Installing Electrical Outlet near Furnace?

[Evan H]

Hi all,

I have a Flagstaff T12RB and I'm hoping to add an inverter-sourced electrical outlet.

The best spot I've identified is in close proximity to the furnace. There is already an electrical outlet here, but my box is plastic and the stock box is metal.

Does the furnace get hot enough to be a concern for melting or any other issues? I really can't imagine there's that much heat (considering the furnace surrounded with very thin wood), but I just wanted to make sure.

Cheers!

[Bama Rambler]

You'll likely be ok, but I would fire the furnace up and let it run a while and check the temps to make sure the location you picked doesn't get too hot for the box. it needs to be less than 200ºF.

[Evan H]

Thanks! I’ll do that. It’s got to be reasonable considering the close proximity to the existing electric and the thin wood framing.

[5picker]

Unless the electrical box is lying on the furnace, I don't think there would be an issue.

Suburban's furnace specs say 1" to front and 0" to the other sides if not installed on carpet.

See page 2 of this document...
Suburban Installation Instructions

[Evan H]

Originally Posted by 5picker

Unless the electrical box is lying on the furnace, I don't think there would be an issue.

Suburban's furnace specs say 1" to front and 0" to the other sides if not installed on carpet.

See page 2 of this document...
Suburban Installation Instructions

Fantastic, thanks for that reference!

[jimmoore13]

I agree with others' advice.
One more thing to consider is the appliance cord(s) plugged into the inverter's outlet. Will they be safely away from any hot air blast from the furnace? Not likely to be an issue, but a consideration nonetheless.

[Evan H]

Originally Posted by jimmoore13

I agree with others' advice.
One more thing to consider is the appliance cord(s) plugged into the inverter's outlet. Will they be safely away from any hot air blast from the furnace? Not likely to be an issue, but a consideration nonetheless.

Hi Jim. I’m planning to run the cables on the far side of the outlet. No cables will be outboard of any hot air blast, I just didn’t know how much heat the furnace generates on its side.