I got my hands on a hot water dispenser (it has a tap for hot water for coffee and stuff). Under the sink there is one outlet. Right now, the garbage disposal and dishwasher are plugged into it. I was thinking I could put an outlet expander (is that the right term?) on the outlet so I could have more plugs and then plug the dispenser into the same outlet.
But, how do I know if the dispenser is going to overload the outlet or trip the breaker ahead of time? Do I need to worry about that?
I wouldn’t be doing the installation myself, I’d hire a plumber. But I thought I’d check before I get the plumber out here on a wasted call if it turns out I shouldn’t have this hooked up.
As long as you don’t decide you have to have a cup of coffee while the dishwasher is running plus the gargage disposal.
A by the book home inspector may object. I have 16 outlets on one circuit. Nearly all of them are a place where I might want to plug in a tool. How many tools can I use at once?
They’re an energy hog. You might want to calculate how much energy you are going to be using keeping water hot 24/7 just for a cup of coffee once a day.
Each appliance will have a plate that specifies it’s energy use. Look for amps on each. Dishwasher could be problematic because sometimes the plates on the back.
Dishwashers tend to be in the 10-12 amp range. Garbage disposals run 4-8 amps. If you are on a 15 amp circuit you’ve likely already exceeded the rating. If it was wired more recently a good electrician would have run a 20 amp circuit. Even with a 20 amp line adding this thing-a-mah-jig you’ll be in line to trip breakers with them all running at the same time.
You have one outlet with a dishwasher and a garbage disposal plugged into it? What you probably have is a split outlet. If it is wired right one of the plugs will be on one circuit and the other on a second circuit. And they should both be 20 amp circuits.
You will not be able to use the disposal outlet for the water heater. That is unless you are willing to turn on the disposal to get hot water. The disposal out let is switched to be turned on and off.
Look at the name plate data on both the water heater and the dishwasher. Add the two amp ratings together. I would not plug them in together if the combined amp rattings are over 15 amps if a 20 amp circuit.
What ever you do do not use the type of outlet expander that plugs into both outlets at the same time**** Because of they are on two different legs of the panel (and they should be) it will not be good when you hit the switch for the disposal.
One way to check for this - do you have a circuit breaker marked for the dishwasher, and another marked for the disposal? Do the circuits work as marked? In other words, if you turn off the dishwasher one, does it stop, leaving the disposal working? And if you turn off the disposal, does it stop working, leaving the dishwasher alone?
Also, someone upthread mentioned wasting energy keeping the water hot. I’m assuming this is really for an instant heating system, not a storage system. Can the OP clarify? That makes a difference both in how much power it uses, and how much control you have over it.
There is no requirement they be on 20 amp circuits. It would be very rare in an older home for them to have a split outlet or even a 20 amp line. In my area it’s quite common to find them like described on a 15 amp circuit.
You’re *always *going to have a split outlet for the disposer vs. dishwasher. That or two seprate outlet units. They may be on common or separate circuit breakers. Assuming a single duplex outlet, one (for the disposer) is always gonna be switched, and the other (for the dishwasher) is always not gonna be switched. Therefore they’d be split.
I’ve had an undersink instant hot water dispenser for years. They are not instant heating. Rather they are a small (~2 qt) tank heater which is maintained at about 190-200F. It also has a huge amount of insulation for something so small. As a result the daily electricity consumption is negligible, maybe 10-20 cents. But when it kicks in, it does have a decent draw.
In over 15 years with this model or a predecessor I’ve never had an issue with overloads tripping breakers. I suppose that *if *I happened to be running the dishwasher *and *it was at the peak power consumption phase of its cycle, *and *I was running the garbage disposal, *and *the heater kicked in I *might *have a problem.
for other cases the dishwasher might be hardwired, so the above may not apply to others with a washer and disposal (and hard wired or plugged in washer they might be on the same or different circuits). in this case OP has a plug in.
disposal receptacle would be fully or half switched.
Yeah. What I meant was that *assuming *they’re both plugged into a duplex outlet, it’s a split one. Having either or both hardwired is yet another possibility.
I would be interested in seeing the justification for that. I think we are being forced into overkill. How many houses have disposers on 15 amp circuits burned down?
Except a 15 amp circuit for a garbage disposal is already over protection. They simply don’t use that much electricity. Requiring a 20 amp circuit is just requiring people to waste money.
When wiring a house I run everything to the kitchen as 20 amp, that way if I have to re-purpose any of the wiring it meets the outlet requirements. I see a difference between my personal preferences and the state requiring it.
The amp rating on the tag is the running current. Pretty sure the circuit is rated for the motor’s starting current. Or I could be completely out to lunch on this. Of course, it depends on the disposal’s HP rating. A 3/4 horse motor is going to run right up against full rating of a 10 amp breaker.
Yes I remember as a factory manager the one engineer preaching the fine art of selecting the fuse. I also remember the one third shift millwright going through a whole pack of fuse links before the one converyor motor burned out.
I suspect the concern is that a too-big circuit won’t trip when the elements attached to it misbehave. You could have something short out, heat up, and catch fire, and a too-big circuit will happily keep providing fuel. A proper circuit allows for what’s on it (in both run and startup mode) and not too much more, so it can catch a failure.
-D/a