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Wiring electric baseboard heater
02/18/05 08:25 PM
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I'm trying to help a friend with his Marley electric baseboard heater wiring. Heater is rated at 1500 watts,208/240 volt. He ran 12/2 wire with ground from the circuit breaker box (20 amp double pole breaker) to a Mears M602W thermostat. From the thermostat he ran the 12/2 to the heater. My question is the thermostat has (beside the ground) two black wires and two red wires. How should the 12/2 wire be connected to the thermostat? Does the 12/2 HOT wire (black) connect to the red or black wires of the thermostat, and the white (neutral) connect to the other pair?
Now to make it more interesting how does the 12/2 connect at the heater itself? I believe he has black and red wires there also, but can't remember if it is a single or double black and red wires.  Thank you in advance. Stanley
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johnday
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Re: Wiring electric baseboard heater
[re: StanleyinMd]
02/19/05 05:42 AM
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I'm not a pro electrician, but it doesn't seem that he has 220 going to the thermostat to start with . By running 12/2wg, you're only good for 110. I think, without seeing the wiring diagram for the thermostat, that 12/3wg should be run, then the hot black tto the black on device, and the red to red on the device. In other words, black to black in, black to black out, and the same with the red. The white nuetral is usually just that, NUETRAL. In some circumstances such as lighting, the white can become a hot wire. But I won't go there for now.
Inspector 507 can definetely explain better than I, I'm sure you'll be getting a reply from him. 
Trucks are red, Tractors are blue.
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Re: Wiring electric baseboard heater
[re: johnday]
02/19/05 06:35 AM
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Johnday, thank you for your reply. My understanding is that when the 12/2 is hooked into the circuit breaker BOTH the black wire and the white wire are attached to the breaker. Black electrical tape is then wrapped around the end of the white wire to change it to hot. This way you now have TWO 110 volts. 507 can certainly clear this up I'm sure. Again thanks. Stanley
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johnday
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Re: Wiring electric baseboard heater
[re: StanleyinMd]
02/19/05 06:43 AM
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Stanley; In that case the nuetral will be hot. I think you may want to mark it as such at the connections to the device, in this case using red tape? When ever I run 14/2wg for lighting, I'll wire to the switch with one piece of romex, black to one side of switch, and white out marked with black tape at the switch and at the lighting fixture.
Comeon Jerry, give us the RIGHT answer.
Trucks are red, Tractors are blue.
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Inspector507
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Re: Wiring electric baseboard heater
[re: StanleyinMd]
02/19/05 08:20 AM
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Stanley,
12/2 will work fine for a baseboard heater, since no neural is needed. Connect both wires to a 2-pole breaker and you have 220V. Use marking tape to re-identify the white wire at all accessible locations. In the thermostat box connect the wires from the breaker to the "LINE" side and the wires going to the heater to the "LOAD" side. At the heater, connect the wires from the thermostat to the red and black at the heater. Make sure you ground the metal parts.......boxes, heaters, etc
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johnday
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Re: Wiring electric baseboard heater
[re: Inspector507]
02/19/05 11:06 AM
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Excellent Jerry. Thanks for keeping us alive!!
Trucks are red, Tractors are blue.
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Re: Wiring electric baseboard heater
[re: Inspector507]
02/19/05 11:55 AM
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507, thank you very much!!!!!!!!!!! And thank you Johnday.
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daustin112
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Re: Wiring electric baseboard heater
[re: StanleyinMd]
02/26/05 02:38 AM
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I also have a question along the same lines. I am still new to electrical work. I recently scrapped all the baseboards in my girlfriends house which were all 240 rated. When I test the black and white lines they both read 120. I do not get it? Can you add two 120VAC lines together in the circuit (circuit being the baseboard) to make it 240 thus allowing the baseboard to work properly? Thank you for your time.
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DUMBDOG
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Re: Wiring electric baseboard heater
[re: daustin112]
02/26/05 02:45 AM
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Both wires are hot, there is no nuetral, the end of white wire should be marked as such as having black tape wrapped around it, but it sounds like it is not. If you follow the wires back to the box you can verify this. So you have two 110's times two equals the 220 volts.
