wiring electrical in a shed

patrick29

Hi,

I recently wired my shed with electricity. Code here requires a switch where power enters the shed so you can shut off power to the entire shed.

So I bought a 10A 125V Levitron single pole lev-o-let switch.

But I don't know how to wire it.

The switch has 5 screws and looks like this:

0----0 (big brass)
0--|--0 (smaller silver-ish)
--0 (smaller brass)

The "big brass" look like regular black cable screws but the wiring diagrams that came with the switch are confusing. They seem to indicate they want the hot cable (from source) going to one of the small brass screw and the hot cable going to the load attached to one of the big brass screws.... and the white cables attached to the silver-ish screws. ... So where do I put the ground? Or am I reading them totally wrong?

(zeros are the screws and the | is the switch lever)

I have 3 wires (black, white and ground) coming into the shed and the same 3 wires going to the loads in the shed.

Anyone familiar with this particular switch have any guidance? This is the switch in question:

http://www.homedepot.ca/webapp/wcs/s...k=P_PartNumber


Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,
Patrick

Scuba_Dave

How much power is going to the shed? 1 circuit?
You have a 10a rated disconnect shutting off how many amps?

patrick29

Yes 1 cuircut with a 15amp breaker at the box in the garage....but less than 10amps to be used in the shed. There are only 2 things in the shed:

1) a 60 watt lightbulb
2) a 150 watt exterior motion sensor light on a 15amp GFIC outlet

So maybe 2 amps at the most

PaliBob

I'm Confused, but is this what your switch looks like?
http://www.homedepot.ca/webapp/wcs/s...k=P_PartNumber


Is it a Surface mount switch or is it made to use mounted in an electrical box?

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Scuba_Dave

I'm not sure why you would pay $9 for a "simple" switch rated 10a?

A 15a switch is $1

patrick29

It's a surface mount switch, plastic all around. Not meant to be in a box, and yes the above link is the switch.

I thought a lev-o-let switch meant it also acted as a breaker....that's why it was $9 instead of the $1 regular box switches? That's why I bought it... was I wrong? Lots of resistence in the switch itself (on and off) .. feels like a breaker switch

Everything is on a GFIC outlet in the shed, and there is a breaker at the box, but I also wanted the extra extra protection of having another breaker as part of the switch in the shed...

Scuba_Dave

Hmmm...after thinking they might want neutral & black switched off ?

Is it a double pole switch ?

Surface mount no box does add to the cost

patrick29

It's a single pole

J. V.

Patrick, You're good.

Scuba_Dave

I think he still needs assistance with wiring the switch

Can you take a pic of the screws & post that?
I couldn't find anything on the HD site or in a search for Lev-o-Let
And there isn't anything on Leviton's site that I could find

But - from what you say
Small brass is in, large brass out - 2 screws for 2 wires if needed
Silver is neutral

If they don't have a ground screw I wouldn't use it

wirenut1110

I think the issue may be that he's in Canada and something might be different than the USA.

junkcollector

Those surface mount devices were quite common back 40 to 50 years ago for barns and outbuildings. I don't like them because the switches are chinsy and get broken quite easily, only rated 10 A, not T rated, and there is no wiring space, many don't have ground terminals, etc. They still make them for some reason. (maybe replacement use because the wires are short...) It also is a pain when you have more than two cables, and then there ends up to be more than one wire on a screw.


I would take that thing back and use a normal switch, but if you have your heart set on using it I have included a diagram on how to wire it. It does not matter which set of cable is the feed in and which is the load.

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