I'am going to put in baseboard heat in my basement,the unit I want to put in is 240 volts 1000 watts, what size wire should I use or can I run 2 12-2 lines from 2 differnt lines?
As the other electricians have said (and I am one also), you need one 12/2 cable connected to a new 2-pole 15 or 20 amp breaker in your panel (the black goes on one terminal and the white on the other). You can't hook it up to two separate 120volt breakers or circuits -- not safe and not to Code. And you need to tag both ends of the white wire with red or black tape to identify them as line wires and not neutrals.
A single 3 conductor 12 gauge wire will be sufficient. NEC code at 75°C is 25 amperage rating for 240VAC. Your circuit load is 1000watts 240volts x amperage Your amperage or load is 4.166 Amps Make sure you base heater has its own fuse protection. You will not get a circuit breaker from you panel down to that low of a protection rating for the 240VAC branch circuit. Jim
As someone else said. You only need one 12-2 wire. You could run it on a 15 amp double pole breaker. Just Use the black and the white as hot. Connect the black to one pole and the white to the other.
It's a real bad idea to try to add that load to two existing breakers serving other circuits. If you have 2 spare 1 pole breakers, it's fine. You only need 15A. protection but match wire to the breaker regardless of load. (15A.- #14, 20A.- #12.) (Do be aware that you need breakers connected to two different phases. Not just any random pair will work.) What you want is a 2 Pole 15A., (Min.), circuit breaker and 2 #14 +G. (Min.), to that heater. If you don't have the two pole space in the panel it is possible to tap an additional 'load center' from the load side of the main CB or panel buss. The hardware isn't expensive. Do it right.
Run a piece of 12-2 romex. The black will provide one 120 volt leg while the white will provide another 120 volt leg. You will use the paper covered bare wire for your ground. You don't have a neutral on a baseboard heater. Hope this helps. Good luck in all you do and may God bless.