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Re: Wiring electric baseboard heater
[re: DUMBDOG]
02/26/05 06:31 AM
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I wired the hydronic baseboard as 507 stated, taking my time the whole procedure, making sure I had good tight connections and everything works great. The hydronic (oil filled) baseboard radiator makes a big difference. Again the knowledge that 507 is kind enough to share with everyone is so very much appreciated by all the members of CBN and TBN.
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magnoman
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Re: Wiring electric baseboard heater
[re: johnday]
02/28/05 07:42 PM
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I have a 110 20 amp 12/2 end of run line in my basement. iI have just purchased a marley baseboard heater figuring it would just wire in like a light or receptacle. The thermostat has two blacks two reds. Can I use a 110 end of run line or do I need to run a separate line to the box. Does this wire in like a dimmer?
Help!
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magnoman
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Re: Wiring electric baseboard heater
[re: Inspector507]
02/28/05 11:30 PM
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Can you wire a 120 baseboard heater off an wall outlet?
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johnday
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Re: Wiring electric baseboard heater
[re: magnoman]
03/01/05 06:38 PM
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magnoman; Sounds like you need two 110 feeds to the thermostat. That would be a dualpole breaker in the service panel. Only one 110 hot, usually the black wire, you would only have half the power needed for your heater. I don't think there are any that run off 110.
Thanks for asking my advice, but Inspector 507 is the expert hands down. I'm sure you'll be getting a reply from him. I know what your trying to do, but he explains things much better than I. I'm just a dumb old carpenter. 
Trucks are red, Tractors are blue.
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Inspector507
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Re: Wiring electric baseboard heater
[re: magnoman]
03/02/05 11:21 AM
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Some heaters come in 120V, but not many baseboard units. Except for maybe 2-3 footers.
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Re: Wiring electric baseboard heater
[re: Inspector507]
10/11/06 02:34 PM
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How does the remaining voltage return to ground if both the wires running to a baseboard heater are hot?
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Pat
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Re: Wiring electric baseboard heater
[re: waradmiral]
10/11/06 09:33 PM
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BOth wires are hot to thte tune of about 120 volts with respect to the neutral but they are 180 degrees out of phase with each other and so their is 240 volts between the two hot wires. Think of two 112 volt batteries in series. You get 12 volts from either battery to the common connection (one gives 12 VDC positive and the other 12 vdc negative.) across the whole think yoiu get 24 volts.
In the case of 240VAC each wire takes turns supplying electrons and then carying them away. While one hot wire (leg) is going positive the other one is going negative and then they reverse their roles 60 times a second. There is no real difference between the path of flow flow between either of the hots and neutral than between the two hots except for the voltage.
The two hots comprise a complete circuit when something is connected to both of them. The neutral is the center tap connection of the power transformer supplying your breaker box. From the center to either end (hot leg) is 1/2 of the available voltage. Across the entire secondary of the transformer is 240 VAC.
Most residences are wired this way. It is called 240 volt single phase. Sometimes ignorant folks will refer to the two "LEGS" as different phases but it just 'taint so as anyone with an oscilloscope can easily demonstrate. It is SINGLE PHASE power.
I also have single phase 240VAC to my house and shop. I want to run 3 phase equipment so I have to buy a converter (in my case a modified induction motor) to convert the single phase to three phase.
Pat 
"I'm not from your planet, monkey boy!"
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Inspector507
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Re: Wiring electric baseboard heater
[re: waradmiral]
10/13/06 07:35 PM
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They asked if a baseboard heater could be wired from a 110V outlet. Yes it could but it probably needs it's own separate circuit.
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Pat
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Re: Wiring electric baseboard heater
[re: Inspector507]
10/15/06 12:01 PM
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Inspector, I thought it was obvious that I was replying to waradmiral about how two hot wires could be connected across a heater. As far as using 120vac for a hard wired heater, sure you can do it but I bet you wouldn't do it at your house if there was a reasonable alternative.
Pat
"I'm not from your planet, monkey boy!"
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