Electrical Question

[fmahovalich]

My 20 AMP breaker in my house goes out to a 'Disconnect' box beside my Air Conditioner.

In that Box I have Black/White/Ground wires....feeding the air conditioner.

There is a knockout there..and I wanna feed a 14/2 wire into that box to tap in and feed a small shed I have at the back.

Basically I wanna run it to an outlet and then a single lightbulb in the shed.


Is there any problem tying in....

I mean...am I dealing with 240 v / 120 issues....

Or is it like the 20 amp feeding the kitchen counter area?

I know I know...some will say get an expert. I can do all this hookup...just questioning whether the power source is correct..or am I overpowered for just a lightbulb!!

 

[fmahovalich]

How can I solve it. Do I put a panel in the shed. How do I drop the power down?

You are right...the breaker takes up two spots in the main panel...so they are tied together for the 240...Arghhhhh

BAsically I just connected black to blcak and white to white in the disconnect box and ran the wire to the shed.

I guess I needa step it down somehow?

Or should I find another source?

 

[LazMan]

By code, your A/C must be on a dedicated circuit... You're not allowed to tap off. Also, the A/C will most likely be a 240v breaker, which means no neutral - there's no 120v available there.

You can tap off an existing circuit in the house; keeping in mind load and device count limits; or you can run a new feed straight back to the breaker/fuse panel...

To be honest, sounds like you need an electrician...

 

[fmahovalich]

I was afraid of the 240v dilemma..... with no way to step it down.

I know the line must be 'dedicated'.... just thought I could sneak a light bulb off it.

Looks like Im drilling through the wall and tapping into a basement plug !!!

All for a damn lightbulb!!!!!!!!!!


When is Hydro...like the cellphone...gonna go wireless!!!!!

 

[fmahovalich]

So here is a question....A stove has a 240 v line coming in off a 30 AMP breaker.....


Yet they still give you a 120v plug on the stove for appliances.

How is that stepped down? Or is it too complicated and not worth the bother.

 

[oldjones]

What I was told—and this doesn't completely square with some of the above—is the stove has a ground, a white neutral and two powered legs, one red, one black each 120v with respoect to the neutral but opposite polarity. So between red and black is 220, and between either and white is 110VAC. Makes sense by the way my stove outlets are wired, but it was made in 1957.

As to the AC unit above, there should be a manufacturer's specs plate near the power feed that gives Amps, VAC, HP etc and should eliminate ambiguity.

 

[doggee_01]

does your house not have an outside plug (with a GFI) you can tap off?? if not then run a whole new feed with a GFI and put in an outside plug on the fouse and do the shed on the same cct.......better still CALL AN ELECTRICIAN

 

[OddSox]

Lots of battery-powered LED lights available now. They don't use much power and throw quite a bit of light...

 

[LazMan]

What I was told—and this doesn't completely square with some of the above—is the stove has a ground, a white neutral and two powered legs, one red, one black each 120v with respoect to the neutral but opposite polarity. So between red and black is 220, and between either and white is 110VAC. Makes sense by the way my stove outlets are wired, but it was made in 1957.

As to the AC unit above, there should be a manufacturer's specs plate near the power feed that gives Amps, VAC, HP etc and should eliminate ambiguity.

A stove, like an electric dryer; is a 120/240VAC load - it has two hot legs, a neutral, and a ground... There's 240 between the two hots, and 120 between either hot and the neutral. The 240 is used to power the elements; 120 for the panel-plug, light, and controls, typically.

An Air Conditioner is typically a 240VAC only load - there's no neutral - just the two hots... So there's no "120" available at the disconnect.

 

[wigglee]

get a meter and measure the voltage

 

[good to go]

The air conditioner is only 240 volts no neutral. Just put an outside plug on a GFI and tap off the GFI circuit. If i were you i would use 12/2 as it is rated for 20 amps and sooner or later you are going to plug a power tool into it.

 

[Mencken]

I was afraid of the 240v dilemma..... with no way to step it down.

I know the line must be 'dedicated'.... just thought I could sneak a light bulb off it.

Looks like Im drilling through the wall and tapping into a basement plug !!!

All for a damn lightbulb!!!!!!!!!!


When is Hydro...like the cellphone...gonna go wireless!!!!!

You don't "step it down" in any case. But what you could do if you had a neutral wire is use either the black or the white (if it is 240 they will both be hot...if it is wired as you describe) as your power source for 110. If you have black to black and white to white you will have 240.

There are ways to do it but they are not within code, and probably dangerous. So best get an electrician, or use another source for your feed.

 

[james t kirk]

AC is 240 volts and has to be a dedicated circuit.

Stoves are 120/240 as Lazman correctly wrote.

Hire an electrician because you clearly don't know what you're doing.

 

[Tangwhich]

As has been stated, it's against code. The A/C has to be dedicated and you can't use 14 for 20amps. Kirks last sentence says all that needs to be said.

 

[syrous1977]

Install a fluorescent light with a 240V ballast

 

[assholee]

Thread summary:
lightbulb - 1 fmahov - 0

 

[Mervyn]

Have you considered a battery powered lightsource ?

Or just plug in a light source to an extension cord ?

 

[shakenbake]

What I was told—and this doesn't completely square with some of the above—is the stove has a ground, a white neutral and two powered legs, one red, one black each 120v with respoect to the neutral but opposite polarity. So between red and black is 220, and between either and white is 110VAC. Makes sense by the way my stove outlets are wired, but it was made in 1957.

As to the AC unit above, there should be a manufacturer's specs plate near the power feed that gives Amps, VAC, HP etc and should eliminate ambiguity.

You got that one right, and it's like that in modern stoves (circa 1998)! On another note, I brought a steam iron back form Europe for the SO and wired a 220 volt line in one of the rooms for her, black and red hot wires. Now that she doesn't use it any more, I converted the 220 volt outlet to two 'splits' as wired in the kitchen and in the garage of our home, one hot red for one outlet and one black, with the white as neutral for both outlets. The circuit breaker is ganged to trip if either line exceeds the maximum current rating of the wires.

Back to the OP; you would be wise to leave the AC circuitry alone and run a 110 volt line out of your home to the shed. I have two lines, both GFCI protexcted going out to teh yard. One was for an above-ground pool that no longer exists and the other is for lighting along a fence and outlet for the BBQ rotisserie. I personally would very highly recommend a GFCI protected line for outdoor use. If it isn't code, it should be!

Oh, and you need special components for wet areas, too!

 

[fmahovalich]

Well....I did do one thing right. I used underground 12/2 wire...and hid it inside that grey underground piping as well. Its all buried and inside the grey pipes right up to the box.

I knew I was on a 20 AMP line...and rightly...I may plug in one day to my outlet....... But will have to pull the wire off the A/C...and drive it through the concrete to a 15 amp in the basement wall!

All doable

 

[larry]

Couple of things:
1. you originally said there were black/white/gnd wires. only. i'd check with a volt-meter. i would have expected a red wire or the white wire having a red/black marking at the end.
2. underground should be very deep and might still have to be special wire. i've heard that regular nmd can be used now but the code used to say only wet certified wire could be run even in conduit. you'd better check before calling an electrician. or telling anyone else what you've done. and i seriously doubt if you went deep enough:
http://www.selfhelpforums.com/showthread.php?t=3610

an overhead wire might be easier.