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John Grabowski John Grabowski is offline
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Default Where to run the wire....

Installing a 10K BTU A/C (8A) for a relative. The outlet to be used is on
the far end of a daisy chain of a half-dozen other outlets and two ceiling
lights.

It looks like I'll be running a dedicated wire for this outlet.

The outlet in question is two feet from an exterior corner, and about a
foot off of the ground.

All of the wires in the house go up from the breaker box, and route around
in the attic to whatever header they drop down from. There isn't a wire
coming out of the header above the outlet in question (nor the adjacent
one), leading me to believe it goes horizontal through it's daisy chain.

If I run the wire up to the attic, I have to fish through wall insulation,
a firebreak, and the header, which has about 10" of working room in the
attic. Did I mention the 18" of blown insulation?

If I drop the wire down to the crawl space, I have to make a 90 degree
bend in the 4"x6" footer (down from above, into from below), and will have
to cut out two kicker panels for work access (one below the outlet and one
below the breaker box in the utility room).

I'm thinking my best bet will be to run the wire down.



*What I usually do when there is limited attic access is cut a hole in the
wall (Using my 45 degree cut technique) close to the ceiling and drill up
into the attic. The hole in the wall should be big enough so that your drill
will fit inside so you can at least drill straight and not angled towards
the outside. I push a fishtape up several feet into the attic. I then go
up in the attic with a fiberglass rod with a hook on it and grab the
fishtape. I pull the wire down from the attic.

Fiberglass rods go through insulated walls better than a fishtape. However
you will need to cut a hole and drill through that fire block so a fishtape
might suffice.

Use 12/2 for the A/C line. I would cut in a separate box for the A/C and
leave the existing boxes and wiring alone.