[ken6217]

Can’t really comment on a price quote as I’m sure they are all over the place. Also, you’re in New York and pricing is going to be higher there just because of that.

I don’t know why he told you that, but it can be done. I do know that electricians have told me they do not like working with 10 gauge, and I can tell you that when I ran mine it was a royal pain in the butt.

Also, before I did it on my own, my electrician ran 10 gauge from the panel in the garage downstairs into the basement my music room and put a junction box in the drop ceiling against the wall. From there he did run to runs of 12 gauge to each receptacle. That was about 8 feet. He said he had rather do it that way than running one line to a socket and then connecting the two sockets together to make a quad. It’s probably 6 of one and half dozen of another.

The bottom line is you can definitely run 10 gauge from the panel to your socket, but make sure the receptacle you use can handle 10 gauge. Some of them have a difficult time in terms of putting the wire in and fastening it.

The other thing The electrician at your hire is comfortable doing it his way.

 

[F208Frank]

Ah you're in NY. That gives us a lot more info (wasn't sure of your location and what local codes apply).

This is not accurate. I design #10 AWG in NYC all the time for receptacles (due to voltage drop in longer feeds).
Look up the receptacle specs. You can see here for the Leviton 5891 that you can terminate 14AWG up to 10AWG.

https://www.leviton.com/en/products/5891
(Go to the technical information section)

As far as cost, construction in NYC is ridiculous. I talk to large contractors all the time and they cannot even find workers (and material costs are also through the roof).

Yeah, I kept wondering why he kep insisting that it would be pointless to run 10 guage on a 20amp, he kept mentioning he HAD to use the tail end back as 12 guage to attach to recepticle.

 

[F208Frank]

Can’t really comment on a price quote as I’m sure they are all over the place. Also, you’re in New York and pricing is going to be higher there just because of that.

I don’t know why he told you that, but it can be done. I do know that electricians have told me they do not like working with 10 gauge, and I can tell you that when I ran mine it was a royal pain in the butt.

Also, before I did it on my own, my electrician ran 10 gauge from the panel in the garage downstairs into the basement my music room and put a junction box in the drop ceiling against the wall. From there he did run to runs of 12 gauge to each receptacle. That was about 8 feet. He said he had rather do it that way than running one line to a socket and then connecting the two sockets together to make a quad. It’s probably 6 of one and half dozen of another.

The bottom line is you can definitely run 10 gauge from the panel to your socket, but make sure the receptacle you use can handle 10 gauge. Some of them have a difficult time in terms of putting the wire in and fastening it.

The other thing The electrician at your hire is comfortable doing it his way.

Yeah he kept insisting 10 guage wire is only for 30amp breakers... *shrugs*

 

[logiatype]

Yeah, I kept wondering why he kep insisting that it would be pointless to run 10 guage on a 20amp, he kept mentioning he HAD to use the tail end back as 12 guage to attach to recepticle.

The reason why it's pointless is that your 20A breaker limits your maximum current up to 20A (or a bit less than that) so you don't need the 30A rated ampacity of a #10AWG wire (and the pain of installing it). Is he replacing the receptacle as well? The point of the breaker is to protect the wire from overheating (more current, more heat).

You're the customer and if you want it, it's your call lol as long as you're not violating code (which in NYC is 2011 NYC Elec Code).

 

[Ragnar-BY]

So my electrician came and told me that if I were to use a 20 amp breaker, I should not be using 10 guage wire, and that if I did, he would need to split at the recepticle to tail end back to 12 guage wire. This does not sound right as I hear and see many people using 20 amp breakers with 10 guage wiring in the audio world.

Did he explain why? There are not many options..

1. If he just thinks that it is necessary so, than he probably don't understand how these things work. This is a good reason to find another electrician. Since it is not clear what else he does not know and whether it is worth trusting such a specialist at all.

2. If he just don't have the 20A breaker with big enough contact to fit 10AWG cable this is a good reason to find another breaker. Or you can agree with him and install 30A breaker. Unless your 10AWG line is not longer than 150 feet, it's also safe.

 

[F208Frank]

All he said was that "10 guage wire is useless for a 20 amp breaker since at tail end of recepticle would be pig tailed back to 12 guage anyways"

At this point likely going to talk to a few more electricians.

I also maybe suspect his recepticle (that he assumed he would provide) would only be able to handle taking in 12 guage wire. He said it would be unsafe to have 10 guage wire from 20 amp breaker attached to recepticle rated for a 30amp.

Confusion central for me.

 

[Ragnar-BY]

It’s better to find another electrician.

- Even if you use a million amp rated recepticle, 20A breaker will break at 20A
- 20A current will always be safer than 30A in same line
- 10AWG cable will always be safer than 12AWG with same current

BTW, if you need a recepticle for thicker wire, you can always buy something like this, which accepts 8-12AWG:
http://www.wattgate.com/products/381auevo/
Looks nice and does not cost a fortune like other audiophile brands.