Why I DON'T Connect All 5 Wires to Outlets

Wiring in parallel has tons of advantages for DIYers, see why! #diy #electrical #diytips

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[user]

Echoing all previous comments, SERIES has a very specific meaning with electricity. Please don’t use that when you actually meant something else. Terminology and jargon matter.

[j.t.johnston]

You are completely incorrect about series and parallel in this context. The outlets are wired in parallel in both cases.

[dovietsonut]

If you're wiring a GFCI outlet with downstream outlets intended to also be protected you have to wire directly to the appropriate terminals on the GFCI receptacle. A single pigtail like you show doesn't work in that use case. You could do a double pigtail but that's just ridiculous.

Also this isn't "parallel" and "series" in a circuit with respect to Ohms law. A lot of people are saying the voltage will reduce if daisy chained ("in series" as he says in the video). That's wrong. If they were truly in series then downstream receptacles wouldn't even work without something plugged in. Daisy chained is still in parallel with respect to Ohms law. There is a metal contact between the terminals through the receptacle that bypasses whatever may or may not be plugged in.

Instead of saying series or parallel I prefer to call it pig tailed vs daisy chained. Parallel and series have a very specific meaning in electrical stuff.

[kenbrown]

"I don't use the feed through terminals, because if I make a bad connection it fails. I use pigtails, because ummm. I only make bad connections on receptacles."

pigtails have two benefits: they reduce the number of individual wires you have to terminate to a device, and they make it so the circuit functions, without the devices in place.

a bad connection where it is pigtailed will still take down the rest of the circuit.

[HotNoob]

huh?!?!? they are both parallel, unless your using gfci outlets. look at the screw terminals, the metal is not seperated.

[timmcclymont]

I'm just here because I'm expecting a sparky fight in the comments.

[omarmadera]

You confused people with your series diagram image, hoping nobody connect the hot wire in the neutral side screw, and come out on the hot side screw to the next one, and next one, and next on😮😮😮😮😮😂

[-Pack]

WAGO’s are easy to mess up. Pushing wires into a box the lever easily gets opened by snagging other wires. Happens all the time.

[jazzman]

Hello, thank you for the video. I have a unique problem that I can't figure out in my main bedroom. My home was built in 1977. The wall switch we noticed controls all 6 wall outlets in the room. I found this out when I installed a ceiling fan. I wanted the wall switch to just turn the fan light on and off. But when I had my radio and a floor lamp on and turned the switch off, everything went off. I checked one wall outlet that seems to have 2 blue wires, 2 white wires and 1 small piece of black wire that looks like it is a jumper going from one gold screw to the other gold screw. Any idea how I can make all the outlets independent from the wall switch? Thank you.

[ScottDallesasse]

The top method is considered daisy chained or spliced via the outlet.

[kenbrown]

THAT
IS
NOT
SERIES.

that is daisy chained.

[dalesworld]

I've had to diagnose non-working outlets in a house before and when i found a cracked outlet behind a couch that tenants were just disconnecting from by yanking the cord of whatever was plugged in I had it solved. Go to pigtails and a broken outlet doesn't affect downstream outlets.

[ErinNuclear]

Thanks for the information about the better outlets, I didn't know that. I think I may go back and fix some of the outlets/switches that I repaired early on in home ownership.

[KEZZO]

It’s simple —- use pigtails. So each out is only one that fails if you use all 5 if outlet fails every outlet after that outlet fails too

[cecilordono]

One of the advantage of pigtails is you can change the receptacle without disrupting the other’s downstream.

[ddgiant]

Question, assuming everything is wired correctly in your old way example, then if the one outlet fails the rest of the outlets will still work as the wire in and out is still bonded on the side of the outlet.
And would using the new Leventon outlet not function the exact same way as the wagos thus you are just adding an additional connection point?

[RuneRandom]

As an electrician in Denmark.. i have never seen an outlet in series..

[jdrhcwe]

They are already paralleled inside the switch. And even if they were not basically the only reason a outlet stops working is a triggered breaker the only way to make that not affect others is to put each one on its own circuit

[jimbaranski]

It doesn’t matter that much. Either you have a failure at the wire nut, or a failure at the outlet. Both can take out the entire string.

I’d rather see devices having enough terminals do that you don’t need a bunch of wire nuts.

I always use 12awg instead of 14awg, which is hard to bend into an electrical box. I’d like to hear how to address those issues.

[mkpears]

...the ONLY reason the "series" setup would fail, is as you say, if the conenction to the outlet screws is messed up, as in the insulation example you present. Otherwise, the outlets are built to be pretty much already using the "pipgtail" set-up you have, but internally as with the copper connections mentioned in a comment below. Having pigtails and more 'wagos" in the box just clutters things up and fills the already small boxes... what you present is a solution looking for a non-existent problem...