[nparliar06]

I have an electric line coming in from a gazebo with a paddle fan into my basement, the gazebo also has a outlet. There is also a outlet on the opposite side of the yard. The line comes into the basement to an outlet and then out of the outlet is a bare end. I have a 15 amp breaker where I was planing to run this to, along with hopefully can lights and a switch to operate the lights. What's the sequence of fixtures I need to follow to successfully do this.

[Kyle_in_rure]

Is your breaker box in the basement? Are you saying the current cable is cut?

[donf]

NP,

You are not making any sense with your description. First, I seriously doubt that the gazebo is the source of the supply.

Your main service panelboard or a downstream panelboard will be the source for power to the gazebo. Also, it is not really wise to place receptacle outlets on the same circuit as your lights.

Does the fan and the receptacle work? How about the receptacle across the yard, does that also work properly?

Please let us know exactly what you are trying to do and which parts of the circuit are hot and which are dead.

Thanks

[creahands]

Don is right need more info. The outside outlets need to be protected with a GFI breaker.

Chuck

[nparliar06]

Ok sorry guys the two outlets I speak of do have gfi breakers. The gazebo is square with an outlet on the bottom corner, which we use for string lights. The paddle fan, the gfi in the gazebo, and the gfi in the corner of the yard are dead. The wire is fed underground to my basement. The wire comes in the basement and travels left (as your looking at the basement wall from the inside) through conduit to an outlet. From there the wire travels straight up and that's where it's cut off.

Remember I have a 15 amp breaker free that I intended for this line, and wanted to run can lights with a switch for the lighs.
If this makes sense... I want the outdoor electric to operate completely separate from the indoor electric.

[creahands]

In order to have the inside lights and the outside fixtures to operate separately you have to have 2 free breakers.

If the outlet inside that has the cut wire has no power, remove the cut wire and make a home run to one of the breakers.

On the other circuit you can run power to either the first light or the switch. After you determine witch we can help you with wiring

Chuck.

[nparliar06]

Yes it is in my basement Kyle

Yeah I kind of figured that I would need two breakers for that task and that's fine since I have two opened up.

I've been told that coming from a breaker, I need to first go to a switch, which I believe was in your response.

Than I guess my question is how many can lights can I go with? And can I possibly do two three way switches as well?

I was hoping to install 10-15 can lights. Is this realistic? Too many or can I do more than that?

I guess I might as well ask one more quick outdoor to indoor question. Any suggestions on a added fixture for inside my basement that would be something neat to add? Or am I better off to just go to the breaker and be happy with what I've got?

[donf]

Okay,

Now we have some useful information. First, there is no reason (unless by circuit design) to go from a breaker to a switch. A breaker is effectively a switch to protect the circuit.

Next, you need to understand what the "Load" (amps) of the circuit will be. For the amount of can lights we need to know the wattage of an individual light plus the anticipated wattage or load of the existing circuit.

Basic formula: VA or Watts = Amperage * Voltage. This means that the maximum wattage for a 15 amp circuit @ 120 Volts is Voltage * Amperage = VA (Volt - Amps)

120 Volts * 15 Amps = 1800 VA (Watts) This means that the most VA or Watts your circuit can carry is 1800 Watts. However, because your circuit has several receptacle outlets, there is an 80% limitation. So instead of 1800 VA (Watts) you are actually limited to 1800 VA (Watts) * 0.8 = 1440 VA (Watts)

What that actually means to you is that on a 15 Amp circuit using 120 Volts you have 1440 VA (Watts) of load.

If you load the circuit to a full 1800 VA (Watts) with your lights and then plug something into your receptacles, you will be running into the house to reset the breaker.

Also, depending on the type of structure the Gazebo is will either have to be listed for "Damp" or "Wet" locations. Also, the electrical cables will have to be either "Damp" or "Wet" listed. Standard "NMB" or "Romex" cable cannot be used because it is listed for "Dry" locations. The Receptacles have to be GFCI protected and mounted in either waterproof boxes or watertight boxes.

Finally - Having lights and receptacles on the same circuit is problematic. If you plug something in that causes the breaker to trip, both the receptacles and lights will go off leaving you in the dark.

[nparliar06]

Ok the formula definitely helps and thanks. Lights and receptacles on the same circuit being problematic does make a bit of sense. The gcfis outside are protected properly which is very good.

So I've come to the conclusion that I'm going to wire a junction box connecting the out door line coming in, straight to the breaker.

I'm guessing since you said there's no point in going from a breaker straight to a switch, that it doesn't matter where your switches go?

Another absolutely HUGE question of mine is this:
My electric is grounded to my copper plumbing. I was initially wanting to switch to PVC, simply to put my pipe into the rafters rather than below them for finishing purposes. Until I found out that this could be a huge no no due to the fact I could totally screw up the electric ground in my home. So I'm going to rerout and stick with copper to keep the ground correct. Is this just all wrong? Is there an easier way of regrounding my electric without killing myself or spending a fortune? If I stick with copper and go that rout is there any precaution I should take with out working on it?

One more big detail... My meter is inside and it's grounded right by the meter.

And trust me I know it's asking a lot to get this grounding issue done without spending money on a professional, but I'd like to explore my options.