Dedicated power line

Cables
1

I have decided to have new dedicated power run and I have a few questions. I’m planning to put in a dual run of 12 gauge 20A lines. (1) Are there special considerations running power wires next to each other? (2) Should i be wary of running the power wire too close to coax lines? See attached photo (note that photo is from a year ago, house is all built now :).l the gray box and white wire in from of X on floor is the coax line. Blue box to right is where I want to run one of the new 20A lines. I want to run the 2nd line to the left of the center coax line. Would putting the line on the left of the stud directly to left of coax be free of interference or negative effects? The other option could be to move 6 inches left of that stud and use an “old Work” box that attaches to the drywall. I appreciate any thoughts!

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2

I think you’d be fine either way. The lines don’t radiate more than an inch or two so probably not something to worry about.

3

Thanks for the reply Paul!

2nd question, two 20A lines are going in this weekend with the power port outlets.

I’ve read online that it is better to connect the ground between multiple outlets from different dedicated lines and have one ground go back.

Is this recommended with multiple dedicated lines?

Thanks!

4

I am not quite sure what this looks like from your description. You want each three wire dedicated line (ground, neutral, hot) to go back to the sub panel where it everything is grounded at the same point. Use at least 12 gauge wire, 10 if your electrician doesn’t get heart failure.

5

Let me reword.

(1) each outlet has their own ground going back to sub panel.

Or

(2) run a ground wire between the two outlets and then have a single ground go back to sub panel.

Option 2 is explained here

https://www.martinlogan.com/learn/faq-prewiring-a-home-theater.php

6

You want option one.

7

Thank you Paul. I see different information all over the web on this and it is hard to find consensus.

Dedicated line going in, then as soon as they ship - StellarDAC/S300!

8

One more question :slight_smile:

The electrician is on board for the two lines both 20A and he agreed to 10 guage but wants to use a double throw breaker for these.

There isn’t any issue going with a double throw is there ? Just wanted to make sure.

Thanks for all of your help!

9

There are a lot of variables and I’m always suspicious of recommendations that recommend something very specific on one hand but don’t even talk about other issues that are at least as important: e.g. having all dedicated lines on the same phase of the service panel, gauge of wires, stranded or not, number of splices, etc. All of these can have a bigger effect in practice than the grounding issues mentioned in that page. On the other hand there’s no particular perfect setup (especially given varying code requirements) and almost any dedicated line setup is much better than standard wiring so worrying too much isn’t worth it.

10

I’m no expert in the details of circuit breakers that are available, but are you sure he didn’t say double pole instead of double throw? In any case, you want all of the new circuits on the same phase. Also, just to get everything to fit in my already overcrowded service panel we had to use the half width breakers for the new lines. Some feel that they aren’t as good for audio but I haven’t noticed that to be a problem.

11

Thank you for responses, we are doing separate breakers so that they can be on the same leg/polarity and we are doing 10 gauge.