Electrical outlet question....

I have some 15 amp twist lock outlets plugs that I would like to use in the garage. Is it acceptable to use them on circuits that have 20 amp breakers on the circuits? I am correct that 20 amp requires 12 gauge wire and 15 amp is 14 gauge wire? Also, I purchased some new Romex that is 12 gauge with a yellow jacket, and it seems to be as thin as the old 14 gauge wire that I have. Why is this????? thanks Junk... with more electrical questions coming..

The ground and neutrals are separated at the breaker panel, so is it acceptable to use the orange receptacles in the garage???? Notice that the brown one has a twist lock on one side and accepts standard spade type plugs on the other. I found these on eBay and figured that it would be great for things that I don't want to leave the garage such as my battery chargers, etc.

Junkman said:

I have some 15 amp twist lock outlets plugs that I would like to use in the garage. Is it acceptable to use them on circuits that have 20 amp breakers on the circuits? I am correct that 20 amp requires 12 gauge wire and 15 amp is 14 gauge wire? Also, I purchased some new Romex that is 12 gauge with a yellow jacket, and it seems to be as thin as the old 14 gauge wire that I have. Why is this????? thanks Junk... with more electrical questions coming..

The ground and neutrals are separated at the breaker panel, so is it acceptable to use the orange receptacles in the garage???? Notice that the brown one has a twist lock on one side and accepts standard spade type plugs on the other. I found these on eBay and figured that it would be great for things that I don't want to leave the garage such as my battery chargers, etc.

Click to expand...

Junk,
I'm gonna get technical on you here so bear with me.
What you have is a typical NEMA L5-15R device. They are rated at 15A. The NEC, for as long as I can remember allows a 20A breaker feeding this device because it has 2 openings. It is considered a multi-outlet circuit at that point. If it was a single, it would have to be on a 15A breaker. So putting it on a 20A circuit is no problem, just limit the load to 15A. There are other limits as well that call for no more than a 50% load on cord and plug connected equipment, but we won't worry about that

You are correct, 20A circuits require #12AWG and 15A circuits can be on 14AWG. The new "romex" or Non-Metallic Sheathed cable is smaller nowadays because of advancements in the insulation of the cables. That and the change from THW insulation to THHN/THWN.

So to sum it all up, yes you could use them without any problems. I never thought of using twist lock cord ends to keep my stuff from being borrowed, but that's a hell of an idea.

As always keep the questions coming and I'll send the answers right back

How about the orange units? Is there any restrictions on where they should be used or not used?
I intend on setting up the garage sub panel with a assortment of differant type of plug types. Any suggestions as to what would be the most common to install????
Is there a limit as to how many sub panels that you can take off the main panel?? Right now, I have a 70 amp sub in the second floor, a 100 amp sub in the garage and also a 100 amp sub along side of the 200 amp main panel in the cellar. The main panel has 42 slots and all but 2 of them are filled, and that is the reason for the sub next to the main...
Thanks ....
Junk
Jr. Electrician....

Well Jr,
The orange ones are fine to use. They are probably an isolated ground device. Make sure you ground the box, if metal, and also ground the device, you'll be ok.
There is no limit to the number of subs you can install. Of course there is a limit as to the actual load you can put on the main service at any one time..... i.e. no more than 200A will ever come through a 200A main, but of course you knew that.