NEMA 14-30R (not 14-30P) to TT-30R?

[DubV]

My garage currently has a 14-30R (not 14-30P) 125/250V receptacle. Is it possible to rewire this to a TT-30R 125V receptacle? I can't seem to find an adapter anywhere.

[BurbMan]

DrewE wrote:

DubV wrote:
If an overload on the one hooked up hot wire will trip the double pole, why do I need to replace it with a single pole? I'm guessing it's to "disconnect" the other capped hot wire?

So far as I know, you don't need to, at least from a safety standpoint. Code might for some rather obscure reason not permit it, or perhaps it just seems untidy to some people (as the dual-pole breaker implies a 240V or 120/240V circuit, not a 120V circuit).

Agree 100%, there is no need to change the breaker. Not all double pole breakers mean a 240v circuit, they are also used for a pair of 120v circuits with a shared neutral.

In fact you could add TWO TT outlets from this circuit, each capable of delivering a full 30 amps of 120v power. Since the hot legs are out of phase with each other, both can share a common neutral. Black to the gold screw on outlet #1, red to the gold screw on outlet #2, and white to the sliver screws on both outlets, and bare to the green screws on both outlets.

[DrewE]

DubV wrote:
If an overload on the one hooked up hot wire will trip the double pole, why do I need to replace it with a single pole? I'm guessing it's to "disconnect" the other capped hot wire?

So far as I know, you don't need to, at least from a safety standpoint. Code might for some rather obscure reason not permit it, or perhaps it just seems untidy to some people (as the dual-pole breaker implies a 240V or 120/240V circuit, not a 120V circuit). The NEC is available to read for free on the NFPA web site, though it requires jumping through a few hoops and registering to do so, and as is typical of complex laws it's not always the most readily understandable (nor most logically laid out) document.

[DubV]

If an overload on the one hooked up hot wire will trip the double pole, why do I need to replace it with a single pole? I'm guessing it's to "disconnect" the other capped hot wire?

[road-runner]

The only SWD marked c/b's that I know of are Cutler Hammer.

Just typing "swd circuit breaker" into a search engine finds:

Square D / Schneider

Eaton

Siemens

[BurbMan]

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
At the time I moved south CA code called for 200-amp service in new home construction. Has this changed?

I believe the NEC requires this now not just CA.House we are in now was built in 1994, has a 200A panel, and there are so many individual circuits for appliances there are only 2 free spaces left....

Part of current limitations on wire size is to manage wire temps...the US NEC limits 14 ga to 15A to keep the wire cool enough that it won't ignite a wood-framed house. Maybe down south they build with all stone or other non-combustible materials so the heat generated by a 14 ga wire carrying 30A is safe.

[john_bet]

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
At the time I moved south CA code called for 200-amp service in new home construction. Has this changed? I love Mexico! Homes, even wood ones usually have 14-gauge wiring and 30-amp breakers. Single breaker for the whole house. And 12/for $10 grade receptacles. Ground? Whatsa ground? The NOM Mexican "approval" spec for appliances is a joke. Like the refrigerator: Two wire plug and plugged in either way my voltage sensor went nuts when I waved in near the reefer. Ran a wire from the chassis to a foundation stud.

Any discount online sources for SWD breakers. I need to switch several exterior receptacles (done from inside).

The only SWD marked c/b's that I know of are Cutler Hammer.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

At the time I moved south CA code called for 200-amp service in new home construction. Has this changed? I love Mexico! Homes, even wood ones usually have 14-gauge wiring and 30-amp breakers. Single breaker for the whole house. And 12/for $10 grade receptacles. Ground? Whatsa ground? The NOM Mexican "approval" spec for appliances is a joke. Like the refrigerator: Two wire plug and plugged in either way my voltage sensor went nuts when I waved in near the reefer. Ran a wire from the chassis to a foundation stud.

Any discount online sources for SWD breakers. I need to switch several exterior receptacles (done from inside).

[Dutch_12078]

BurbMan wrote:

Issue with replacing the breaker is the one that is there now will be 30A double pole. If the OP changes that to a single pole there will now be an open blank in the cover, creating a safety issue. In this case it's important to cover that hole in the panel with a filler plate compatible with your brand of panel:

When I removed a double pole breaker at our cottage and replaced it with a single, I didn't have a filler available, so I installed a second single breaker that I had on hand in that space and marked it as a "Spare".

