Moving 220v Appliance Cable?

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savatreatabvr

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I raised the ceiling in my kitchen and had all new cabinets installed a few months ago but now I need to move my 220v oven electrical cable over about 2'. This may be a stupid question but can I splice a new piece of cable into the existing cable with cut-in boxes and wire nuts or do I need special 220v electrical boxes and wire nuts? I looked online but couldn't find much info!
 
Yes, you can use a junction box for the splice to extend your 220V wring. You are not allowed to bury the box in the wall ... it must be accessible from the outside.

The splice is done with wire nuts and I would tape each of them too. Make sure you have appropriate connectors for the wire inside the box.

As to the cut-in box ... yes you can but I would use a deep two gang box because your typical 220v wiring needs the space. Obviously, it need a blank cover as well.

220v.jpg
 
If the cable is four wire including a ground you can extend it.
If it is only a three wire cable then you are not permitted to extend it by code. You need to replace the entire cable.
 
If the cable is four wire including a ground you can extend it.
If it is only a three wire cable then you are not permitted to extend it by code. You need to replace the entire cable.

That really bites but I do want to comply with all electrical codes! Is there a chance anybody knows WHY the 3 wire can't be spliced and the 4 wire can or do they not explain why in the code book?
 
That really bites but I do want to comply with all electrical codes! Is there a chance anybody knows WHY the 3 wire can't be spliced and the 4 wire can or do they not explain why in the code book?
Yeah, somebody knows why. Will they tell you? Not likely. Transparency for large, powerful organizations is hard to come by. :(

Physically this makes no sense to me. How do the splices know how many conductors the other splices are connecting?

Even if a splice failed you've got a metal box around it and you would see symptoms of a failing splice. When the appliance is off there is no current flow and so a splice failure is irrelevant.
And just like GFCI tests, once/month you could check ground conductor integrity.

If wirenuts make you nervous you could maybe use crimp type connectors. And an outer, much larger metal box with a smoke detector inside. :D

I doubt that the NFPA will explain their reasoning - I asked them about a related issue and their answer did not give me a warm fuzzy feeling.
And the 2014 Code changes seem to show that selling new hardware is the main thing, regardless of how much additional safety you get or don't get for each additional dollar spent. Not to mention all the false alarms with AFCIs and some GFCIs.
 
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Three wire appliance circuits such as stove and dryer, are no longer permitted. Existing three wire circuits are allowed to remain. However if you modify the circuit you need to bring it up to current code. Extending a circuit is considered modifying it.

If you can find a way to move the cable without extending it, then you can leave it.
 
Three wire appliance circuits such as stove and dryer, are no longer permitted. Existing three wire circuits are allowed to remain. However if you modify the circuit you need to bring it up to current code. Extending a circuit is considered modifying it.

If you can find a way to move the cable without extending it, then you can leave it.
Do you have a contact for someone knowledgeable in the Canadian Code?
I'd think they'd be more forthcoming about the workings of the code-making committees than the NFPA.
The IEEE sometimes does studies for these regulations but they want bucks for everything they put out, and I haven't been a member for quite a while.
 
As I understand it, if you do anything with wires in the kitchen, then the whole kitchen has to be brought up to code.
 
I do not. The code is issued and I follow it.
In that case I hope the Canadian code balances
safety vs. cost to the consumer
moreso than the NEC.

Some time ago the NEC required GFCIs in car washes even though there has never been an incident and I think the changes for 2014 take this even further, with GFCIs and AFCIs now required in many locations.

The NIST maintains standards for industry and science but AFAIK there is no "standard arc" (I asked them) so I wonder how the AFCI people even know if their devices work.
For go/no-go devices the benchmark is how many false positive and false negative responses these things produce. Both errors cannot be minimized at the same time and apparently the false positives are in the majority.

FUD
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear,_uncertainty_and_doubt
seems to sell the NEC as well as the AFCIs, and many other things to many people.
 
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I understand your frustration Wuzzat ... but the decision is binary if the Inspector is involved: "Follow the code or no check off."

