On 15 Oct 2006 10:24:21 -0700, wrote:


ZZ wrote:
Hi There,

I'm confused on if I can replace an 15 amp receptacle with a 20 amp
receptacle. I want to be able to hook up a espresso machine in my kitchen
and the machine requires a 20amp circuit.

The particular circuit I want to change out has a 20 amp breaker coming from
the box using a 14 gauge wire to, 1 15 amp GFI receptacle & 2 15 amp
receptacles in the kitchen.

Will I be able to switch out 1 of the 15 amp receptacles with a 20 amp
receptacle without causing a problem?

Thanks,
Dave

I have installed quite a few 20-amp receptacles in my house as
replacements for 15-amp receptacles over the years. In fact, whenever I
happen to replace a 15-amp receptacle, I usually use a 20-amp
receptacle.

And what kind of wire do you have in the walls? If it is 14 gauge you
are just looking for trouble. 19 or 20 amps WILL overheat 14 gauge
wire. Why have fuses and circuit breakers at all if you're going to
encourage the use of loads that are bigger than the wire can handle?

Not because I'm actually going to draw 20-amps out of that
socket, but simply because they are higher-quality outlets. It usually
only takes a few minutes to swap them out.

You might not be planning to use bigger stuff, but what about your
teen-age son, your brother in law, your wife, your father and anyone
doing anything when you are out of town, out of the house, in the
hospital, dead, or have sold the house to innocent but unskilled
people.

It sounds like your house has been wired incorrectly. It makes me
wonder if you might have the basis for a lawsuit.

I agree that he should get the rest of it checked. He might want to
check with owners of other houses built by the same builder. If
problems are not too many and not too big, maybe they can let the
original electrician fix them.

My high school in 1963 came with a one-year warranty, and the school
system people were supposed to check things out soon after occupying
the building. Only because a truck hit a light pole and we lost power
one day did they learn that the emergency lighting was done all wrong.
There was supposed to be a back-up generator that ran one ceiling
fixture in every interior room, but some rooms had no lights, and some
exterior rooms had them instead. And I don't think the emergency
generator went on at all. And some other problems. I'm almost sure
the original electric company was allowed to do the repairs. Don't
think there was any graft involved, just screw-ups.