Electrician just installed a 60A breaker over 8/3 Romex

[Maquis]

Also romex can not be put into a conduit.

That is simply false. It's done all the time where protection from damage is required.

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[Bausmx5]

Did he even offer to have it inspected?

He said nothing about inspection.

It might be fine as is (other than the breaker)... Having the 2nd electrician or permit inspector can give you more peace of mind.

I'll look into getting an inspector out here, thanks for the suggestion

 

[RonTCat]

I'm in a pretty tough spot here, I've already paid him and he'll be back in a few weeks to swap out the 60A with 50A. To replace the #8 with #6 will probably cost me a good deal more. I will probably swap out the 50A with a 40A myself when he swaps out the 60A

The only reason I knew anything was off was because he said he was out of the 50A. What's weird is all his reviews are 5 stars on every website, which is why I've given him the benefit of the doubt so far

As someone else noted, since we can't see what the electrician did, it might be OK, EXCEPT for the 60 amp breaker, which is not OK.

Wire length matters, and wire insulation matters. You can take "Romex", remove the wires from the outer insulator, and have the individual wires comply with code if the runs are short enough.

Now some people will still say this is "not to code", but this could mean they just don't fully understand the code, or just have "always done it this way" or "always seen it done this way" and "its always passed inspection".

The other problem is many inspectors don't fully understand the code, and interpret it differently, just like you get different opinions here. You could have two inspectors come out to look at the installation, and one will say pass and the other fail. WTF, right?

In reality, your electrician could have done everything "to code", except for the 60 amp breaker thing. He needs to fix that ASAP.

 

[ZuleMME]

Wire length matters, and wire insulation matters. You can take "Romex", remove the wires from the outer insulator, and have the individual wires comply with code if the runs are short enough.

No, you likely can't. Romex puts the markings on the outside of the protective sheath and not the internal wires. If they are not labeled THHN as expected you can't do what you claim without degrading to the same 60 degree column and 40 amps.

 

[Bausmx5]

As someone else noted, since we can't see what the electrician did, it might be OK, EXCEPT for the 60 amp breaker, which is not OK.

Wire length matters, and wire insulation matters. You can take "Romex", remove the wires from the outer insulator, and have the individual wires comply with code if the runs are short enough.

Now some people will still say this is "not to code", but this could mean they just don't fully understand the code, or just have "always done it this way" or "always seen it done this way" and "its always passed inspection".

The other problem is many inspectors don't fully understand the code, and interpret it differently, just like you get different opinions here. You could have two inspectors come out to look at the installation, and one will say pass and the other fail. WTF, right?

In reality, your electrician could have done everything "to code", except for the 60 amp breaker thing. He needs to fix that ASAP.

Thanks, I'm getting mixed messages everywhere I post so that doesn't help haha. The run is maximum 5 feet of wire, its literally right next to my breaker box. I understand why he put in the 60A but he assured me it was safe until he got the 50A. Regardless, I will use my 120v until then

 

[dtbaker61]

I'm in a pretty tough spot here, I've already paid him and he'll be back in a few weeks to swap out the 60A with 50A. To replace the #8 with #6 will probably cost me a good deal more. I will probably swap out the 50A with a 40A myself when he swaps out the 60A

The only reason I knew anything was off was because he said he was out of the 50A. What's weird is all his reviews are 5 stars on every website, which is why I've given him the benefit of the doubt so far

the quickest, safest solution is to tell him to install a 40amp breaker.... that way the circuit cannot accidentally overload the wires if some unknowing person plugs in a higher capacity charger in the future.

 

[Orangefirefish]

National Electrical Code
Allowable Ampacities of Insulated Conductors Rated 0-2000 Volts
As Excerpted from the 2002 National Electrical Code
Ampacities of Not More Than Three Current-Carrying Conductors in Raceway, Cable or Earth. Based on Ampbient Temperature of 30°C (86°F)

SIZE AWG OR kcmil	Copper Conductors
Temperature Rating of Conductor	Temperature Rating of Conductor
60°C
TYPES TW UF
#8 40 amps Your electrician is wrong. Your cable is good for only 40 amps. https://www.usawire-cable.com/pdf/nec-ampacities.pdf

FYI that is the 60C table. Depending on the wire rating and terminations you may be able to rate at 75C.

 

[Earplug]

If you call the City Inspector be prepared to produce the Electric Permit for the installation. Don't have one? They can order the installation removed.

