Is it possible to put a recepticle at the end of a 3 way circuit?

Question

Hi there. I am wiring a 3 way switch on my basement stairs. I can put the power to the light fixture or to a switch and can essentially wire it in whatever order is easiest or best. However, I would like to put a recepticle onto this circuit as well to save running an additional 25 feet of wire for one plugin. Running the power to the recepticle first would be the best option, but is farthest away from the incoming power source so I would have to double back all my wiring. Is there a way to wire my three way circuit and have this recepticle at the end? It does not matter whether it is hot, or also controlled by the switch. Thank you very much.

Answer 1

Yes, but as you said, it will be controled by the switch. Simply run a hot, neutral, and ground right off the last switch, in parallel, directly into the outlet. Just make sure you wire it to the same set of wires that go to the light above, or you will end up with a dead outlet and a switch that doesn't work.

Answer 2

There are lots of ways to do this, and without more detail I don't know what is best. I assume 3 way switch at top and bottom of stairs, light at bottom of stairs, and the receptacle is in the basement. One way that might work is send power to the light first, then on to the receptacle. Send a 2 wire w/gnd cable to one switch from the light and of course the 3 wire w/gnd between the switches. Then you would have unswitched receptacle and shouldn't be too much more wire vs. sending power to the upper switch. Another method would be power to the basement switch, and on to the receptacle, 3 wire to the upper switch and then upper switch to light.

In general, for 3 ways, you can run 3 wire between switches, a 2 wire from either switch to the light, and then power to either switch or the light. Wherever you have power you can tap off to someplace else.

Another option is carrying switched and unswitched power in a 3 wire cable. Run power to the bottom switch, 3 wire to the other switch, then 3 wire to the light (this will have neutral and switched as normal, the 3rd wire will be unswitched power). Then a 2 conductor cable from the light to the receptacle.

Another thing to consider in these things is box fill. Assuming you have a largest nonmetallic single gang box (22.5 cu in), it would be exceeded if you ran power to the bottom switch, and from there 3 conductor to the other switch, 2 conductor to the light and 2 conductor to the receptacle. This has 9 conductors, plus 1 for grounds and 2 for the switch. With 14AWG, this requires 24 cu in for the box.

Box fill simplified, a 22.5 cu in box with a switch or receptacle can have a max of 8 14AWG conductors (ignore the grounds) or 7 12AWG conductors. If you are using smaller boxes, this goes down. An 18 cu in box can only have 6 14AWG or 5 12AWG for example. So if a 22.5cu in box has a 14-3 going to it, it can have at most two 14-2's also.

Answer 3

The way to get this circuit to work properly is to have the hot from the panel at the place where your receptacle is otherwise you will be at the mercy of the other switches - always having the inconvenience of having the receptacle off when you want it on. Also this will not pass code.