2006-12-18 11:27:40 · 13 answers · asked by Sleepyguy 4 in Home & Garden ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
it's pretty obvious that the 20 amp has an extra horizontal slot on it.
it's so a 20 amp receptacle can be used for plugging in a 15A or 20A cord. a 15 amp receptacle will not fit a 20A cord and will only take 15 amp cords so that you don't overload the 15 amp receptacle.
the internals of a 15 and 20 amp receptacle are usually the same if you take the time to open them up though.
2006-12-18 15:30:47 · answer #1 · answered by the4biddendonut 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you're asking abt the 2-plug-in duplex residential receptacle usually arranged abt 1 ft from the floor and abt every 4 to 8 ft of wall perimeter... then I'd venture that the only difference VISIBLE might be between the 2 plug-
in-holes, in small print next to the center screw-hole for the safety cover for the receptacle. (You'd have to remove the plastic 2-hole cover to see this small print.)
There you can read the capacity of the receptacle -- for
the pertinent voltage.
Theoretically, the 20 amp receptacle should have heavier internal contacts and would demand 12 guage wire or bigger. (You know that as the wire guage # goes up, the wire size and capacity goes down.) The 15 amp receptacle would demand at least 14, preferably 12... tho 12 is almost always more expensive. The idea here is that if you have a failure, you'd alot rather replace a single receptacle than all the wiring that goes to it.
Most residential receptacles I've seen are 15 amp which is usually more than adequate for household appliances.
2006-12-18 12:06:39 · answer #2 · answered by answerING 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
On the surface they look the same, the rating in amps is printed on the body of the recepacle. You can plug in a lamp, then shut each breaker( or remove each fuse ) The light goes out on that circuit, and note the rating. Note: if you remove the receptacle from the box and read 15 and it's on a 20 amp fuse/breaker, change it out, if the wire is 14awg, put it back and reduce the breaker/fuse to 15 amp.
2006-12-18 11:40:26 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Nothing. The difference is in the wiring. Most receptacles are 15A, with 14 or 12-gauge wiring. The rating is (conveniently) on the back of the fixture. The breaker or fuse will tip you off as to the rating of the outlets.
2006-12-18 11:30:57 · answer #4 · answered by Peter 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
20 amp has 12 gauge wire to it, 15 amp has 14 gauge wire. some 20 amp receptacles have a notch on the side of one of the flat openings.
2006-12-18 11:38:20 · answer #5 · answered by car dude 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
On the back side of the recepticle it should have the amp rating. It is not visible visible from the front. Most recepticles are 15 amp because 20 amps is usually your branch circuits rating.
2006-12-18 11:36:29 · answer #6 · answered by miketyson26 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
a 20 amp receptacle has a slit in the neutral side
2006-12-18 14:07:50 · answer #7 · answered by mike__996 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
OK most of them answers were all WRONG. i seen one that was right. if you are looking at the rec. on the left side which is the NEUTRAL side there is a slot going left and right and up and down, on the right side its only going up and down. i seen one person said that all new rec. are 20 amp. that's wrong they still use 15 amp. Maybe they need to read the NEC book a Lil more. a 15 amp rec. just has up and down slots.
2006-12-18 15:32:02 · answer #8 · answered by Shane H 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
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2016-11-30 22:42:05 · answer #9 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't know I don't understand any answers so im gonna use my 20 amp breakers and hope my house doesn't burn down
2014-11-20 11:00:54 · answer #10 · answered by conrad 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