How to Connect a 220-Volt Receptacle to a 20-Amp Breaker | This Old House

[Music] so we do have 30 amps to this garage do we we do have 30 amps to the sub panel that should be enough for your needs La you to run all the tools at once that shouldn't be a problem we also locked out here somebody actually built this in an access panel to the sub panel which is great we can run the wire in the cavity of the wall here uh what type of wire should we use we're going to use mc122 and I'm going to drill up to the top plate here and we're allowed to feed the wire across the joists like this we are because we use us MC y Ste you push it down there for me okay what we're going to do now is we're going to install the Box this is called an old work box we use this box when we have an existing wall to put a receptical in what we have is we have these tabs here that will mount to the wall and secure the box to the wall all right we know that we're in a garage code tells us that we need to be 30 in above the finished floor for this we're so close to these switches we might just match the height I think it'll look nice I think so we got 48 to the top we come over here where you want it we know we're between the framing structure there let's mark our 48 in you going to turn take that old work box put it to the wall and we're going to use the old work box as the template for the hole we're going to take a drill and we're going to drill out the corners of this box now I'm going to use my rotary saw to cut out the rest [Music] here all right Steve what we've done now was we pull P This MC cable down the cavity of the wall here I've in turn attached that MC cable to this box with this clamp tighten it down then I install the green grounding conductor to the box here with this green ground screw what I'm going to do is I'm going to put the side plate back on and then we'll be ready to put it back in the cavity of the wall and attach it to the paneling okay all right now that we finished attaching the box to the paneling I'm going to take this 20 amp 220 volt receptacle that matches the cord on your band saw I'm going to in turn take the green grounding conductor attach it to the green screw I'm going to take the black hot wire attach it to this brass screw okay then I'm going to take the white hot wire and attach it to the other brass screw wait white is hot isn't it usually neutral in a 110 application It's usually the neutral but here because it's straight 220 the equipment that you purchase does not need a neutral conductor so we're going to identify this wire and use it as a hot wire so what I'll do is I'll strip these wires to the length I need and you just slide those right in like that yeah this actually receptor comes with a compression connection here you see I slide it in and then I crank it down with the screw here it's a good connection it's nice and tight typical for a 20 amp application you see all right I have everything tightened down and ready to go I'm going to fold the wires into the box take a couple 632 screws attach the receptacle to the Box all right Steve what we're going to do now is we're going to punch out this knockout seal on the top of the sub panel I in turn I'm going to take this MC connector here attach it in the hole and then use this lock knot to secure it to the panel and now I'm ready to take the MC cable put it into the connector and then we can run the wire to the sub panel so what's that uh plastic clip there this is an anti-short bushing what this does is we slide this up into the jacket here so that way that the sharp edges do not Fray the insulation on the conductors which would be really bad then I'm going to stick these conductors into the panel tighten down the connector so we got a good mechanical connection and now I'm ready to make the wires up to the breaker and the grounding bar now I'm going to take a two pull 20 amp 220 volt breaker snap it in and now I can start to install the conductors onto the screw shells all right St I'm throwing this last screw in why don't you go over the house turn that two-pole 30 amp breaker back on so we have power and I will uh I will put some Staples up and secure the wire nice and neat okay power's on all right we're all set let me plug it in you give it a test just remember be careful okay there's no more important safety tip than these safety glasses oh no I'm eat your heart out [Music]

Channel: This Old House

Views: 599,671

Keywords: This Old House, Ask This Old House, DIY, Home Improvement, DIY Ideas, Renovation, Renovation Ideas, How To Fix, How To Install, How To Build, Electrician, Electricity, 220 volt, receptacle, electric breaker, amps, Do It Yourself, this old hou, AmpereCircuit Breaker, allen gallant, home renovation ideas, diy home improvement, diy home projects, home renovation ideas on a budget

Id: DqefJ2MQrRo

Length: 4min 51sec (291 seconds)

Published: Thu Aug 14 2014