simple electrical question

J J · Aug 25, 2006

will a 20a 125v toggle switch work for replacing the light switch in my room?

TimW · Aug 25, 2006

15 amp will do ....but make sure you are "breaking" the ground ....not the hot and put a cover plate on it!!! Better yet, get a dimmer switch.

tunered · Aug 25, 2006

I believe that toggle switch was designed for 12 volt, not in my house.

Sorry didnt see the 125.

J J · Aug 25, 2006

i wanted to no if the toggle switch would work cause i want to use a saftey cover toggle like in the fighter jets. thx for the info

TheDoug · Aug 25, 2006

TimW said:

15 amp will do ....but make sure you are "breaking" the ground ....not the hot and put a cover plate on it!!! Better yet, get a dimmer switch.
Click to expand...

Um, I don't think that's correct

Wiring should always be done according to National Electric Code rules, both
for safety and for insurance purposes. The switch MUST go in the hot side,
NEVER in the neutral side. The reason for this is so that when the switch is
off, all current is cut off to the appliance or device being powered. If you
switched the neutral side, there would still be a full 115 volts being
applied to one side of the circuit, and the appliance would always pose a
shock hazard, even when switched off. Switching the hot side removes all
voltage to the appliance, and leaves the appliance grounded for safety when
it is switched off. To wire otherwise is a violation of NEC code, and could
possibly introduce some liability issues should someone be killed or injured
by the appliance, or should there be a fire and the fire or insurance
inspector later discovers the appliance was not correctly wired according to
code. The black wire should be the hot side, and white should be neutral.
(The National Electric Code mandates that the lighter colored wire should be
ground. The exception is green, which is ALWAYS ground, and can NEVER be
hot. On the 110 v polarized 2-prong plugs, the wider prong is always the
ground; the narrower prong is hot. It is customary for appliance cord to
carry a rib or ribs over one conductor. The ribbed side of 2-conductor wire
should always be the ground side. When doing your own wiring, it is always
best to do your work as conservatively as possible, and that means to use
3-conductor wires with a 3-conductor plug. By wiring the third (green) wire
to the metal frame or metal case of the appliance or lighting fixture, the
frame or case is permanently grounded and should never pose a shock hazard,
which is of special interest for an electrical item being used around water.
The electrical department of hardware stores should carry little paperback
booklets that illustrate or describe how wiring should be done to conform to
NEC. They're usually very inexpensive booklets, and will help keep you out
of trouble.
Click to expand...

padams · Aug 25, 2006

J J said:

i wanted to no if the toggle switch would work cause i want to use a saftey cover toggle like in the fighter jets. thx for the info
Click to expand...

Those switches are DC buddy.

eyeblazin · Aug 25, 2006

I beg to differ with TimW. You should break the HOT wire. Otherwise if you go to work on the fixture you will become the ground and this may not feel so good.

TimW · Aug 25, 2006

Would depend on the existing switch ...older houses broke the neutral so that power was still going to other fixtures ....modern houses have a hot drop to the switch ....

ItsWendy · Aug 25, 2006

Have to argue with that, break the neutral and the line going to the socket is still hot, and dangerous. Even in the era of no ground one wire was hot and one was neutral, and the hot is always the one broken to a fixture. The pair of wires was routed from location to location, much like the modern setup, only 2 wires instead of 3. Some of my college days was dedicated to house wiring, the wiring in the house I lived in at the time was all single strand, now that's old!

ItsWendy · Aug 26, 2006

BTW, as long as you don't load the switches over 10A they should work fine.

ItsWendy · Aug 26, 2006

Just read the part about 12 V, that makes it a bust. The reason switches are rated for voltage has to do with arcing, a higher voltage rating means it will not have a sustained arc, which creates lots of heat, light, fire, very exciting stuff.

They do make toggle switches that are rated for 120VAC/DC at 20A, they tend to be around 5X bigger.

TimW · Aug 26, 2006

I have to apologize for my posts ....I really do not know where my head was yesterday...(other than firmly up my a$$).

I did electrical work for over 20 years ...residential and commercial (three-phase) and I know better.

Can only think that it was my evil twin posting while I was "out".

J J · Aug 26, 2006

so are all toggle switches DC current?
(btw i do know basic wiring)

ItsWendy · Aug 26, 2006

DC switches can be used for AC, but you have to overrate them. Figure about half the current that the switch is rated for for safetys sake.

J J said:

so are all toggle switches DC current?
(btw i do know basic wiring)
Click to expand...

The diagram wasn't for you, it was for the side arguement that was going on.

ASUS · Aug 26, 2006

J J said:

so are all toggle switches DC current?
(btw i do know basic wiring)
Click to expand...

No!

If you have a Toggle switch rated at 20amp/125v it will be fine for your Room lighting assuming it's wired correctly.
Most residential Lighting will be on 15amp circuits, so 15 or 20 amp /125v is fine

ItsWendy · Aug 26, 2006

No, not all toggle switches are DC. Strictly speaking, wall switches are toggle switches. You can get them in all flavors.

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