Plug molds under top kitchen cabinets, do they come in different lengths? Source? For a split circuit, do you divide the mold in the middle and wire each side to their respective circuit? Is there provision in the code to prevent overloading one side of the mold?
Tom
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If I remember right, I haven't done a Plugmold job in quite some time, it comes in 6' lengths. It can be spliced together, with fittings, and cut with a fine tooth hacksaw, for any length of run. The stuff we got was largely prewired but each length can be reconfigured easily.
It would be easy to have each 6' length, or fraction on a separate circuit. One job we did we alternated individual plugs between two circuits. Two circuits per run of Plugmold one run on each side of the kitchen. Separate neutrals were installed for each run but grounds were common. Four small appliance branch circuits. Two are the standard and the legal minimum.
Plugmold is available at some home centers and many electrical supply houses. Any fittings needed, there are a wide variety available but most supply houses carry only the most commonly needed, can be special ordered. To make sure everything fits well get all parts from the same supplier. There are substantial differences between even the best brands that can make things difficult to put together and look right.
From experience I suggest that you get only brand name Plugmold or a brand produced by a major manufacturer. The cheap stuff produced in China and similar is, IMHO, not reliable. The plugs have cheaper contacts and sometimes fall out of the metal track. I hear these off brands might be getting better but I have been burnt once. Had to replace a dozen feet of the cheap stuff my boss bought. The plug blocks kept pulling out when the HOs tried to pull out cords.
Thanks again 4Lorn1. May be you explained it in your second paragraph but this question remains in my head. Say if you have 6 plugs line up on a strip and you run a split circuit into it. If I were to wire the strip with 1,2,3 on one circuit and 4,5,6 on the other, how do you prevent somebody from plugging into 1 and 2 simultaneously thus defeating the purpose of using split circuit as in a dulplex receptacle?
On another note, I think I have seen contiuous plug mold strip where the contacts were two parallel strips, much like the contacts in a track light fixture. Of course you don't get a ground in this case.
Tom
If you wire plugs 1,2 and 3 on circuit 'A' and 4,5 and 6 on circuit 'B' how do you keep someone from plugging all the loads into only one circuit? Short of shock collars and dire threats you don't.
Mostly it is not too much of a problem. Typically small appliances, the ones that draw the most current, use resistance coils to generate heat. Coffee pots, toaster ovens and hot plates are typical of this type. All of these units use a thermostat to regulate their temperature. Even though they are plugged in they cycle on and off. There is no coordination between appliances but assuming you don't plug them all in at once, in which case all would be on until they reach operating temperature, they are unlikely to be all pulling their full current at the same time.
Second the circuit is rated at 20A but it can operate for several minutes at well over 20A. The breakers are all inverse time type, a fancy way of saying that the higher you go over the rated current the faster it trips. A 20A breaker can sustain a 25A load for several minutes, a 30A load for less time and a 60A load for only a second or so. (These figures are an example only.) This means that even though more than one appliance might be on and together they might be drawing more than 20A they both can draw for several minutes. This increases the odds that one or both will be satisfied, you can always tell because they make a tiny appliance sigh, and turn themselves off before the breaker trips.
One thing that can help, I mentioned this in my post, is to alternate circuits so that plugs 1,3 and 5 are on circuit "A' and 2,4 and 6 are on circuit 'B'. This is fairly easy to do with Plugmold. This avoids, at least in part, the concentration of loads on one circuit caused by people having all their small appliances in one small area. Similarly splitting duplex receptacles also does much the same thing with a conventional receptacle layout. You can get much the same effect by having two sequential circuits meet at the location most likely to become appliance central.
Given a need and enough perversity you could split up circuits on Plugmold to alternate between three, four or even more circuits. All the way to one circuit per single Plugmold receptacle.
Most of the time a good placement and design of circuits in a kitchen can avoid circuit overloads in all but the most unusual situations. Get a half dozen cooks in the same kitchen together each running two or three small appliances and all bets are off.
Not that people should have to adapt to wiring but in poorly designed kitchens people rapidly learn where to plug in what to keep the breakers from tripping. Breakers tripping is annoying but not the end of the world. They are doing their job protecting the wiring. Most people are trainable and it becomes second nature to work around these limitations. Most people have seen or lived in apartments or older houses with these problems. The waffles still get cooked and the coffee made.
The continuous strip type plugmold, there is a name for it but it evades me, is, from what I understand only usable for two prong appliances and is obsolete. I haven't seen one of these units in quite some time. Used to have one, it was about 8" long if I remember right, and screwed in above my old workbench. used to plug in a soldering iron and a small fan to it. It was also handy because a piece of #12 could be shoved in the live side and make connection for experimental, maybe just mental, circuits. I remember sparks and not a few shocks playing with my toys.
Maybe they are still available. Not sure I would want one in my kitchen where junior could get to it with a butter knife or where water could get to it. Seems like a relatively large live surface relatively unguarded. Track lighting has much the same issue so you might want to stop junior if you see her climbing a ladder under the strip with a butter knife in her teeth.
Then again playing with live circuits she might become an electrician and hang out on BT at all hours of the night and ... So definitely you will want to stop her.
Why would anyone deliberatly put mold in their house even if it is on a plug? But people do other strange things like deliberatly bring in moldy food.
But with all the mold scare going on I suspect that wiremold, plugmold, and blue chesse will soon be either outlawed or you can get insurance if you have any in your home.
