Can someone answer my wlectrical/wiring questions?

So i have just wired up my basement with a new circuit. From the breaker to the basement is 12g (12/2). Then i ran out of wire so i put in a junction box. It then went to 14/2. After some reading i decided i would run 12/2 the whole way, so i took out the 14/2. I will be getting new 12/2 tomorrow. I was wiring my 4(two double) electric outlet and noticed on the back it says 15a max...

So if 14ga at 120v is rated to 15amps but is generally avoided as it is too low amps then why is my outlet rated at 15 amp?

I do know that a full 15a is a lot(but obviously you don't want to ride near the max), as at 120v 15 amps is 1800 watts.

My question now is should i upgrade the outlet itself before finalizing everything? what are outlets mostly rated too and where do you look for higher load outlets? I am switching the wiring out regardless but the outlet is my question now.

also what amp breaker should i use? my system runs TOPS 700 watts. 700/120 = under 6 amps. i was thinking 10 would cut it close, but be safe. 15 would be good once the 12ga wire is in, but are then the sockets a concern and is it too high for the 6a draw in case of malfunction?


Last thing could someone double check my double outlet wiring. I have wired, with 12ga wires, two silver screws (silver screws white wires) and then two hot wires (black wire bronze screw). Also tied the grounds together with an additional ground wire though the whole unit should be grounded itself.
Here is a pic.

Note that the plugs are reversed (one right side up one upside down) so that the hot and common are not so close together.

Thanks for the help

14/2 15amp breaker...12/2 20 amp breaker

I would just pigtail 2 whites and 2 blacks and 2 grounds from the hot wire going into the outlet box....and have each plug its own white and its own black instead of jumping power from plug to plug

That sounds like the best idea. that way i could avoid the possibility of the outlet itself not evenly distributing the juice. I found both methods listed on a diy website, so just not sure.

thanks for the quick amp and idea reply +rep

no prob dude!!

Oh how about the sockets themselves? should i bother upgrading to 20 amp sockets? if my wiring is 12g and the breaker is 20 amp then i would pretty much have to in case of a short so the outlet doesnt blow. Then again why not just stick a 15a breaker in and call it done? thats almost 2000 watts of which im only using 700, maybe 800 on warm up. 20 amps would net me 2400 watts max, even further more than i need.

so worry about the sockets or nay?

Either way im still doing the wiring in 12ga as its just lower resistance and leaves room for expandability and a larger margin of error. I've seen what too thin of wire can do in a cars system and it was pretty scary. almost instant 4 feet of glowing wire accompanied by a room full of smoke.

no worries!-15 amp outlets are fine for your app.

Ok top questions are answered. Instead of opening new threads i thought i would add a few more random questions here.

so i grabbed a largish glass of water after getting some ph down. Got the base ph, then added a single drop of ph down to observe effects. Dropped ph by a point or so. After putting that drop in i decided to run a PPM test and my meter was showing 110 with the x10 flashing..... 1100 PPM? compared to a unaltered glass next to it, 185 ppm.... Sooo does something in the ph down solution(by GH) alter the conductivity of the water it is used in ending in a Fd up ppm every time you use it? if so WTF

next question. inside a basement with average temps in summer from 75-80 pretty constant (outside 80-90) and night 70 (outside presumably 50s) what would the winter months likely bring with normal living upstairs? The basement is decently insulated, and the interrior is dirt floor with cinderblock sides. These temps are without any more than a few CFL bulbs. Do people in cold climates keep fans off during plant 12 off times to keep some of the heat in? what is the minimum temp you should watch out for?
tnx again

you dont need that bonding jumper between your plugs.