john.ward Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 You can connect a 15amp outlet to a 30amp 120 volt circuit as long as 10 awg copper wire is used from the breaker to the outlet. The breaker is designed to protect the wiring in the wall not the device(s) plugged in the outlet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 You can connect a 15amp outlet to a 30amp 120 volt circuit as long as 10 awg copper wire is used from the breaker to the outlet. The breaker is designed to protect the wiring in the wall not the device(s) plugged in the outlet. I just did some searching and found table NEC 210.21( (3). It specifically lists circuit ratings of 15, 20, 30, 40, and 50, and says that all outlets on a 30A circuit must be rated 30A (exactly). That is, you can't put a 15A, 20A, or even a 40A receptacle on a 30A circuit. On a 20A circuit, receptacles may be 20A or 15A, as long as there are more than one. Granted, this is just to be "up to code." In reality, if your 15amp outlet on a 30amp circuit is mounted outside away from anything flamable, the worst that could happen is the outlet itself could be destroyed with too much current. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve synek Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 You can connect a 15amp outlet to a 30amp 120 volt circuit as long as 10 awg copper wire is used from the breaker to the outlet. The breaker is designed to protect the wiring in the wall not the device(s) plugged in the outlet.John I have to dissagree with you. As I see the Electric code, you can not install a 15 amp outlet on anything larger than a 20 amp circuit. Per NEC 210.21 B- the outlet must have a rating not less than the circuit feeding it. I would say you can have a 30 amp outlet on a 15 amp circuit, but not the other way around per code. General use outlets are not rated for more than 20 amps. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve synek Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 (edited) SteveYou beat me to the punch. What are you reading that says 30 must be exactly 30? Edit- never mind......I know what you read. ...........the table that says 30 must be 30..........and that table refers to multiple outlets on a circuit............If the installation is a single outlet, the code text does not send you to that table. Steve Edited October 15, 2013 by steve synek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 If the installation is a single outlet, the code text does not send you to that table. Good catch. That would seem to say that a 20A outlet could be installed on a 15A circuit, but only if it were the only outlet on the circuit. But then, I believe a duplex outlet is consider 2 receptacles, according to the NEC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stanward Posted October 19, 2013 Share Posted October 19, 2013 Anywho, aside from the NEC discussions above, the first thing to do is to create an Excel spreadsheet of the strings you have, the amount of Amps each string consumes...... and finally, how many strings will be connected to each LOR controller. You then can calculate the theoretical maximum Amps drawn by each controller. Sometimes you need to get creative in distributing your loads across your available circuit breakers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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