, the power company used AL underground, from the transformer to the meter. I was lucky enough they used reasonable care when they did it. So, it never failed for the 23 years I was there either.

I'm not using it.

 

[bhstovall]

In the end, I think since you are the one footing the bill for this house, if you want it wired a certain way so it makes sense to you & it meets code it should be done the way you want it done. If it costs more, you are going to be the one who pays for it!

 

[buickanddeere]

We use copper on everyrhing that is not an overhead line . If it's big stuff such as 500MCM we just use a conduit bender to fit the cable to location.

 

[check]

Great thread - I learned some important things I didn't know before! (Like the need for using a full-sized breaker for 14/3 or 14/2 wire.)

 

[Gary Fowler]

Wire Fill is less so no need to up size conduit, material cost is less, less fill in the breaker box, less neutral on the neutral buss, fewer knockout in the panel box.

It really is quite common here...BUT the individual breakers must be full size and tied together.

The down side is a faulty appliance will cause a otherwise good circuit to trip since breakers are tied together.

This happened when a Dishwasher and Disposal were wired this way... disposal had a problem that also tripped the circuit to the refrigerator... homeowner simply thought the disposal was not working and not a clue power was cut off to the refrigerator.

This is why refrigerator/ freezers are supposed to be on a dedicated circuit. Don't let a $10 appliance ruin a $1000 worth of food because of a tripped circuit.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

This is why refrigerator/ freezers are supposed to be on a dedicated circuit. Don't let a $10 appliance ruin a $1000 worth of food because of a tripped circuit.

Required here, and it can't even be a duplex outlet.