15A receptacle on a 20A breaker?

[hezagenius]

Looking to maybe move my eBIAB setup inside for the winter, but I have some questions about my outlets.

I have 15A outlets in my kitchen but the breakers on these outlets are 20A.

So here are my questions:
Is it possible the wiring in the walls is for 15A even though the breaker is 20A? Or does it need to be 20A wiring because the breaker is 20A?

Is there a way to measure the amps with a tool?

If the wiring is for 20A but the receptacle is 15A, would it measure at 15A or 20A with the tool?

If the wiring is for 15A and I replace the receptacles with 20A, would that overload the wiring? Or would it just only pull 15A?

 

[day_trippr]

- unless you're the original owner of your current domicile someone could have swapped out a 15A breaker for a 20A - because they kept tripping the 15A.

- There are current meters with jaws that you close around the hot side wire which allow reading current. I use one of them, typically at the load center end. They look like this:

- a receptacle rated at 15A is just that - you can easily pass more current through it until something fails
- if you put a 20A load on wiring rated for 15A with a 20A breaker you may test your fire insurance coverage.

The governing factor is the wiring. If it's undersized for the intended load, upgrading outlets and breakers is asking for trouble.
At this point you might open one of the outlets and check the wire gauge to see if it's really compatible with a 20A breaker.

fwiw, I have a 30A 240v run in my house that travels almost 100 feet from the load center that I have to replace because the heat pump I'll be installing (to replace a straight AC unit) needs a 40A feed.

I could just bodge it, upgrade the breaker, and hope I don't burn down my house. But I won't...

Cheers!

 

[9Kegs]

+1 on day trippr's comment
A 20 amp circuit requires 12-2 w/ ground wiring minimum and 15 amp requires 14-2 w / ground. You can run a 15A device on a 20A circuit but not vice versa. Open your service panel and look at the size of the wire running to the 20A breaker.

 

[doug293cz]

...

The governing factor is the wiring. If it's undersized for the intended load, upgrading outlets and breakers is asking for trouble.
At this point you might open one of the outlets and check the wire gauge to see if it's really compatible with a 20A breaker.

...

The wiring for a 20A circuit should be 12 AWG, whereas the wiring for a 15A circuit is 14 AWG. Replacing a 15A breaker with at 20A breaker on a circuit with with 14 AWG wire would be a code violation. Hopefully, this hasn't happened in your case, and you have 12 AWG wiring on the circuits with 20A breakers.

Edit: Apparently @9Kegs types faster than I do.

Brew on

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

I agree with the input given in prior posts. Heed their advise. Also, if the wires are undersized for the load this may cause melting, arching and possible fire. I typed "may" as in "it might happen". Why chance it?

A similar analogy. We're always told to NOT use an extension cord for a fridge or freezer. Why? For most an extension cord is the cheapy Dollar Store/Walmart type. These are probably OK for a lamp, but not the draw by a fridge or freezer. However, it is OK to use a nice thick wire extension cord for a fridge or freezer. I only offer this analogy as an example of overloading the wires.

 

[mongoose33]

Once you figure out what's what here, you should have someone look at the rest of your breaker-box installation. If one thing is dodgy, other stuff might be as well.

 

[hezagenius]

I'm the original owner and I had the house built in 2012.

If I pull out the receptacle, would the gauge be on the wire?

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

Once you figure out what's what here, you should have someone look at the rest of your breaker-box installation. If one thing is dodgy, other stuff might be as well.

I saw similar when I was looking to purchase a house years ago. Harry Homeowner ran wire to the back porch/patio.

What is this called? "Spaghetti wiring?"

At any rate, dangerous, not up to code and a REAL potential issue if there is a problem in the future and need to file an insurance claim.

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

I'm the original owner and I had the house built in 2012.

If I pull out the receptacle, would the gauge be on the wire?

Please see post
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/15a-receptacle-on-a-20a-breaker.670990/#post-8694585

 

[pbrennan10]

perfectly normal to have a 15 amp receptacle on a 20 amp circuit.

https://www.homedepot.com/c/types_of_electrical_outlets

 

[Bobby_M]

The reason you'll find (legal) 15 amp receptacles fed with 12/2 romex off a 20 amp breaker is the expectation of loads of up to 20 amps distributed across multiple 15 amp receptacles. You know, like a toaster oven and an blender at the same time. If you can confirm that you have 12 gauge wire hitting that breaker, there's no problem swapping in a 20 amp receptacle as long as you limit using additional devices on the remaining outlets during the times you are maxing out that 20 amp receptacle.

Side note. You can't measure a circuit's amps in an effort to determine its capacity. Think of amps like measuring a car's current speed. It says nothing about what speed it CAN go just like an ammeter can't tell you how much current a circuit can handle. That is a complicated equation based on wire size, type, install method and practically the rating of the circuit breaker. If you have a breaker rated at 20 amps and wire capable of 20 amps (generally 12 gauge wire), you can use devices that cumulatively demand a max of 20 amps. When you exceed it for a period of some time, the breaker trips.

 

[IslandLizard]

If I pull out the receptacle, would the gauge be on the wire?

