Electric wire gauge

doing a lil wiring on cabin and cant recall gauge a guy should use for wiring plug in boxes to box?? 16 gauge?? thanks

The wire size will depend on your intended use, how many amps you will draw. For most household wiring either 14 or 12 guage wire is used. The only place I see 16 guage is in extension cords.The important thing to remember is the fuse or breaker must be sized to the wire used. A 14 guage wire can carry 15 amps. A 12 guage wire 20 amps. If a 14 guage wire is on a 20 amp breaker it can lead to a fire when the wire gets hot.

14 gauge for general duty outlets 15 amp max
12 gauge for kitchen outlets 20 amp max
10 gauge for elec dryer or water heater 30 amp max
any new outlets need to be tamper proof.
any kitchen, unfinished basement, outside or garage outlets need to be gfi any others need to be arc fault protected

What these guys say is correct, most codes now let you use #12 for power, meaning receptacles and #14 for lighting only.

thanks again!!

Be aware that some manufactures of kitchen appliances do not recommend using a GFI, refrigerators especially.

We get enough calls on refrigerators tripping them to see why.

fwiw..

Al

Don’t forget bathrooms! 20 amp circuit and GFCI protection for the receptacles.

Ingy