[BurbMan]

Executive wrote:
In VAC terms...

WHITE is ALWAYS Neutral
GREEN is ALWAYS Ground
ANY OTHER COLOR is ALWAYS HOT!

ALWAYS use a tester to VERIFY and turn OFF power before playing with it....Dennis

I have seen orange, yellow, and brown as hots too...more common in commercial applications when pulling multiple circuits in conduit and need to know which is which at both ends.

Residential applications are almost 100% NM cable, and the 10/3 feeding the OPs receptacle will have the standard black/red/white/bare setup.

bobbo wrote:
Replace the breaker with a single pole 120v breaker too.

Issue with replacing the breaker is the one that is there now will be 30A double pole. If the OP changes that to a single pole there will now be an open blank in the cover, creating a safety issue. In this case it's important to cover that hole in the panel with a filler plate compatible with your brand of panel:



The OP may not be comfortable working in the main panel, and in that case there is nothing wrong with using a wire nut to cap the extra hot in the receptacle box and leaving all else alone.

[DrewE]

DubV wrote:
Thank you Gents. I assuming the double pole breaker takes 240v to trip vice the single at 120v?

Until I can get my hands on a disconnect, Could I just flip the new breaker after its hooked up?

A breaker is (generally speaking) not sensitive to voltage at all. It's an overcurrent protection device—it senses the current flowing through it, and trips if it is over the rating, regardless of the voltage. Traditional breakers don't have any neutral connection so don't have any way of sensing the voltage.

A dual pole ("240V") breaker will trip when either pole has current beyond its rating, and shut off both sides at the same time. It's basically just two single pole breakers physically attached to each other.

Circuit breakers do have voltage ratings based on how high a voltage they can safely disconnect (and are designed to disconnect), and how strong their insulation is, and what sort of wiring they're approved to be used for...but that's not inherent in their operation. Modern circuit protection devices like GFCIs and especially AFCIs are more complex, too, and some of them may actually sense and trip for abnormally high voltages absent of overcurrent—I'm not sure on that.

[Dusty_R]

Executive wrote:
In VAC terms...

WHITE is ALWAYS Neutral
GREEN is ALWAYS Ground
ANY OTHER COLOR is ALWAYS HOT!

ALWAYS use a tester to VERIFY and turn OFF power before playing with it....Dennis

Seldom seen but GREY is also always Neutral.

Dusty

[Bobbo]

smkettner wrote:
Yes. Just put a wire nut on one of the hot connections to cap it off and wire the rest to the new outlet.

Replace the breaker with a single pole 120v breaker too.

[myredracer]

GordonThree wrote:

works for campgrounds... every camp i've ever visited used a breaker as a disconnect switch instead of a proper knife switch.

supposedly a breaker's not supposed to be used as a disconnect since it has a small number of contact closures versus a proper switch, at least I think I read that somewhere.

Interesting question... A breaker is not supposed to be used as a switching device unless designed and UL/CSA approved for it. They make 15 amp and 20 amp switching duty ones only that are marked SWD. Some info. here and here. I have seen a few newer pedestals with a warning sticker on them to turn the breaker off before energizing or de-energizing an RV.

As well, I'm pretty sure CG pedestals and the breakers in them aren't designed and approved for use in damp locations (unless in an arid region of the US) but it's done all the time.

Breakers in a CG pedestal can take a real beating. I don't think the NEC folks are aware of what really goes on in CGs. Sometimes they can take decades to deal with some issues, for example, the old style weatherproof recept. with 2 flaps that was no longer weatherproof as soon as something got plugged in. Now w/p receptacles have a hood that covers the complete recept. when plugged in.

[GordonThree]

DubV wrote:
Thank you Gents. I assuming the double pole breaker takes 240v to trip vice the single at 120v?

If the breaker is working properly / within spec, a fault on either pole will trip both poles.

DubV wrote:
Until I can get my hands on a disconnect, Could I just flip the new breaker after its hooked up?

works for campgrounds... every camp i've ever visited used a breaker as a disconnect switch instead of a proper knife switch.

supposedly a breaker's not supposed to be used as a disconnect since it has a small number of contact closures versus a proper switch, at least I think I read that somewhere.