electrical myster

Ducowti

Was capping a bathroom outlet in my 90 yr old house w.60A breaker yesterday. Outlet worked when I began but after shutting it's circuit to work on it, and switching back on after capping the lines an outlet in another room, on the same circuit, doesn't work. I tried resetting the master, nothing.

Eh?

TIA.

jbfan

What do you mean capping? Did you remove the outlet and just cap off the wires. I would check the conections that you just made to ensure they are tight.

__________________
Yes I am a Pirate, 200 years too late. "Jimmy Buffett"

Ducowti

I used the plastic screw caps on each of 4 wires, two each black and white. And stupidly I threw up beadboard over the hole before realizing there was an issue, so it'd be a severe pain to rip it off to get to the hole. There were no connections made, more like disconnections.

Teetorbilt

Sounds like you disconnected the wrong wire or wires. I think that you're going to have to go back in and figure it out. Another option would be to string a new wire.

jbfan

Also, You can not cover a splice box. It must always remain accessible, as you can see the problems that you have now!

__________________
Yes I am a Pirate, 200 years too late. "Jimmy Buffett"

Ducowti

Figured it out: each of the two colors needed to be connected, i.e. the two blacks and the two whites were soldered together.

Mike Swearingen

What kind of outlet did you have in a bathroom on a 60 amp breaker? An electric heater or baseboard?
Regular bathroom circuits should be on a 15 amp breaker with 14/2-with-ground max or 12/2 wg on a 20 amp, GFCI-protected with a GFCI receptacle in the first outlet on the circuit, which will make all receptacles past it GFCI protected.
Good Luck!
Mike

Ducowti

Far as my unlearned eye could tell it was just an outlet right in the middle of the baseboard, i.e. it was cut out for the outlet.

Thanks for the replies all!

jproffer

I think I can safely speak for many of us when I say:

If you have a regular, standard, nothing special about it receptacle fed by a 60amp breaker, you need to call an electrician immediately if not sooner. Unless it's a special outlet, for a special purpose (like Mike S said, a baseboard heater for instance) it should NOT be fed with a 60 amp breaker...at all.....ever.

Ducowti

It's an old (~80+ yr) house that was upgraded at one time to what my uncle (an electric guy but not an electrician by trade) identified as having 60 amp service (to the whole house I believe, which seems consistent with the fact if I'm running two electric heaters at once the breaker trips periodically). I think a contractor I brought in also ID'd it as same when he took stock of the place a few months back.

Sounds pretty concerning by your reply; what's the danger with this? And why is this outlet a concern and others in the house not? (or are they too?!)

jproffer

I see...my apologies.

I read: "a 60 amp breaker feeding just regular receptacles"....my mistake

Ducowti

...which would be way high, right?

jproffer

VERY

Standard receptacles are usually rated for 15 amps, which means as long as more than one is being fed by a 20 amp breaker, you're fine. You can find, fairly easiily, a 20 amp receptacle, which is OK to be the only one on a 20 amp circuit. But the ones you normally find in a big bin at Wally-World, or a big box store for 40 or 50 cents are 15 amp receptacles. I can't think of many times (or maybe ANY times) I've seen more than a 20 feeding nothing but receptacles. There's no reason.

Don't forget also, the wire size is a factor. A 20 amp breaker MUST have 12 gauge conductors (or larger) coming from it, and leading to anything fed by it, directly or indirectly. For a 15 amp circuit, the minimum is 14 gauge. Personally I use 20 all over, then I know I'm safe, even if someone, someday changes a breaker from 15 to 20 (which they shouldn't without checking what they have first....but....it happens)

EDIT: I use 12 all over, not 20....12 gauge conductors...so it is upgradable to 20 amps :o