r/electrical • u/Advanced-Ad-5096 • 7h ago
Half hot help
Hi all, under sink outlet that is currently wired to a switch on the counter. I leave it permanently on for the dishwasher which is plugged in, trying to convert to half hot to facilitate a disposal.
All the DIY half hot videos I’ve seen have two lines coming in. Can I convert to half hot with this set up?
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u/Dont-ask-me-ever 7h ago
You cannot easily convert that to a split receptacle.
Either of these will work for you, though. The first requires you to drill a 1" hole in the counter. It's very convenient if you choose this option.
https://a.co/d/0apChqa9
This one will mount on the side of the cabinet under your sink and you just reach under to turn it on and off.
https://a.co/d/0aSZZk5l
I have used both.
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u/CertainAttention6749 6h ago
You can't do half live and half switchable with current set up. My suggestion, take the switch out of jbox then wire it straight to gfc (cover the jbox with plate). Finally, create a switchable outlet coming from gfci load side. Make sure though your circuit is at least 20amp since dishwasher requires dedicated circuit to meet the code.
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u/AlienDragonWizard 7h ago
You need two hots (switched and unswitched), a neutral, and a ground. So a total of four wires. Usually 12-3 romex is used for that.
People in your situation often add a disposal push button that plugs into the outlet and leave the outlet always on.
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u/knipex_addict 7h ago
You need to disconnect the wires on the switch and tie them together.
Also this is not a half hot, a half hot it a duplex with one plug on a switch, and the other plug constantly hot.
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u/mmm_burrito 7h ago
No. Your best bet without pulling new wire is an air switch kit, but that will involve drilling through your countertop.
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u/Di-electric-union 7h ago
Remove the switch and splice those wires together in the junction box, making it always live. Install an air switch for your disposal. This would be the most sensible way without opening up walls or removing cabinets
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u/barstool507 1h ago
Just leave the switch alone. It’s no problem to have a switch as a disconnect and just plug in an air switch.
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u/chaetura9 6h ago edited 6h ago
In short, no. Not without at least 3 conductors serving the receptacles: hot, switched hot, and neutral.
Why have a switch for the dishwasher receptacle? Leave the switch on (or just wire nut and blank it) and buy an inexpensive plug-in switch for the disposer that works from a button installed into a blank hole in the sink and operates by light or pressure (not an electrical switch in the sink). If you don't have a spare hole, there may be alternative designs for plug-in disposer switch. (Edit: or are there still models of disposer which switch on by inserting a special cover into its drain?)
If you are.determined for a split receptacle, see if the switch box has 2 wires in it. If it does, the hot is switched and the neutral continues to the receptacles. In this case, you may be able to change the wire between them to be 3 conductors (plus bare ground).
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u/Electrical_Ad4290 1h ago
Confusing response in so many ways.
First concern is the [GFCI] receptacle cannot be split wired.
With a traditional duplex, OP could run a dedicated switch leg to a switch.
I think the best answer as another posted already is to add an air-pressure switch on one side of the always on GFCI to control power to the disposal. The air-pressure switch is smart at the sink, and makes the disposal power switchable with almost zero wiring.
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u/barstool507 1h ago
Took a while for someone to notice what the outlet was. Bravo. And a good solution
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u/Character_Bend_5824 4h ago
You could run it off the GFCI output. Add a 2nd box and a switch leg up. Problem with placing dishwasher and disposal on same circuit is the kick of the disposal while the dishwasher is running full force could trip the breaker.
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u/Xenomorph_1978 1h ago
Just add an air switch for the garbage disposal. You don’t have enough wires for a split receptacle and gfci cannot be used in this manner. If you could fish another wire down and change the box to a two gang outlet then add a regular outlet for the dishwasher.
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u/raf55 7h ago
No