Determining if I have enough room

cibula11

So assuming that I will use two heaters for the attic. Is there anything different that I need to do for the wiring. Do I still run it to the tstat first. Then to the 2 heaters? How do I wire the tstat to the heaters if they are so far away?

Christopher

cibula11,

Power cable to thermostat, separate cable from thermostat to each heater. No distance in your home qualifies as "far" with respect to any special considerations.

...Christopher

cibula11

So for each of the tstat wiring I would have two wires pigtailed instead of just one?

Christopher

Yes...

...Christopher

cibula11

I have decided to go with a 220v/240v just in case I would need a larger heater for the space. When wiring this, do I just add both wires from the 12/2 to the hot side of the breaker? So instead of using the neutral wire, I would just connect that with the hot side?

Christopher

Correct, there is no neutral conductor in this circuit. An example of this circuit is your electric water heater if you have one.

The conductors in this circuit are:
L1,
L2,
Safety Ground.

To be thorough (and code compliant) you should wrap a ring of black, red, or blue electrical tape on the white wire of your cable at each end.

...Christopher

cibula11

Okay. Another question. If I first run the 12/2 to the thermostat and then from there to one heater. And then from the thermostat to the other, will both heaters be powered, or do I need to run the 12/2 to connect both heaters. I guess, I'm a little unsure of how to make sure that both heaters are connecting.

Christopher

I thought that we covered this above:

cibula11

Upon further inspection it looks as if I don't have enough room. The panel shows that I could add another breaker, but the bus bar does not continue far enough down. I have 2 15 amp breakers and 2 20 amp breakers. In order to free up space can I add a 15 amp tandem and a 20 amp tandem. This would give me the two additional spaces needed for my 2 pole 20 amp? Are there any additional instructions that I need to follow while doing this?

Christopher

cibula11,

Replacing full size circuit breakers with tandem breakers is a viable way to get the space you need. The 2-pole circuit breaker must connect to both bus bars.

Workmanship standards. Don't cut wires too short. All wires should have a service loop. i.e. the connected thermostat, light switches, outlets, should be able to be pulled out six inches. Use deep boxes where ever the wall depth permits.

Get a book on home wiring!

...Christopher