20 Amp Outlet,, But, With 10 Gauge Wire? Can I Do It??

[CADplans]

I want to run wire to a new 120 volt, 20 amp outlet, and I have a whole roll of 10-2 (with ground) Romex wire sitting there,,

Can I wire the outlet with the 10 gauge, or,,, will I kill myself trying to get that wire into the box?

I ain't wiring a whole house, just one outlet. It is about a 23 foot run,,
I hate to buy another roll of wire as I already have the 10 gauge,,,

I am running a 220 volt, 30 amp outlet also, that is why I have the wire,, (for my larger air compressor)

So,, what is the verdict,,, am I crazy to try to wire 10 gauge Romex to a little 20 amp 120 volt outlet?? :confused2:

 

[LouNY]

Yea, but go for it. I always liked a larger then required wire.
The difficulty may be terminating it if the screw doesn't back out far enough.

 

[B7510HSD]

Don't see any reason not to us the 10ga wire a little tougher to make the connections but it can be done!!

 

[CADplans]

Yea, but go for it. I always liked a larger then required wire.
The difficulty may be terminating it if the screw doesn't back out far enough.

Don't see any reason not to us the 10ga wire a little tougher to make the connections but it can be done!!

I already tried the 10 gauge on the screws, there is plenty of length,,

Thanks for the replies,,,

 

[Industrial Toys]

I have run into that alot. You need to run heavy wire on a light circuit to overcome voltage drop, but how to get the wire in the device? You can't make connections in a load center.

 

[RNeumann]

Bigger wire=ok
Smaller wire=fuse

Spring for the “nicer” outlets that have a small plate under the screw so you don’t have to curl the wire around the screw. Otherwise some crimp connectors would help. The ground would also benefit from a crimp connector.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I don't think that crimp-ons meet code here. Could be wrong. Maybe just not on solid wire.

 

[dieselcrawler]

Crimp on ends (known 'sta-kon's in the trade) should not be used with solid wire. Work great for stranded wire terminations.

No issues with larger wire, aside from simply manipulating it into the device box, breaker box, and not causing damage to the insulation.

Go for it... good luck!

 

[Industrial Toys]

Nothing worse than squeezing a lot of stiff wires into a little box. I can't do it anymore without remembering when I did it back in the 80s up in a dark ceiling on a 347 circuit and someone had left exposed wires. Don't remember how or why, it wasn't my doing.

 

[cqaigy2]

Wired a small out building with 10 gauge left over from another job. It's not easy, but doable. Reframe from bending the wire too much and making it stiff.