If the Inspector is not involved and your license is on the line, what do you choose to do? If you are the homeowner in a DIY situation, can you decide to do what is cost effective, safe and NOT in strict compliance? Well, that is the question ....
 
This discussion has clarified this issue for me somewhat.
If a splice is OK in many situations it seems a contradiction to not allow it in this cable lengthening scenario. Orwell might call this "doublethink."

Yes, licensed tradespeople have to follow the code. Their job is held hostage.

I e-mailed Ideal Industries with questions about the contact resistance and reliability of their Wirenuts. We'll see what happens.

If you had a current carrying cable with no splices, one splices or up to X number of splices, at what value of X would you be able to detect that there even was one splice? This is a basement project for me after Christmas.

This brings up a testing issue for the DIYer. By measuring the voltage drop along the cable and the current drawn and comparing this V/I resistance value to the AWG table, he or she can measure the integrity of the splices as often as wanted.
 
This also raises craftsmanship issues. Some sloppy work in splicing would have wires stuck into a wire nut, which is then twisted.

Proper procedure means twisting the conductors with a pair of lineman pliers to get a tight twist, then trimmed, before inseting into the wire nut. The nut is further twisted, then taped.

The first example might result in a much different reading from the second example, yes?

WIRE.jpg
 
It's not if the cable and splice will do the job, it is that the cable is no longer up to code, which is fine untill you work on it. Even a homeowner can run into problems with this when selling a house, if the buyer knows when the kitchen was updated and the home inspector catches it.
 
This thread is going off topic.
Twisting wire is NOT required when applying wire nuts.
 
With more than two wires I've found that middle wires may not be clamped against the others properly. They remain straight.

In this situation I usually twist with pliers and then trim the ends to equal length.

Speaking of craftsmanship, a basement room job done by amateurs had a half volt extra voltage for the 20' or 30' length of #12 when I was pulling 10A through that branch and the tenant was complaining about flickering lights.
It was a wirenut with three wires with the center wire barely holding and straight.
A half volt at 10A is 5w, quite a bit of power to be dissipated in something as small as a wirenut.

The guy also had a three way switch arrangement and I insisted on testing all four combinations before they put the drop ceiling in place. Sure enough, it was only partially working.

There still may be some problems lurking in that place.



In some counties you can take an exam and then wire your own house to Code so you will save the labor cost.

And there are probably connectors way more reliable than Wirenuts that don't depend so much on operator skill, :) but maybe less convenient to work with.:(
 
With more than two wires I've found that middle wires may not be clamped against the others properly. They remain straight.

In this situation I usually twist with pliers and then trim the ends to equal length.

Speaking of craftsmanship, a basement room job done by amateurs had a half volt extra voltage for the 20' or 30' length of #12 when I was pulling 10A through that branch and the tenant was complaining about flickering lights.
It was a wirenut with three wires with the center wire barely holding and straight.
A half volt at 10A is 5w, quite a bit of power to be dissipated in something as small as a wirenut.

The guy also had a three way switch arrangement and I insisted on testing all four combinations before they put the drop ceiling in place. Sure enough, it was only partially working.

There still may be some problems lurking in that place.



In some counties you can take an exam and then wire your own house to Code so you will save the labor cost.

And there are probably connectors way more reliable than Wirenuts that don't depend so much on operator skill, :) but maybe less convenient to work with.:(

If there are orange, yellow, red and blue wire nuts then what's connectors are used for larger gauge wire?
 
http://www.idealindustries.com/prodDetail.do?prodId=wire-nut&div=0&l1=twist-on&l2=wire-nut
and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_wire_gauge

There's another thing about extending cable lengths.
Let's say you have two wirenuts for each outlet in your house. By adding four more to your house total, how much is the safety of your house compromised?

Split bolt connectors (insulated?) are probably superior in terms of initial safety and safety over their lifetime.

Thank you for the links although I don't trust "wikipedia.org" much do to the fact that anyone can edit the contents.
 
Thank you for the links although I don't trust "wikipedia.org" much do to the fact that anyone can edit the contents.
[ame]http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=%22credibility+of+wikipedia%22&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8[/ame]
 
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