Am I hearing things?

craigl59
248 posts                                                                         08-03-2018 10:36am

Since there are electricians seeing this thread would like to ask them if 12/2 Romax is OK for 20 amp circuits. Is there some reason why 10/2 seems to be preferred in many audiophile installations? Is it the concept of "Overwire and Underbreaker?"

Per NEC (National Electrical Code) #12 copper wire is the bare minimum wire size for a 20 amp branch circuit. NEC does not prohibit using a wire size larger than #12. Usually a larger wire size is used for VD (Voltage Drop) that may occur on the conductors of the branch circuit due to the connected load. The connected load does not need to be a continuous connected load. It could be caused by a fluctuating load.

The size of the breaker, overcurrent device, dictates the ampere rating of the branch circuit. The OP has a 30 amp breaker, therefore the circuit is 30 amps. Per NEC you can not install a 20 amp rated receptacle on a 30 amp branch circuit. Per code the breaker must be 20 amp.

Here is an old Link, but still holds true for when a breaker is supposed to trip if overloaded.
https://goodsonengineering.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/CircuitBreakerMyths_web.pdf

blueranger OP
257 posts 08-03-2018 5:32pm

I will get a polarity tester and I don’t kniw tbe particulars. But I do know when I saw the wire it was orange 10 ga and there was no ground wire in it. So how could he ground it otherwise? I’m just going to get another electrician verify everything and quote this post. Thanks Mike

Stop. Take a deep breath. Don’t jump to conclusions. Other than the breaker the electrician installed in the electrical panel, everything else of the installation may be fine.

#10-2 with ground NM-B cable (Romex is a Trade name of) has an outer orange sheath, jacket. It comes with a bare equipment grounding conductor. It doesn’t come without an equipment grounding conductor.

The electrician installed one wall cut-in box and installed one 20 amp duplex receptacle. Correct? Metal or plastic box? Do you know the make of the duplex outlet? Is it at least a spec grade outlet? The outlet could be the source of the sound you are hearing from your audio system.  What type of duplex cover did he install? A flexible non breakable nylon plate?

Go to the electrical panel. What breaker number on the panel schedule is the older dedicated circuit you already have? What is the breaker number of the new dedicated circuit? The number is also stamped on the panel front cover next to the breakers. The numbers will tell me if the electrician install the new dedicated circuit breaker on the same Line, Leg, as the old dedicated circuit breaker.

Pick up a circuit/polarity tester at Home Depot. $5.00
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Power-Gear-3-Wire-Receptacle-Tester-50542/206212329?cm_mmc=Shopping%7CG%...
Post back what it indicates. Hopefully it will indicate CORRECT

Jim

I looked downstairs in the electrical panel and no and nowhere is there a 15, 20, 25, or 30.marked on the breakers. Is there a secret code electricians use?

The ampere rating should be on the ON/OFF breaker handle. Sometimes it’s printed on the face of the breaker. The ampere rating should be visible on the front of the breaker for the user to see. What manufacture electrical panel do you have?

Example.
20 amp breaker.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Square-D-QO-20-Amp-Single-Pole-Circuit-Breaker-QO120CP/100028706

15 amp breaker
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Square-D-Homeline-15-Amp-Single-Pole-Circuit-Breaker-HOM115CP/100153952

20 amp breaker
https://www.ebay.com/p/GE-THQL-THQL1120-1-Pole-20-Amp-Circuit-Breaker/2254530853https://www.homedepot.com/p/Siemens-20-Amp-Single-Pole-Type-QP-Circuit-Breaker-Q120U/100044919


Did you find the breaker/space panel numbers for the 2 dedicated circuits for your audio system?

What to look for. In the majority cases the odd numbers are on the left side of the panel and the even numbers on the right side.

Example.
Single phase 120/240 Volt panel.
L = Line, Leg, Bus.


Left side ...........................................Right side

L1.. breaker/space #1) ........ breaker/space #2)

L2 .. breaker/space #3) ......... Breaker/space #4)

L1 .. #5) ............................................... #6)

L2 .. #7) ............................................... #8)

L1 .. #9) ............................................... #10)

L2 .. 11) ............................................... #12)

And so on down each side of the panel