{Only SEMI HUMORIST comment}
You can get Wiremold (TM) in 3,4,5,6 ft sections with 9 to 30" spacing.
Here is a few of those available that I found at one site.
http://www.galco.com/kwpages/WM/PRST-0016.htm
Wiremodl is redoing there website which means that all they have up is broken links so I don't know the range of what all they have.
But here is a link to T&B's offereings. They do have dual circuit, with alternate outlets, in 5 and 6 ft versions.
http://www.tnb.ca/catalogues/pdf/en/omnilink/omnilink_03_eng.pdf
Is power strip raceway list where you could "rewire" the outlets and put them on alternate circuits? I kind of doubt it.
The individual plugs are rated for 15A each. The internal connections are made with common, a semi-inferior style if you ask me, wirenuts and a nothing special wire so mechanically it is doable. In large offices it was, it has been years since I did this type of job, for the interior walls to be lined at just above desk level with a large bore wiremold product, I think it was a 2000 series about 2' by 4' in section, to contain telephone, net, interphone and other cables. these were run through these raceways to common wall plates mounted on the face of the raceway.
We sometimes had installed power through he same raceway by installing a barrier to divide the internal volume but the architect generally specified a separate Wiremold raceway for power and sections of Plugmold, in leu of surface mounted boxes and duplex receptacles, in some areas. These lengths had a specified number of circuits and plugs dedicated for each area.
It has been years since I have read the manufacturers sheets but as I remember it Wiremold and Plugmold both are rated for just about any sort of power wiring, subject to wire fill and a 300v limitation easily met in residential and office situations, you can run through it. The individual plugs can be connected, in any particular order, to any of the circuits run within the raceway. Alternating the connections between two circuits was not uncommonly specified by savvy designers for office installations.
Without having the manufacturers installation sheet in front of me I really can't say for dead sure this is allowed. It was and is a common practice in this area and commonly passes inspection. Not to say that it might not just allowed by the AHJ and not be applicable to other areas.
To see if I could find conclusive evidence I referred to the NEC. Article 386, surface metallic raceways. Referring to the wiremold and article 380, multioutlet assemblies. These seem to be most applicable. I do note that article 100 (I) Multioutlet assembly includes the line " assembled in the field or at the factory" but only the manufacturers instructions would define the limitations of the modifications or variations of connections allowed.
I will add that some of the Plugmold assemblies came with no internal connections made up. Each single receptacle had three pigtail to be made up. These made alternating circuits relatively easy to accomplish without having to undo any connections. I also tried to download the PDFs relating to Plugmold but, as you stated the server seems to be down.
Tom,
If you go ahead with this installation try to bring the feed into it in the middle if you're going to have two circuits going in two directions.Every multi-outlet assembly I've ever installed was a PITA to make joints in and get the cover back on.I remember having to use orange wirenuts because even the yellows took up too much room.In the jurisdiction where I work, installing 15 amp devices on a 20 amp circuit wouldn't fly, and, the inspector would also require that these receptacles serving countertop surfaces in a kitchen be GFCI protected.If you have the microwave and coffeepot and toaster going in the morning,I'd make it a point to feel the assembly for warmth regularly.
Barry
Thank you for the tip, I can imagine there wouldn't be much room inside the mold to make connections.
It must be a regional thing. Here we feed kitchen counter receptacles with 15A and no GFCI required. Actually a skinny surface mount duplex would serve my purpose so that I can tuck it under the upper cabinet so there is an uninterupted backsplash. I went for the plug mold because of its skinny profile.
Tom
Must be one of those back water inspectors.
15A receptacles on a 20A circuit is standard in most locations and is allowed for in the NEC. (I can give article #s if needed but I'm presently feeling too lazy to bother.) The 15/20A receptacles are the ones with the 'T' shaped slot on the left. 20A only have the slot horizontal. Either of these are fairly rare and unnecessary in any but a commercial kitchen where there are portable appliances need that sort of current. This assumes the ground is on the bottom as is customary, but not code, in most homes.
Also in most jurisdictions 15A circuits are not allowed for kitchen, or dining room receptacles per code. SABCs (Small Appliance Branch Circuits) are required to be 20A. #14 wire need not apply.
These are also required to be on GFIs but this is easily done by wiring in a, or two if your alternating plugs, normal GFI receptacles to feed the Plugmold or installing a set of GFI breakers at the panel. I would tend to go with the wall mounted GFIs unless the panel was close by. Depends on decor and the feelings of the HOs. Negotiation.
Not that I'm pushing Plugmold. It is a possible solution for a few problems and in some installations it works well. Personally I have never objected to the look of standard receptacles, these can be tucked up tight under the upper cabinets, but watch the code limitations, to make them less noticeable but some customers are very picky.Making yourself, by having some pride in your work, the inspector and the HO happy is what it is all about.
All clear. Thanx again.
One more thing. If I run two circuits into a 6 receptacle plugmold, potentially I could create an octopus situation here with 6 power hungry small appliances, is that going to be O.K. with the inspector?
Tom
I would think you would have no problems with the inspector. If there is any doubt ask. Most inspectors are pretty reasonable and only eat tradesmen and homeowners early in the mornings and mostly on mondays. Worse case: he has your lot rezoned as a toxic waste dump. Actually most are glad to answer simple questions and solve problems before they become issues. Just don't ask them to design the job. That is what contractors are for.
Too many appliances on the circuit. The circuit breaker trips and has to be reset. It does its job. No big thing. A good electrical design will help keep this a rare event.