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I am swapping out an old dishwasher that was hard-wired to a new dishwasher that requires an outlet. As you can see in the picture, the original unit was connected to a cable that goes into the wall.

I was thinking of converting the cable to an outlet by...

  1. Strapping the cable to the wall (using a hole strap) and feeding it behind the cabinet to underneath the sink.
  2. Connect the cable to a 20 amp outlet (do I need a GFCI?).
  3. Housing the outlet in a raised ground electrical box and mount it to the wall underneath the sink.

I would love to get your feedback if this is the proper way to do it and if you may have other suggestions. Thank you!

Edit: The new dishwasher make and model is Beko DDS25842X. I am wondering if it just easier to hard-wire this? I couldn't find any information online if this is possible for this model.

wall

outlet

box

takoyaki
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  • Welcome to Stack Exchange. It would be a good idea to [take our tour](https://diy.stackexchange.com/tour) so you know how to participate. – HoneyDo Mar 31 '20 at 17:40
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    Make sure the outlet is low enough to fit in the recessed spot on the back of the dishwasher. If you put it too high, the dishwasher might not go all the way back. – JPhi1618 Mar 31 '20 at 18:04
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    If you do (for code requirement or "just because") put in GFCI, do **not** put in a GFCI receptacle as you would have to pull the dishwasher to reset it! Instead use a GFCI breaker. **Post the model # of the dishwasher** so we can check the specs - it may be easy & legitimate to remove the cord and hardwire it. – manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact Mar 31 '20 at 18:27
  • @manassehkatz-Moving2Codidact the make and model of the dishwasher is Beko DDS25842X. I wasn't able to find any information if this allows hard-wiring. – takoyaki Mar 31 '20 at 18:52
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    I couldn't find an installation manual for that model. I picked a different model and found an installation manual that covered several models (but not this one!) and it seemed to be strictly cord & plug - no hardwiring. So it sounds like you are stuck on that. – manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact Mar 31 '20 at 19:07
  • The OP already said he was moving the outlet to the sink cabinet, making the GFCI receptacle accessible. – George Anderson Mar 31 '20 at 20:40
  • Ha look at that, the wire whip already got the right fitting to go into the handy-box knockout. It could also go into the new dishwasher directly and simply remove the cord. – Harper - Reinstate Monica Mar 31 '20 at 23:26
  • Most modern consumer-grade dishwashers (no longer) support direct wiring, so I'd discard that route. – Mast Apr 01 '20 at 06:57
  • It's hard to tell from the picture what the size of that feed wire is - if it's 14 AWG then it should have a 15A outlet, not a 20A. A 20A outlet must be fed with 12 AWG. – J... Apr 01 '20 at 19:23
  • @J... the feed wire is coming from the circuit box that is labeled with 20 SWD. Does this mean it should have a 20 amp outlet? – takoyaki Apr 02 '20 at 01:33
  • @takoyaki The "SWD" means switching duty - it tells you that it's OK to use the breaker as a switch, particularly for inductive loads like fluorescent lighting circuits. The 20 tells you that it's a 20A breaker, but that only tells you that the wire MUST be 12AWG in size to be compliant. If the actual copper wire is not 12AWG then you must either downgrade the breaker to 15A OR upgrade the cable to 12AWG. – J... Apr 02 '20 at 15:19
  • @J...Ah yes that makes sense. Thank you. I measured the diameter of the copper wire and its coming to about 1/16 ~ 0.0625 which is closer to a 12AWG (don't have a diameter measurer). I will be safe and get a 15 amp outlet then. Thank you for making sure I check this! – takoyaki Apr 03 '20 at 00:28
  • @takoyaki The outlet is not as bad as the breaker - 14AWG is 0.0641 inches, which sounds like what you have. If that's the case, the breaker must be changed. Breakers protect the wiring - a 20A breaker cannot protect a 14AWG wire. The wire will overheat before the breaker will save it. This is probably the most important thing to make sure is correct. The wire size is usually marked on the side of the wire - you may not be able to see it with the armour, but I would find a way to be certain you know what size that wire is. – J... Apr 03 '20 at 11:27

3 Answers3

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I think your methodology is sound. You want to make sure the plug and outlet is accessible so putting it under the sink is the way to go. When you mount it be sure to secure it to a stud and away from anywhere that could be exposed to water. This means away from the shutoff valves and not directly under the sink supply connections. Cable straps will hold the metallic cable in place. Make sure that you use enough straps that the cable is secure to the wall studs under the sink and not loose or attached to the flooring. Based on your picture you can probably do this without trimming the cable.
Take out the appropriate knockout and using the connector to secure the cable run the cable and wires into the box. Secure the connector with the locknut. Connect the hot (black) wire to the brass screw and the white to the silver. Green goes to the ground.
You shouldn't need a GFCI on this but check codes.

Edit
Many dishwashers that come with a wall plug also have alternate instructions for hardwiring. The Beko installation manual doesn't offer that as an option but you might want to contact the manufacturer to see if it is recommended.

HoneyDo
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  • Thank you for your comment and for your suggestions on securing the cable appropriately. Will make sure the cable is secure to the wall studs and away from valves and sink connections. – takoyaki Mar 31 '20 at 18:48
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    The NEC requires GFCI for dishwashers these days...210.8(D) – ThreePhaseEel Apr 01 '20 at 00:23
  • Sounds like a lot of work... wouldn't it be much easier to just cut the plug off the new washer and connect it like the old one? – Z4-tier Apr 01 '20 at 04:43
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You pretty much "got it right". Whether you are required to use a GFCI or not is often the requirements of the local code and which code version is being enforced. I don't believe a GFCI is required for a DW in the 2017 code. But if you wanted to be extra safe, it can't hurt to install one. You may get nuisance trips.

George Anderson
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I agree with the above. Still, it might be easier to hard-wire, similar to old DW. To check if you can do this, tip the new one to the side and trace how its power cord terminates. I'd bet it has the same 3 screws (usually located behind the front kick panel - so it is easy to reach when installing or removing). Then all you have to do is: release the power cord, put DW in place, feed the flex conduit under it to front, connect and tighten. A lot easier when you have one side fully open :).

P.S. the circuit feeding the DW might already have a GFCI breaker!

Astrogator
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