Hi. I've done plenty of wiring around the house, but this presents a
new challenge. I'm wiring in a new cooktop, and it's wired
differently from the last one (which seemed to have a breaker for
every element, four 20 Amp breakers for the cooktop). This time, the
cooktop runs on 240V with a 30A breaker.

The wiring instructions seem to indicate that the two hot wires (red
and black) from the breaker box each get wired to corresponding red
and black wires from the cooktop, the bare copper ground from the
cooktop gets wired with the bare copper from the breaker box, and to
the junction box, but the neutral from the breaker box isn't used?
Does this sound right? Would I just wire-nut the neutral and leave it
in the box?

The whole thing is to be on its own 30A breaker, is it okay if this is
the breaker in the main panel, or should I have a subpanel under the
cooktop?

TIA for your help.

Cheers.

maurice

If the new unit requires a thirty amp breaker, it also requires thirty amp
wire, which is #10. The existing circuit may have only had #12 which is
what's required for 20 amp. If you have two sets of # 12 for the old cook
top, you CANNOT parallel them. If the unit doesn't require a neutral, and
you have a four wire feeder, just cap it in the junction box




"maurice" wrote in message
ups.com...
Hi. I've done plenty of wiring around the house, but this presents a
new challenge. I'm wiring in a new cooktop, and it's wired
differently from the last one (which seemed to have a breaker for
every element, four 20 Amp breakers for the cooktop). This time, the
cooktop runs on 240V with a 30A breaker.

The wiring instructions seem to indicate that the two hot wires (red
and black) from the breaker box each get wired to corresponding red
and black wires from the cooktop, the bare copper ground from the
cooktop gets wired with the bare copper from the breaker box, and to
the junction box, but the neutral from the breaker box isn't used?
Does this sound right? Would I just wire-nut the neutral and leave it
in the box?

The whole thing is to be on its own 30A breaker, is it okay if this is
the breaker in the main panel, or should I have a subpanel under the
cooktop?

TIA for your help.

Cheers.

maurice

That seems to be the way they do it now. I just changed a built in oven. The
old one had its own sub-panel with a half dozen breakers, the new one just
wired directly to the circuit fed by a breaker in my main panel. The oven
used a white neutral. If you don't have a white wire for the cooktop, it
means it runs only on 240 volts, so I would just cap the white wire in the
junction box. You don't need a separate sub-panel in this case.


"maurice" wrote in message
ups.com...
Hi. I've done plenty of wiring around the house, but this presents a
new challenge. I'm wiring in a new cooktop, and it's wired
differently from the last one (which seemed to have a breaker for
every element, four 20 Amp breakers for the cooktop). This time, the
cooktop runs on 240V with a 30A breaker.

The wiring instructions seem to indicate that the two hot wires (red
and black) from the breaker box each get wired to corresponding red
and black wires from the cooktop, the bare copper ground from the
cooktop gets wired with the bare copper from the breaker box, and to
the junction box, but the neutral from the breaker box isn't used?
Does this sound right? Would I just wire-nut the neutral and leave it
in the box?

The whole thing is to be on its own 30A breaker, is it okay if this is
the breaker in the main panel, or should I have a subpanel under the
cooktop?

TIA for your help.

Cheers.

maurice

On Mar 16, 9:15 am, "RBM" rbm2(remove wrote:
If the new unit requires a thirty amp breaker, it also requires thirty amp
wire, which is #10. The existing circuit may have only had #12 which is
what's required for 20 amp. If you have two sets of # 12 for the old cook
top, you CANNOT parallel them. If the unit doesn't require a neutral, and
you have a four wire feeder, just cap it in the junction box

Good!! That was the first thing came to mind was that OP didn't even
mention the problem of being (apparently) under-sized capacity w/ the
feeder...

On Mar 16, 12:14 pm, "dpb" wrote:
On Mar 16, 9:15 am, "RBM" rbm2(remove wrote:

If the new unit requires a thirty amp breaker, it also requires thirty amp
wire, which is #10. The existing circuit may have only had #12 which is
what's required for 20 amp. If you have two sets of # 12 for the old cook
top, you CANNOT parallel them. If the unit doesn't require a neutral, and
you have a four wire feeder, just cap it in the junction box

Good!! That was the first thing came to mind was that OP didn't even
mention the problem of being (apparently) under-sized capacity w/ the
feeder...

Sorry, I should have mentioned, good point. The old feed came from
the panel (30 Amp breaker) to a sub-panel under the cooktop, and the
wiring looks like #8, I'll know for sure when I strip the wires.
Definitely thicker than #10, though, so I think I should be okay
there. The new cooktop calls for a 40A breaker, so I figure I'll just
remove the subpanel altogether and just use a junction box.

Okay, so another quick question - if I don't need the white neutral
wire for this installation, I will marrette it in the junction box,
but do I also need to find it and disconnect it from the neutral bus
in the main panel?

Thanks for all of your help.

On Mar 16, 12:14 pm, "dpb" wrote:
On Mar 16, 9:15 am, "RBM" rbm2(remove wrote:
If the new unit requires a thirty amp breaker, it also requires thirty amp
wire, which is #10. The existing circuit may have only had #12 which is
what's required for 20 amp. If you have two sets of # 12 for the old cook
top, you CANNOT parallel them. If the unit doesn't require a neutral, and
you have a four wire feeder, just cap it in the junction box

Good!! That was the first thing came to mind was that OP didn't even
mention the problem of being (apparently) under-sized capacity w/ the
feeder...


Sorry, I should have mentioned, good point. The old feed came from
the panel (30 Amp breaker) to a sub-panel under the cooktop, and the
wiring looks like #8, I'll know for sure when I strip the wires.
Definitely thicker than #10, though, so I think I should be okay
there. The new cooktop calls for a 40A breaker (thought it needed a
30 Amp according to the sales outfit where I purchased it, but
instructions call for a 40Amp) , so I figure I'll just remove the
subpanel altogether and just use a junction box. Okay, so another
quick question - if I don't need the white neutral
wire for this installation, I will marrette it in the junction box,
but do I also need to find it and disconnect it from the neutral bus
in the main panel and marrette that end as well?

Thanks for all of your help.

If it requires 40 amp, be sure the feeder is at least #8 copper. No, you
don't need to disconnect the neutral at the panel end



"maurice" wrote in message
oups.com...
On Mar 16, 12:14 pm, "dpb" wrote:
On Mar 16, 9:15 am, "RBM" rbm2(remove wrote:

If the new unit requires a thirty amp breaker, it also requires thirty
amp
wire, which is #10. The existing circuit may have only had #12 which is
what's required for 20 amp. If you have two sets of # 12 for the old
cook
top, you CANNOT parallel them. If the unit doesn't require a neutral,
and
you have a four wire feeder, just cap it in the junction box

Good!! That was the first thing came to mind was that OP didn't even
mention the problem of being (apparently) under-sized capacity w/ the
feeder...

Sorry, I should have mentioned, good point. The old feed came from
the panel (30 Amp breaker) to a sub-panel under the cooktop, and the
wiring looks like #8, I'll know for sure when I strip the wires.
Definitely thicker than #10, though, so I think I should be okay
there. The new cooktop calls for a 40A breaker, so I figure I'll just
remove the subpanel altogether and just use a junction box.

Okay, so another quick question - if I don't need the white neutral
wire for this installation, I will marrette it in the junction box,
but do I also need to find it and disconnect it from the neutral bus
in the main panel?

Thanks for all of your help.