Quick question…. We have a single 30″ wall oven going into a base cabinet. The base cabinet is also going to house a few switches and an outlet. Does the wiring need to be protected with pvc or metal conduit? Or can I staple it to the inside of the cabinet making sure it doesn’t touch the oven box.
Can’t find anything in the code book.
Thanks-
Kevin
From building boxes and fitting face frames to installing doors and drawers, these techniques could be used for lots of cabinet projects.
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Replies
Check the oven install instructions for any clearance requirements.
Thanks but not talking clearance, wondering if the 14-2 for the switches and outlet need to be protected from the residual heat.
Kevin
Then you're talking clearance.
"wondering if the 14-2 for the switches and outlet"By outlet do you mean Receptacle?If so it should be on a 20 amp small appliance circuit and thus #12.A switch for the light can be on a 15 amp circuit.As to your question it would get down to the tempature in that comparement. Go back to the oven installation to see if they tell you.
I think the question is about whether romex needs protection inside a cabinet that has an appliance 'permanently' installed. My guess is that in this application the answer would be no. It's certainly done all the time... the assumption being that the installation of the oven is enough to protect the romex from physical damage.
Thanks for clarifying what I'm trying to ask :o)
When you say its done all the time, I take it you mean ovens in cabinets. We have a new Jenn Air 30" convection so I'm sure its up to date with the right/latest clearance requirements. Also, it does come with vents so the cabinet can "breath".
So far, it looks like the consensus is that romex would be fine without extra conduit.
Kevin
When I say it's done all the time I mean that I have seen a lot of oven cabinets with light switches cut into the side, and exposed romex inside. A lot of times the oven cabinet is the first cabinet in the kitchen, and it's right up against the door trim, so the electrician runs the romex into the cabinet and cuts a box in thru the side panel and installs the switches there. You could make a case for the romex being protected in this application, and you could make a case that it's exposed to damage as the oven is installed. I do not have the NEC here to quote from, but I'm sure there's specific language about protecting romex in lots of situations.
If you are going to do this you need to study the oven and the cabinet and figure out whether or not there is enough clearance for a box. Sometimes there is a 'face-frame' around the oven opening even if the cabinetry is mostly frameless, and this allows some dead space inside the cabinet. If the cabinet is entirely frameless then you are unlikely to have enough room in there for an electrical box.
Getting these details to work requires a lot of preplanning. I have built and installed cabinets in dozens of kitchens. Every job involves looking closely at the appliance specs, the electrical and mechanical requirements, the cabinet layout... the whole works. Do not simply toss an oven cabinet in there and expect an electrical box to fit. With your 30" oven I would try to go with a 36" cabinet. The doors and drawers above and below the oven (if any) can be the full 36", the oven itself can have a faceframe around it to reduce to the correct opening.
I seriously doubt it's hot enough inside an oven cabinet to be a problem for romex, but I actually don't know jack about that. Hartmann or 4Lorn1 can tell you.
Thanks David. I made sure to get a 36" base so there would be room to play. Since the oven box isn't a full 30", more like 26", I'll have 5" of play on each side. Also the oven is the full cabinet height either. The reason I started questioning whether the wiring would need to be in conduit is because the oven comes with about 3' of wiring in the flexible metal conduit (can't remember the name right now).
Kevin
yeah.... the oven pigtail is in flex. Usually an appliance that will be hardwired to a j-box is that way, and one that plugs into a receptacle is not. Sounds like your situation is fine for romex. The usual circumstance is that the romex comes out of the wall at the height of the switch, makes a short horizontal run into a box, and that's it, only a few inches exposed.
Bill
If it gets that hot in that cabinet to affect the wiring then it will also affect the cabinet You are absoutly right though the wiring should be #12 wiring for the receptical.
No, there are derating calculations that are needed on any wire. It just that is most residential application they are not needed. I don't have time to look up the starting point.But attics are hot enough. But #14 and #12 are derated by code so there is already some slack builtin and thus in a home you usually don't run into having go up in size becasue of high temps. Thus the problem is often ignored.
If the oven's insulation is good and the sides of the cabinet meet the manufacturer's clearance standards for installation, then there should be no problem. Still, I would want that space to be ventilated top and bottom to keep from cooking those wires.
Anyone know the max ambient temperature for Romex?
BruceT
600 degrees
"600 degrees"FAR, FAR less than that.You did you get that number from?Try 90 C.
> Anyone know the max ambient temperature for Romex?It's stamped on the side of the cable.