I finally ordered a ductless mini-split. It needs 220 V AC, and the spec sheet says that a 15 amp fuse is the maximum allowed, with a minimum circuit ampacity of 7.5.
So the cheapest wire I could use is romex 14/2. This is my first time wiring a whole new circuit, and I might want an electrician to be able to inspect it later, so I was thinking I should use MC 12/2 because it's more resilient. Also, if I read the electrical code right, it's an alternative to those fancy AFCI breakers and is actually a lot cheaper. (the AFCI feature makes the same breaker cost $65 more, while wiring with MC raises the cost about 10 bucks)
So I get the wire fished through, and now one end is down in the main panel and the other end is up in the attic. From the example I can see, the A/C disconnect box already installed uses liquid tight flexible non-metallic conduit. I was thinking I would buy a couple of premade pieces of it, and have one piece go from a metal box in the attic, secured to a stud with screws, down the outside wall to the outdoor disconnect. Then from the outdoor disconnect to the mini split. So I terminate the attic wire at a box and use the anti-short bushing and one of those grommets they make for MC.
So far so good. Just one question. What do I do with MC in an electrical panel? I get the MC to the electrical panel, now how do I secure it? All the examples I see are using Romex and in this 2/3 full panel, most of the holes probably already have cables. I know to wear insulated gloves and to turn off the main breaker, and it's a QO load center so there's unfortunately no way to disconnect the main lugs at the top, so I'm thinking I should push the MC in from the back (where there's already a bunch of wiring), about halfway down the panel away from the main lugs. Now the last step is to somehow secure the MC inside the panel with a strap, and I don't know how you're supposed to do that.
So the cheapest wire I could use is romex 14/2. This is my first time wiring a whole new circuit, and I might want an electrician to be able to inspect it later, so I was thinking I should use MC 12/2 because it's more resilient. Also, if I read the electrical code right, it's an alternative to those fancy AFCI breakers and is actually a lot cheaper. (the AFCI feature makes the same breaker cost $65 more, while wiring with MC raises the cost about 10 bucks)
So I get the wire fished through, and now one end is down in the main panel and the other end is up in the attic. From the example I can see, the A/C disconnect box already installed uses liquid tight flexible non-metallic conduit. I was thinking I would buy a couple of premade pieces of it, and have one piece go from a metal box in the attic, secured to a stud with screws, down the outside wall to the outdoor disconnect. Then from the outdoor disconnect to the mini split. So I terminate the attic wire at a box and use the anti-short bushing and one of those grommets they make for MC.
So far so good. Just one question. What do I do with MC in an electrical panel? I get the MC to the electrical panel, now how do I secure it? All the examples I see are using Romex and in this 2/3 full panel, most of the holes probably already have cables. I know to wear insulated gloves and to turn off the main breaker, and it's a QO load center so there's unfortunately no way to disconnect the main lugs at the top, so I'm thinking I should push the MC in from the back (where there's already a bunch of wiring), about halfway down the panel away from the main lugs. Now the last step is to somehow secure the MC inside the panel with a strap, and I don't know how you're supposed to do that.
