Answers to Electrical Questions about Kitchen Countertop Receptacles, 240 Volt Heaters & Grounding Light Switches

August 24, 2007

Randy Says:
I have a two tier island in the kitchen and want to install plug molding for outlets on the lower side. My question is can I run the electrical plug molding continuous past the back of the sink. It sets up 1 1/4? off the counter top to the bottom of the molding and need to have outlets on both sides of sink.

A: I do not recommend this. I think water would splash into the receptacles causing the GFCI to constantly trip. However, you should talk to your local electrical inspector to see if you can get their approval.

Here is what I would do. Cut the plugmold approximately 12 inches bacK from the sink edge. Begin your other run of plugmold approximately 12 inches past the other side of the sink. Now you can use a piece of conduit or some wiremold to connect the two pieces of plugmold; or feed the second piece of plugmold from below (if accessible).

The NEC requires this circuit to be GFCI protected and 20 amp rated with #12 AWG wire.

Duane Stabler Says:
I have a 240 Volt heater wired to a 20 amp circuit. It requires 8 amps to operate. I now have added a 240 volt in floor heating unit that also takes 8 amps. I want to use the same circuit for both. Do I need to wire the two in parallel or in serial to make both operate correctly?

Thanks,
Duane

A: You need to wire these in parallel to have one thermostat operate both heaters on the same circuit.

Theo Says:
I recently purchased a house and decided to replace most of the light switches as they were old and starting to become worn out. Of the first three switches I replaced, two did not have the ground wire connected to the switch. I have remedied this when replacing these switches, but am curious as to why the grounds would not have been connected. Also, is this an issue (and why) and should I be inspecting the rest of the switches/outlets in the house to determine if ground is connected to them?

A: The change in the NEC that required grounding of switches was in the 2002 edition I believe. So if your house was wired before 2002 it was not required to ground switches. I recommend connecting a ground wire to any switch that does not have one connected to it; especially dimmer switches.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Do you need assistance with your electrical wiring project? Please visit my DIY Electrical Wiring Help from a Master Electrician page. Where I provide electrical wiring tips, expert electrical advice, answers to your electrical questions and electrical consulting & design services over the phone, via instant messenger or via email.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed or receive updates via email

Written by Wayne Gilchrist · Filed Under Electrical Installations & Repairs

Comments

Do you have a question or idea to add to this post? Feel free to post it below. Due to a large backlog and an overwhelming response, it takes approximately 30 days to receive an answer to your electrical question for free. Simply subscribe to this blog (use one of the subscription methods listed in the top right corner of this page) and your answer will be listed in a new blog post in the near future.

To receive an immediate answer (in less than 24 hours) please visit my DIY Electrical Wiring Help from a Master Electrician page.