Ask Me Help Desk - Adding outlets in basement

Hi,
I'm new here and have a question that hopefully is a quick answer for some of you members.
I have one outlet in my basement which is for the condensate pump. I know I can daisy chain one or more off that one, which I will be adding one more off that existing outlet. However, on the other side of my basement there are no outlets at all and it wouldn't be feasible for me to daisy-chain off the existing one all the way to the other side of the basement as it isn't framed or finished. I want to add two more outlets to the side with none there right now. Can I tap off the light switch, or ceiling light? How do I do this? I only want to use it to plug in a TV and DVD to exercise with--I have no plans for overloading the 15A circuit already in the box for the basement. I just want to know how I go about adding outlets? House is 4 years old so no old wiring, and I currently have 2 sets of ceiling lights--the left side has a 3 way switch to operate those lights (this is the side with one outlet already there), and the other side has one regular wall switch for the lights on the right--this is the side I need to add outlets.
Thanks,
Wrenchwoman

Because how basement lighting typically would be wire, and esp. with 3 way switches, I doubt any light would have a constant feed, which is what is needed.

One of the 3 ways may have a feed, hard to say which one, every electrician wires circuits differently. None wrong, just different.Kind of like a patch work quilt, all different, but all work.

If you know how to a voltage tester and work with live lines, you can find the feed.

And this is a serious IF. There are safety issues obviously. Only you know if you can do this safely.

Really best to run a #12 back to the panel if possible as a 20 amp circuit. Or the closest outlet. Any outlet, not for a pump, must be GFI protected in an unfinished basement. The pu,p outlet can remain non -GFI, and the first new outlet in the circuit needs to be a GFI device,wired properly to protect the next outlets in the circuit.

By constant feed, do you mean a wire that has power all the time and without a switch wired in to it? I don't know if this helps or not, but I went down and looked and there actually is another outlet--single outlet with the condensate pump plugged to it. The other outlet is the only other one I have, it is a GFCI outlet. I also noticed a j-box in the ceiling with some wires to it--nothing coming out of it. I think I recall the builder telling me they put that there in case you want to finish the basement, you have some power coming in. I know how to use a voltmeter, I can check both that j-box and the other outlet to see if it's a constant 110--which I assume is what you meant by constant feed--no switches on it. So what if it is 110, unswitched at the jbox or the outlet I mentioned--then what?

Here is your answer:

Quote:

Originally Posted by wrenchwoman

there actually is another outlet--single outlet with the condensate pump plugged to it. The other outlet is the only other one I have, it is a GFCI outlet. I also noticed a j-box in the ceiling with some wires to it--nothing coming out of it. I think I recall the builder telling me they put that there in case you want to finish the basement, you have some power coming in.

I doubt any light has a constant feed. If you do find constant power on a color, may be black or red, and white in any box, with lights off, there is the feed.

What light are you referring to? I wasn't talking about any lights at all if you mean the j-box in the ceiling that I mentioned. That's just a box with wires coming in, nothing coming out--I haven't opened it to see but I assume it's just power with wirenuts on it, but this was not connected to a light or anything other than where the wires came in from. Does that make sense? Maybe I'm no good at describing :-)

Check the junction box in the ceiling, and get back to us. Based on what you said, the electrical contractor may have installed it for future use. You can also check your service panel and see if they labeled the circuit spare-or similar-and check for power (@ the junction) by turning the breaker on and off.

Okay, I'll try and check the j-box for power and check it against the breaker in the panel labeled basement--I'll have to do it tomorrow. Thanks--I'll let you know what I find.