Beautiful 20 Amp Outlet Wire Gauge

I would say 14 gauge wire anywhere on a 20 amp circuit is not ok.

20 amp outlet wire gauge. One rule of thumb is to assign a maximum draw of 1 5 amps to each receptacle which allows for 10 receptacles on a 20 amp circuit. If you plug in several devices on an outlet that total 20 amps you will exceed the safe working capacity of the 14 gauge wire without tripping the breaker. You may be under 15 amp for each individual outlet but between the two outlets on a duplex.

The purpose of the breaker is to cut off power before the wiring overheats. You can avoid both problems by wiring the outlet circuit with a 12 gauge wire which is optional if the controlling breaker and all the outlets are rated for 15 amps. This website provides a wire size calculator voltage drop calculator wire ampacity charts and more.

It has three slots including a semicircular one for the ground pin but the two other slots aren t vertical they re horizontal. There are two standard circuit capacities 15 and 20 amps. A 15 amp circuit can support devices drawing a total of 1 800 watts and a 20 amp circuit can support devices totaling 2 400 watts.

On the side of the outlet you ll see two connection screws. You must use 12 gauge wire to connect 20 amp circuits. A 220 volt circuit doesn t need a neutral wire.

If the breaker is rated for 20 amps however you don t have a choice because the electrical code never permits you to use a 14 gauge wire on 20 amp circuit. For a 30 amp circuit use 10 copper wire and a fuse or circuit breaker rated for 30 amps. A 220 volt 20 amp outlet looks like a 110 volt one but with one key difference.

There s no problem using larger conductors other than cost to you and difficulties associated with working with thicker conductors. They are both brass which means they are for hot wires. The smallest size conductors you could use with a 20 ampere breaker are 12 awg copper conductors.