Answers To Electrical Questions About Installing Receptacles In A Kitchen, Grounding An Electric Service and Dimmer Switches
October 27, 2008
Joe Krupa asks:
I would like to add one, possibly two kitchen countertop receptacles. I have two existing ones, both 20 amps. Receptacle A, on the left, has not been tapped into. Receptacle B, on the right, includes the fridge receptacle, making a total of two receptacles on this circuit. Do I run a new devoted 20 amp circuit, or can I branch off of Receptacle A ??? My community observes the NEC, but it is not clear to me regarding this situation. I would greatly appreciate your insight…
Answer:
You may branch off of circuit A providing the equipment will not overload the circuit. According to the National Electrical Code® (NEC®), you are required to have 2 dedicated and GFCI protected small appliance circuits. If it is easy, I recommend installing a dedicated circuit for the refrigerator; this does not need to be GFCI protected. I also recommend installing a dedicated circuit for a microwave.
C Miller asks:
How do I change a three wire service to a four wire? How do I add the extra ground lug to a square d box?
Answer:
You need to ground your electric service to change it from a 3-wire to a 4-wire. At your first point of disconnect, you need to install a # 6 AWG copper wire for a 100 amp service or # 4 AWG copper wire for a 200 amp service to the cold water pipe where it enters your building; providing the water line is metallic and extends at least 10 feet underground beyond the entrance to your building. You should connect to the street side of your water meter first and without cutting it, connect it to the house side of the water meter as well. The reason for this is sometimes there is a neoprene or rubber bushing in between the water meter and cold water line. These bushings are insulators and will not allow electricity to flow outside to dissipate to ground.
At your first point of disconnect, you also need install 2 – 8 foot long x 5/8 inch diameter ground rods set 6 feet apart. Then install a continuous loop of # 6 AWG copper wire from the first point of disconnect through both ground rods and back to the first point of disconnect.
Your first point of disconnect is the first main breaker immediately after the electric meter. This is typically outside, but not always. After all of the grounding is done at your first point of disconnect, you need to install a ground wire to each breaker box from the first point of disconnect.
Grounding can be challenging and this is an area a lot of people have trouble with. This is an advanced DIYer project. I highly recommend hiring a licensed or qualified electrician for this type of project.
J.R. asks:
Is there a transformer inside the lutron light switch. Such as a ballast. Do the lutron dimmers constantly use voltage to run this transformer? I need to know because my house is vacant most of the time and I try to shut everything down when I leave.
Thanks J.R.
Answer:
I do not believe that Lutron dimmer switches have transformers or ballasts in them. All Lutron dimmer switches that I have installed have a positive off position. With the switch in the off position, the light will not use any energy and the switch should not use any energy either; unless it is lighted. However, this is a question for Lutron.
How Stuff Works has a good article about “How Dimmer Switches Work“.
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I have an older home, built sometime in the 50’s. The service meter is on the front of the house, the breaker panel is located inside a closet. I want to upgrade my service, but I’ve been told that panels can no longer be located in closets. Do I need to relocate my entire service to another location?
Are there any regulations as to where I can install a receptacle near a fryer in a kitchen?
My tester reads that I have an open ground even though I know for a fact that all outlets have been grounded. Could you please tell what the problem is?