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I need to wire three (3) 15 A receptacles. I also have some spare yellow 20 A Romex laying around.

Is there any issue with wiring those up? I got a dedicated 20 A breaker to daisy chain the three.

Peter Mortensen
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Merkd
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    Think the breaker must equal the lowest amp rating on circuit, so 15 amp outlet/s will need to be on 15 amp breaker. – crip659 Feb 28 '21 at 01:22
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    @crip659 15A/20A are a big exception. A 20A breaker can have 1 or more 20A receptacle **or** 2 or more 15A receptacles, or any combination. The only "not allowed" is a 20A breaker with just a single 15A receptacle. – manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact Feb 28 '21 at 01:55
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    @crip659 See NEC Table 210.21(B)(3) – NoSparksPlease Feb 28 '21 at 01:57
  • @manassehkatz-Moving2Codidact because you can "over drive" the 15A receptacle (or wires) causing it to overheat and catch fire? – RonJohn Mar 01 '21 at 03:12
  • @RonJohn I don't truly know the reasons. It wouldn't be the wires, as the 20A breaker protects the 20A-rated (12 AWG) wires. It *probably* isn't even the receptacle itself, as 15A receptacles *generally* are rated for 20A pass through since they are OK to be used on 20A circuits. In fact, I suspect (because of the 15A/20A rules) that a major manufacturer 15A and 20A receptacle only differ in the shape of the slots for the plug. But *logically* having only a single 15A receptacle on a 20A circuit just makes no sense - no gain (unlike 2 x 15A where you could have 10A + 10A or 15A + 5A, etc.) – manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact Mar 01 '21 at 03:25
  • @manassehkatz-Moving2Codidact Apparently, the reason a single 15A receptacle is not allowed on a 20A circuit, but a 15A duplex receptacle _is_ allowed comes down to how UL tests receptacles. See my question, [Why does US Code not allow a 15A single receptacle on a 20A circuit?](https://diy.stackexchange.com/q/210537/84723) and especially [ThreePhaseEel](https://diy.stackexchange.com/users/27099/threephaseeel)'s answer for more details. – TripeHound Mar 01 '21 at 09:29

2 Answers2

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Yes, that’s fine. The NEC specifically allows multiple 15A receptacles on a 20A branch circuit. You must use 12Ga or larger (if in copper) for all wiring - any 14 and you must use a 15A breaker.

This is an exception to the general rules. You can’t put a single 15A receptacle on a 20A circuit and you can’t do things like putting multiple 20A receptacles on a 30A circuit.

nobody
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No problem doing what you want to do. Just make sure your cable is #12 AWG. Don't use the backstabs on the outlets, pigtail the first and second outlets on the through cable.

JACK
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    You don't have to pigtail, but it'll be easier to push the recep back into the box if you do. Another "ease the pain" trick is use metal boxes + "self-grounding" receps. Then you land the grounds on the metal box (which you always must do) first, and then grounds are out of your way. Then the recep picks up ground off the mounting screw threads. 1 less wire to wrestle! – Harper - Reinstate Monica Feb 28 '21 at 02:48