Proper Receptacles for 20 Amp Circuit
 

Hi,

I have a 20 amp circuit in my kitchen which feeds several outlets.
None of these outlets are rated at 20 amps, however. They're rated for
15. Is this a problem? I'm not planning on plugging any appliances
into the outlets that are over 15 amps.


- Thanks,

Todd

Todd wrote:
Hi,

I have a 20 amp circuit in my kitchen which feeds several outlets.
None of these outlets are rated at 20 amps, however. They're rated for
15. Is this a problem? I'm not planning on plugging any appliances
into the outlets that are over 15 amps.


- Thanks,

Todd



Not a problem in the US.

It used to be a problem in Canada; I think it's OK there too now if
duplex outlets.

Best regards,
Bob

According to code, you only need one 20A outlet on a 20A circuit. The
rest can be regular 15A outlets. In my opinion, it's a poor practice
to do this, but it is acceptable. I only use 20A outlets on a 20A
circuit.

In article om, wrote:
According to code, you only need one 20A outlet on a 20A circuit. The
rest can be regular 15A outlets. In my opinion, it's a poor practice
to do this, but it is acceptable. I only use 20A outlets on a 20A
circuit.

Where does it say in the Code that you need *any* 20A outlets on a 20A
circuit? Using 15A outlets on a 20A circuit is explicitly permitted.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt.
And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?

Doug wrote:

You may be thinking of the requirement that if a 20 amp circuit only
has a
single receptacle then it must be a 20 amp receptacle. If there's more
than one then 15 amp receptacles are OK. The packaging for 15 amp units
usually says something like 15 amp plug, 20 amp feed through.


In case it isn't obvious, a duplex receptacle is not a single
receptacle. A 15 amp duplex receptacle can be installed as the only
device on a 20 amp circuit.

Bud--

The only difference between a 20a and a 15a is that you CANNOT plug a 20a
device into a 15a outlet, so you can't overload the 15a circuit. (well, at
least not that way)

Since you probably don't have any 20a devices, it makes no difference what
you use; as long as you don't have 20a outlets on a 15a circuit.

The only exception is that if you have only one outlet on a 20a circuit, it
has to be a 20a outlet. I haven't any idea why.

It goes without saying that you still have to use #12 wire with 20a breaker,
regardless of the outlets.