electrical
I have a 1959 block home and I'd like to put a dishwasher in one of the cabinets.
Can I tap into an existing outlet wire to install the dishwasher plugin. Or do I have to run a dedicated line to the breaker box. My other idea was to use the wiring on the garbage disposal (hard wired) and just not have a disposal.
HELP!!
First things first, here's a link to Leviton's 7299 combination switch & GFCI instruction sheet. For a tamper proof it will be a T7299. The only reason I give Leviton is because I know the part number. Hubbell, GE or Cooper are just as good and make the same.
GFCI protection for both outlets.
Follow the instructions that come with the GFCI. There are leads for the switch and lugs for the GFCI and also the feedthru-protection of another receptacle.
No GFCI outlet behind the dishwasher (for easy resetting without dishwasher removal).
This is accomplished by feeding the dishwasher receptacle using the GFCI feedthru-protection lugs.
The switch only toggling the garbage disposal outlet and not the dishwasher outlet.
This is accomplished by using the leads on the combo switch & GFCI to feed the garbage disposal.
Am I going to need to run some more wire through the walls?
If there are no wires between the combo switch & GFCI then you will have to pull some romex between the two.
Should I investigate adding a GFCI breaker for that circuit?
The breaker will cost a lot more than the combo switch & GFCI. Also, if the GFCI trips then you have to go to the breaker to reset it. At least with the GFCI receptacle feeding your dishwasher receptacle, you will be closer.
What other solutions would achieve the same effect as listed above?
I think this is the way to go, so you don't have to pull your dishwasher out to reset the GFCI. The nice thing about this site is some of the people either can think out of the box or have faced this problem before.
Yes, you are right. Current code wants the dishwasher GFCI protected. However, unlike the dishwasher, there is no specific article that explicitly states a disposal requires one.
A Double pole GFCI 20 Amp breaker can protect two individual appliances. The Wiring is known as a MWBC "multi-wire branch circuit" and uses 12-3 "Black, Red, White, and Ground".
However, current code also wants everything in a kitchen, including dishwashers to be ARC-fault protected. One solution is to use a Double-Pole Dual GFCI/ARC fault 20 Amp breaker.
But since you ran two separate branch circuits I don't think code allows you to combine the neutrals as one in the panel because the conductors are not in the same sheath/raceway when they leave the panel. In which case, you would just do as you mentioned using a 2-gang box with one GFCI and one regular outlet, which is probably far way less expensive!
Best Answer
The electrical code answer would be that it needs a dedicated breaker but a 1959 house probably has a lot of wiring that is not up to modern codes.
If you put it on an existing circuit and the circuit ended up pulling too much load it would trip the breaker. If you start the dishwasher and it is running and you then plug a toaster oven into an outlet that is on the same circuit - the breaker would trip.