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I have an extra 240v 30amp outlet in my kitchen that was originally for my dryer. I know how I would be able to split it, but I am not sure if it would fulfill the code requirement:

  • Countertop receptacles shall be supplied by a minimum of two 20-amp small appliance branch circuit.

I'm located in Ontario.

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  • Check with your municipality / inspector about how many outlets and what types are allowed per branch, and it might be more restricted than the CEC. I believe this varies with province and municipality. With that info we can help you re-use the 30A cable.
    – P2000
    May 5, 2021 at 14:52

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Yes, if you do it right. This is an MWBC, Multi Wire Branch Circuit.

The keys are:

  • 240V double-breaker (or technically handle-tie is OK, but double-breaker is easier and you better already have that for a dryer anyway).
  • Feed must include hot/hot/neutral/ground. This might get tricky. A proper modern 30A dryer connection will have all 4 wires (or 3 + metal conduit for ground). However, older dryer connections only had 3 wires. You need to check this first. Upload a picture of the dryer receptacle and we can figure it out.
  • Replace the 30A breaker with a 20A breaker.
  • You need GFCI. That can either be done with a 20A double-breaker with GFCI built in (may or may not be available for your panel) or by using a GFCI receptacle as the first receptacle in each chain of receptacles in the kitchen.
  • The 30A receptacle goes away. Inside the box, run connect two 12/2 (12 AWG hot/neutral/ground) cables. (This could be done with a single 12/3, but that gets confusing and forces you to use breaker GFCI. Easier to avoid it.) The hot (black) wire from one cable goes to one hot wire from the panel. The hot (black) wire from the other cable goes to the other hot wire from the panel. The neutrals from both cables go to the neutral from the panel. All grounds (as always) together.
  • Each cable can now feed to as many receptacles (15A and/or 20A) as you want. All are ordinary receptacles except that if you did not install a GFCI breaker then the cable goes to the line side of a GFCI receptacle and all following receptacles go to the load side.
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  • I can confirm that it is hot/hot/neutral/ground, so I can do the two 12/2 cables from it, swap out the breaker for a 20A double-breaker, and then GFCI on the outlets. Right now the ground is the metal conduit, but I want to take some of the conduit down and go into the wall. Should I run a new ground wire, can I use the ground of the another circuit, or would the fact it will be atached to metal studs good enough for a ground?
    – Cameron Nursall
    May 4, 2021 at 20:37
  • Metal studs means nothing. "take some of the conduit down and go into the wall"? Not necessarily a good idea - remember the box, even with no receptacle, must be accessible. You can run a new ground wire through the conduit. But you can also have the new ground wire connect to the box (assuming it is metal, which I would hope with metal conduit) and that is then grounded to the conduit.
    – manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact
    May 4, 2021 at 20:41
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    Some municipalities and provinces have variations to the CEC that do not allow "as many receptacles (15A and/or 20A) as you want." We first need more info from the OP. I deleted my answer.
    – P2000
    May 5, 2021 at 14:55
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You're misunderstanding the circuit. You have 30A 240v at your plug, which means 30A for each leg. That's too much to run any normal 15A or 20A outlets.

Your best bet is to remove the old dryer plug and add a small electrical panel. It would allow you to then add 20 amp breakers to feed your kitchen.

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  • In theory that is great. Could feed more than 2 circuits that way. The problem is that, as I understand it, even a small subpanel needs a large access space. If, as is typically the case, the dryer location is or will be occupied by permanent cabinetry then that makes it invalid for a subpanel.
    – manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact
    May 4, 2021 at 17:25
  • @manassehkatz-Moving2Codidact Depends on the subpanel. This 6 slot subpanel is only 12" x 9"
    – Machavity
    May 4, 2021 at 17:45
  • My understanding is that all panels need refrigerator size space clear in front
    – manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact
    May 4, 2021 at 19:20

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