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Let me belabor the 12 gauge -> 14 guage discussion

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Let me belabor the 12 gauge -> 14 guage discussion pashag 06-03-2008
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Posted by on June 3, 2008, 1:39 am
Hi,

I recently asked whether it's OK an a 20amp dedicated circuit intended
for a heater/fan/n.light/light combination to run 14 gauge wire from
the switch to the fixture, except for the heater part. And of course,
the answer was "no" because you are not suppose to use 14 guage wire
on a 20 amp circuit.

But the wire in the fixture is 14 gauge! (Except for the heater part.
There are three 14 gauge and one 12 gauge pairs inside the fixture.)
How is that not breaking the code on the part of the manufacturer?

Thanks,

Aaron

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Posted by Calab on June 3, 2008, 2:52 am

> Hi,
>
> I recently asked whether it's OK an a 20amp dedicated circuit intended
> for a heater/fan/n.light/light combination to run 14 gauge wire from
> the switch to the fixture, except for the heater part. And of course,
> the answer was "no" because you are not suppose to use 14 guage wire
> on a 20 amp circuit.
>
> But the wire in the fixture is 14 gauge! (Except for the heater part.
> There are three 14 gauge and one 12 gauge pairs inside the fixture.)
> How is that not breaking the code on the part of the manufacturer?

Because you won't be adding more circuits inside the fixture!

With 14 gauge in your wiring (not inside a fixture) there is the chance that
someone will later add more 20 amp circuits because they see the 12 guage
wire and don't realize that there is any 14 gauge in your circuit.





Posted by on June 3, 2008, 3:14 am
Yes, but I was proposing is connecting the switch to the fixture (a 4'
run!) with 14 gauge wire. That would essentially make it an extension
of the fixture's own 14 guage. Why is that not legitimate. If the
answer is that "the code tries to be overprotective", I'll accept
that. But I want to make sense out of it.

Thanks.

Aaron

Posted by Calab on June 3, 2008, 3:17 am

> Yes, but I was proposing is connecting the switch to the fixture (a 4'
> run!) with 14 gauge wire. That would essentially make it an extension
> of the fixture's own 14 guage. Why is that not legitimate. If the
> answer is that "the code tries to be overprotective", I'll accept
> that. But I want to make sense out of it.

Because the fixture will be at a junction box... Wiring could get added from
this box to a new circuit.



Posted by Aaron Fude on June 3, 2008, 3:55 am
>
>
> > Yes, but I was proposing is connecting the switch to the fixture (a 4'
> > run!) with 14 gauge wire. That would essentially make it an extension
> > of the fixture's own 14 guage. Why is that not legitimate. If the
> > answer is that "the code tries to be overprotective", I'll accept
> > that. But I want to make sense out of it.
>
> Because the fixture will be at a junction box... Wiring could get added fr=
om
> this box to a new circuit.

The fixture's junction box is _inside_ the fixture. Are you suggesting
that someone might add a new circiut downstream from the fixture? That
would be far fetched.

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