Hello all,
My kitchen has a 20 amp appliance circuit--12 ga wire and 20 amp breaker,
but all of the outlets on the circuit are 15 amp outlets. Is this something
I should be concerned about? I.e., should I replace all of the outlets with
20A?
Thanks,
Joe
Nope the 15a receptacles are perfectly legal.
You might want to replace them if they are poor quality but that will be
apparent if the plugs get hot or fall out.
| My kitchen has a 20 amp appliance circuit--12 ga wire and 20 amp breaker,
| but all of the outlets on the circuit are 15 amp outlets. Is this something
| I should be concerned about? I.e., should I replace all of the outlets with
| 20A?
The 15 amp receptacles, if they are modern UL listed devices, are rated for
20 amps current, including a total of 20 amps between each outlet of duplex
devices, and passing 20 amps between the upper and lower screws for passing
power through to the next device.
Do be aware that if you want to actually meet current electrical code, the
receptacles in the kitchen and bathrooms do need to have the 20 amp outlet
configuration (NEMA 5-20R) to allow you to plug in a 20 amp appliance (and
you have to have at least 2 separate circuits of them for 40 amps total
capacity in the kitchen).
It hasn't changed in that regard. You do not need a 5-20R unless it's a
single receptacle on a dedicated circuit (one duplex receptacle does not
count as a single outlet) in any application. The only time a 5-20R would
be required in a kitchen counter area is if it were a really small kitchen
and there was only room for one outlet box. A split duplex 5-20R would be
used with a 12/4 cable feeding it via a 20-amp, 2-pole GFCI circuit breaker
in order to comply with Art. 210.11(C)(1).
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