[screwballl]

Originally Posted by Sub-versive

Incorrect. Not trying to start an argument, but also don't want this to mislead people. 14AWG (American Wire Guage) wire is rated for max of 15 amperes. The max recommended usage is 80%.
15 x 80% = 12 amps
P=IE Ohm's Law Power=AmpsxVolts
12 x 120 (volts) = 1440 watts per receptacle cicuit
It should be noted this is the MAXIMUM continuous usage for the circuit.

12AWG is 20 amps
20 x 80% =16 amps
16 x 120 = 1920 watts

Thanks for the info Sub.... I was trying to find the numbers and was thinking 800W was close to it, I knew I was a bit low, my apologies.

Also the mention about wire size, there have been houses in my area that were thrown together quickly around 1978-83 where a whole block of them built by one company was found to have 16 ga throughout much of the house.

In the early 90s a contractor that was doing an addition found the 16 gauge on an outside outlet. He asked the homeowner if he could open a few more outlets to see if it was the case elsewhere too, and it was. There was a small class action lawsuit in the mid 90s that was not widely publicized so most of the affected houses still have that same 16 ga wiring.

I read about it a few months ago and checked over 12 outlets in my house which was built in that same timeframe. Our house has 14 ga throughout (for the 110VAC outlets and ceiling fans). I also used a meter to find out how much is being drawn at the various outlets and so far the 1100W microwave is one of the major draws when in use. Otherwise everything else including the fridge is 500W or lower.