Installing Dedicated 20 Amp Outlets for Garage Workbench

For those who may have questions, here is some technical information.

It is widely debated as to whether Romex can be used in conduit. The issue that is referenced is heat build up due to the conduit trapping heat. This claim pretty illogical considering Romex is frequently run in places full of insulation.

In terms of code, the NEC does not prohibit this. Romex is only banned in wet/damp locations. In fact, the NEC states “Cable shall be protected from physical damage where necessary by rigid metal conduit, intermediate metal conduit, electrical metallic tubing, Schedule 80 PVC conduit, Type RTRC marked with the suffix -XW, or other approved means. “ (referencing type NM cable). Ultimately, it depends on local regulation. In my jurisdiction, this is a perfectly compliant installation. However if I were to do this again, I would likely use THHN since it’s much easier. Check with local codes before installation.

Another concern people maybe have is box fill. I checked to ensure these boxes were not overfilled. With the maximum of 2 devices and the conductors/grounds, the required allowance is 20.25 cubic inches. The 4x4 square boxes I’m using are 21 cubic inches by themselves and the exposed work covers I used also have additional volume. Again however, it would have been much easier to use deeper boxes.

One last point I would like to address is the use of different wire connectors. Wire nuts are common in the US, however for some parts of this video I did choose to use wagos. Some people do think wagos are hazardous, but factually this is not true. They are a professional standard is virtually any other developed country and are rated to carry a certain number of amps. They are also much flatter and take up much less space in a box than wire nuts. Plus they don’t deform the wire which makes them much more versatile and troubleshooting easier. I am not sponsored, but I will certainly be using wagos much more. I believe both have a place in my toolbag.

Thanks for watching this video.

[KevinCoop]

You did pretty good. Hope you don’t mind some clarifications. A few of the finer points of NEC. The definition of “dedicated” (The National Electrical Code (NEC) defines a dedicated circuit as an individual branch circuit. A dedicated circuit is designed to provide enough power to a specific appliance without overloading the system. It has its own circuit breaker and only supports one outlet, so only one device can draw voltage from it at a time.). The cover on the box that holds the devices are not mud rings. They are surface covers. Emergency lights are not allowed to be switched.

[TFEAS-]

Oh, wow! It looks very, very good! Very flush, whilst sticking out, I like it!

[andyslagle]

Thank you. Awesome work and it helped me with my smaller project.

[surferdude]

I paid $20 for a 10 pack of Legrand 15 amp receptacles, I thought that was a good deal. I doubt that the 20 amp is superior, it just allows for a 20 plug. I bought them from Home Depot, not eBay, could account for the difference.

[Penguin]

You could avoid having to do box offset by just using mineralac a.k.a. mini straps – it would probably be a little more DIY friendly for most people. Also throwing a level on your conduit before strapping it down would make it look a lot more presentable.

[JohnThomas-lqqp]

See two code violations. 1) must seal wire or cable that runs from a warm environment to a colder environment.to prevent condensation from building up. 2) Not legal to tun type NMB cable in conduit. Should have used THHN/THWN wire . NMB individual conductors never have the guage or insulation type like THHN/THEN, XHHN & other types. Depending what vode cycle your lication is in might need a AFCI cirvuit breaker. Must read panel label very carefully. Some panels are only rated for a maximum of four flimsy mini or twin breakers. Inspectors will check for this and fail jobs not following panel label.

[erfquake]

Question: you said the first receptacle must be GFCI compliant, I dig it. Am I to understand that all the rest of the receptacles in that network get their current routed through that one GFCI-compliant receptacle? If so, that makes perfect sense grounding-wise. But isn't that whole network quite an electrical burden to route through one receptacle?

[Phil-nled]

great job! how would I go about installing something similar if my breaker box is flushed and located on the same wall I want to add the receptacles to if that makes sense.

[JohnThomas-lqqp]

Would be safer if emergency luminare ( no such thing anymore in the NEC as a light or light fixture ) was on the same circiit that supplies power to room linanares.

[InstrumentFan]

Hi FireAlarmDude5967 Great Video! I want you to do EST Voice Evac

[zacharykorbet]

Very nice job did you buy the receptacles on Amazon?

[firealarmexpert]

Not really supposed to use Romex in EMT or else it will make it hot and possibly cause an electrical fire

[RjsfireALA]

you can not use Romex in conduit but besides that god job