Most, if not all modern kitchen installations use 20A circuits nowadays. Now each circuit may power multiple (2-3) outlets, for convenience of use and location. Either can be used by one or more appliances drawing up to 20A total at the same time. So you still can't operate a toaster oven and coffee machine at the same time on the same circuit.

Modern day Romex cable is color-coded by gauge size:
No. 14 is white, No. 12 is yellow, No. 10 is orange and No. 6 is black.

When pulling out the receptacle, you should be able to see the color of the outer mantle deep inside the electrical work box.

For older installations, the type and gauge is also marked every foot or so on the outer plastic sleeve/mantle. Look for the wire where it goes into your service panel. You should be able to read the markings there.

 

[passedpawn]

Looking to maybe move my eBIAB setup inside for the winter, but I have some questions about my outlets.

I have 15A outlets in my kitchen but the breakers on these outlets are 20A.

So here are my questions:
Is it possible the wiring in the walls is for 15A even though the breaker is 20A? Or does it need to be 20A wiring because the breaker is 20A?

Is there a way to measure the amps with a tool?

If the wiring is for 20A but the receptacle is 15A, would it measure at 15A or 20A with the tool?

If the wiring is for 15A and I replace the receptacles with 20A, would that overload the wiring? Or would it just only pull 15A?

Those little pushin "quickwire" holes in the back of a 15A outlet don't allow 12AWG wire. They are sized perfectly for 14AWG At least, this is my experience, but it might not be univerally true across all outlets.

So if you have one of these outlets, cut the power and see if the wire fits in that pushin hole. If not, the wire is probably 12AWG. If it fits, it's probably 14AWG. I know somebody (rightfully) is going to say this isn't a good test of wire size, but it's something quick if you're not interested in opening your panel.

 

[sicktght311]

You can always open your breaker panel too, and look at the wiring at the breaker side and follow it out

 

[hezagenius]

I opened the panel and the breaker has 12AWG (yellow wrap) going to it. But it is the breaker for more than one receptacle so I don't know what happens when the wiring splits in the walls and floor to run to each receptacle. I'll have check out the wiring on the receptacles themselves to see if I can tell what wiring is going to them.

 

[MaxStout]

I opened the panel and the breaker has 12AWG (yellow wrap) going to it. But it is the breaker for more than one receptacle so I don't know what happens when the wiring splits in the walls and floor to run to each receptacle. I'll have check out the wiring on the receptacles themselves to see if I can tell what wiring is going to them.

Determine what receptacles are connected to the branch circuit from that breaker. Turn off the breaker and use a lamp or tester to find all the powered-down outlets. Then pull out the outlets and check the wires leading in and out of each outlet box.

The wiring shouldn't "split" anywhere other than in a box. Typically, the wiring of a branch circuit runs from the breaker to the first outlet or receptacle box, then to the 2nd, 3rd, etc. So, if the wiring follows code, all connections should be within receptacle and outlet boxes.

 

[pbrennan10]

If the wiring follows code it's all 12ga wire on the 20a circuit.

 

[2LiveBrewCrew]

Thanks to everyone that posted on this electrical wiring issue... This is what I needed to learn as I'm going to install a dedicated line in my laundry room for the Grainfather.. already installed an exhaust fan for the excess steam...

 

[crazyjake19]

As long as the wire is properly sized for the breaker, you're good. 12awg wire can be protected by a 20 amp breaker, 14awg wire should have no more than a 15 amp breaker.

15 amp receptacles are rated for 20 amp pass-through and are perfectly code acceptable to have on a 20 amp circuit, unless it is a single receptacle. A single receptacle would be a single round outlet, not the double or duplex receptacle you have throughout your house.

I would check and see what size wire that circuit is on just to be sure. Remove the panel cover and see what size wire is connected to that breaker. If you have to, follow the single black wire from the breaker to where it enters the panel and you should be able to see either a yellow jacket indicating 12awg Romex or if the house is older it could be white but still be 12awg, which you'd be able to read on the cable somewhere.

 

[itsnotrequired]

15 amp receptacles are rated for 20 amp pass-through and are perfectly code acceptable to have on a 20 amp circuit, unless it is a single receptacle. A single receptacle would be a single round outlet, not the double or duplex receptacle you have throughout your house.

^this. you don't see them that often but a 20A circuit with only one of the below would be a code violation:

a duplex receptacle would be fine:

if you had a single receptacle on a 20A circuit, it would need to be rated 20A (note the t-shaped blade configuration):

 

[golfindia]

Uh.

Please. No.

YOU CANNOT DETERMINE AMPERAGE CAPACITY OF WIRE WITH A CLAMP ON METER.

 

[day_trippr]

I don't think anyone actually claimed one could.
Measure actual current, yes. Determine current carrying capability? Nope...

Cheers!

 

[Bobby_M]

But that's how I read it also. The OP was misunderstanding how current works (likening it to voltage I suppose) and asked if there was a tool to measure. You posted a clamp on meter because that actually is a tool to measure current but that's not the usage the OP was assuming the tool accomplished. Just a misunderstanding.

 

[day_trippr]

Hmm...Ok, I can see how that could be misinterpreted by the unfamiliar.
I took "Is there a way to measure the amps with a tool?" literally and answered it logically.
Hopefully these last few posts clarified that for the OP...

Cheers!