Take a look at your existing breakers and take a picture of the label. Take the picture to Lowes or Home Depot (or order online) and purchase your own 40 amp breaker.

 

[bobh]

Hi all,

I just had the electrician come in to install a 240v outlet for faster charging. His supplier didn't have the 50A breaker so he installed a 60A and will switch them out when he gets it back in stock. Do y'all know if the charger that came with the MME is limited to 48A like I've read online? Electrician said its safe, but I'm skeptical.

This is why I spent the money and had my electrician install the Ford Connected Charging Station. (The are other brands of 48 Amp chargers that will do the same thing. I think all of the 48 Amp charger are hard wired.) He installed it to code with the recommended 60 Amp fuse. It lets me charge at up to 48 Amps with the only problem I have observed is the noise from the cooling fan for the battery. The charging station and the ford pass app make it very easy for me to reduce the Amps to 30 and eliminate the fan noise. I only charge at the full 48 amps if I am in a hurry.

 

[Texas-E]

I think it is pretty hard to inspect installed electrical, other than eyeballing gauge and connections. The jacket material is hidden, along with the printed specs.

OP- you are getting all kinds of comments and advice on this thread. I'd ask you to think about a car and the fuses in it. Have you ever had an open fuse before that you had to replace? Why did that fuse open when all the loads on it were within spec? That shouldn't happen based on some of the things being posted, yet it did. Breakers and fuses are in place to protect your wiring and to keep from burning your house down.

Take a look at this if you're interested- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circuit_breaker

A circuit breaker is an automatically operated electrical switch designed to protect an electrical circuit from damage caused by excess current from an overload or short circuit.

Maybe your wire can handle the current load once the right breaker is in place. If your electrician left any extra, take a picture of the printed specs on the outer sheath. If not, ask him if he will leave you a small piece with that info printed on it. If he says he can't/won't, decide how comfortable you are and the cost for another 5' run. It sucks, but you have to live there, and 5' of wire isn't much. I put 4-4-4-6 gauge SER rated at 90C in, just so I was covered for the future. It cost $3.29 per foot from Summit Electrical Supply. If you lived by me, I'd give you 10' of it that I have leftover.

I'm not piling on, so please don't take it that way. Your electrician is in the sketchy column just by putting a 60amp breaker in as a temp fix. Think of it this way. If you were on the roof of your house 10' in the air, would you use a 15' safety rope to keep you from hitting the ground if you fell? As long as you do not fall off the roof, you are ok. So, as long as your charger doesn't overload or short, you are ok.

 

[Ponypower50]

Go 40 amp, Install to code or you may burn your house down. Just my opinion! I also installed a Grizzl e and it charges the Mache just fine.

 

[skuker]

As others have said #8 NM is only rated for 40 amps. Regardless how small the load is its still unsafe. You have to consider the breaker is there to protect the wire if something happens.
Labeling it 40amp only doesn't stop the wire from melting if something causes a dead short and it pulls max current.

The electrician should never have installed a 60amp breaker nor should he install a 50amp breaker its not something open to interpretation of code its just not rated for it.

I'd suggest shutting the breaker off for the time being and go pickup a 40 amp breaker for him to install when he shows up.

Please don't go rooting around in your panel yourself just to avoid an awkward conversation with your electrician he's getting paid either way he shouldn't care.

 

[idkhow]

Pay the cost of the difference between #8 Romex and #6 THHN, the rest is on him - labor should be free.

If you install a 60 amp circuit, you best install wiring that's up to code.

Romex can be installed in conduits, but that's what THHN is for. People are cheap and lazy. It works though, but there's a reason when you hire a proper electrician they use #6 THHN, not Romex.

Ever done an 80 foot pull with Romex through conduit? It's hell, you have 3-4 wires already, and if you have more than a few angles, good luck. This is what THHN is for.

 

[machefan]

I feel for the OP as it appears the electrician is just trying to get a job done regardless of code.

This is the chart, no way around it.

 

[Accord07]

This is the first I have heard about Romex not going in conduit. Do you know why? Mine is run in conduit for 2-3 feet from the breaker box to the crawl space/attic.

You can put Romex cables through conduits, but for conductors with the same gauge you will generally end up with a conduit one size up (relative to using individual THHN) to keep the conduit's fill ratio within code. The other consideration is that pulling Romex through conduits over any turns or extended distance is asking for trouble.

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