6 MISTAKES DIYers Make When Wiring Outlets

These 6 mistakes that we make as DIYers can be dangerous. Are you familiar with all six and how to wire an outlet or light switch properly and safely? #electrical #diy #tipsandtricks

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00:00 #1: Using Back Stab Terminals
00:55 #2: Using the Wrong Screwdriver
04:01 #3: Stripping Too Much / Little Wire
06:27 #4: Too Many Wires Per Terminal
08:57 #5: Wrapping in the Wrong Direction
10:42 #6: Leaving Screws Sticking Out

[jtwister]

no silly intro, straight to the point, excellent presenter, accurate info, well produced

10/10

[JoeJ-]

I do electrical work professionally, and I've been casually telling "newbies" or anyone else who is seriously interested in how to wire electrical stuff properly, about all of these tips here in this video... Very well presented and accurate info!

[foesfly]

So many subtle factors separate ‘good’ instructional videos from ‘just watchable’ ones. Your technical but unpretentious vernacular, set lighting, scripting, sound recording quality, video editing and especially your approachable demeanor and appearance are IMO, Absolutely Perfect for DIY subjects.

[dfwtxslc]

After 40 years of providing Air Force educational videos, it's a pleasure watching a simple, concise and well-done project with minimal equipment. Thanks for the straightforward approach.

[bobandy]

Before even watching the video, props on starting right away and not wasting a minute or two of everyone's time with BS at the beginning!

[bobrepholz]

Immediately to the point with no unnecessary rambling on, brilliant

[outofdarts]

Why aren’t more channels this fast and to the point?! Great content.

[bubbatime]

I just had to rewire a bedroom in my house. All outlets in my house were backstabbed and one room kept tripping the AFCI breaker, every night. I opened up all the outlets and switches and I didn’t find anything inherently wrong… so I decided to just get rid of the backstabs and wire it up properly with pigtails and wire loops under terminals. Hasn’t tripped a breaker since re wiring. Videos like this one helped put me on the correct path to diagnose and fix the problem correctly.

[jtotheace]

Very thankful for these tips! Doing my first DIY electrical. Almost done installing 3 GCFI outlets, 3 lights, and 2 lighted medicine cabinets. Happy to say its going very well.

[timmack]

As a 30-year electrician, I appreciate the direct, concise advice here. The no nonsense approach is fantastic! I can't begin to tell you the amount of diy mistakes I encounter. Whether made last week, last year or last decade, they eventually come back to bite you....or the next person.

[willj]

Cool, you learn something new every day, I've been an electrician for 33 years and I've never seen an ECX driver, I'm going to check it out. You're absolutely right about stab-in terminals, don't use them. New ones won't even take a #12 wire because they know they're not good for 20 amps. With a little practice you can learn to wrap the wires nearly as fast. Since you won't have to redo them you'll actually save time. Not burning your house down is another nice perk of properly terminating wires.

[IsNotAYahoo]

Thank you for mentioning insulation for screwdrivers.

I was a professional HVAC technician for many years and I still have my insulated screwdrivers (they are my go-to set, and work equally well for electrical or non-electrical work.)

A trick you can use for specialty screwdrivers (or screwdrivers you already own and don't intend to replace) that do not come insulated is to place two layers of electrical shrink tubing over the shaft of the screwdriver (two neighboring sizes of shrink tubing one that barely fits over the shaft and one, slightly larger, that barely fits over the, single layered, covered shaft.)

Doing so provides a semi-permanent non-conducting layer and while not as good or as durable as a proper set of insulated screwdrivers they work wonderful in a pinch or for light use.

[inspectr]

Hit the nail right on the head "didn't go to school or trained", 29 years as an Electrical Inspector this sums up the majority of "clients" I have to deal with even electrical contractors as there's no State wide licensing requirements here in NY State, very few even own a Code book, know where to look in it or even know what version is in force in the State.

[tonythomas]

Ive been a JW journeyman wireman since 87 and I must say well done sir. Two things I would add is I believe in just 3 wires on a recep unless its a half switched recep. In other words pigtail whenever there are more than just 1 hot 1 nuetral and 1 ground in the box. Wire nuts are a girls best friend as they are better at carrying the current to the other receps than the side tabs of the recep. If you look at the connecting tab between the 2 screws on each side you will notice the bridge between them and how thin and skinny it is. Its that way so you can break it off by bending it. That is so you can isolate the top recep from the bottom one for half switching the recep or in some cases supply the top and bottom receps with there own circuit. That skinny little piece is all there is to carry the load of down stream receps. The second is it seems logical to use short wires from the box to recep but in reality is much more difficult to push the recep back into the box and is against code. I like my wires to extend 6" from the front of the box and my pigtails to be 6" long. Then after attaching the pigtails to the recep and wire nutting the correct wires together simply fold the wires over and then accordian the wires that came from the box into the box then do the same with the pigtails and push pigtails and recep into the box. Using short wires makes it difficult to fold the wires into the box and if something goes wrong the longer wires leave you with enough wire to fix the problem plus code doesnt allow for short wires. Also installing with the u-ground hole up is a good safety measure thats not required by code but is specified to be that way on many jobs now. It would be tough to explain why its safer but trust me, it is.

[valaincort]

Thank you, Nils. Hands down, this is one of the best DIY videos ever. Thanks for the great instructions and the tool recommendations. Wish I'd known all this much, much sooner! 😂

[michaelallen]

Just replaced all the backstab outlets in my house with commercial grade outlets. I like the straight wire connections in the back that tighten with screws. Also the internal connections for the plugs are much more rugged and durable. Several of my old backstab outlets were scorched and melted, some of the wiring had to be replaced. I also bought an ECX screwdriver from Lowes, very useful.

[Kpar]

I already knew many of these techniques, but I was VERY impressed by the "ECX" . Gonna go out and get some.

[Bub]

Wow! Was an electrician in the Navy and have done my own wiring for 50 years and learned something new!! Awesome videos!! Thank you!!

[ustaarthur]

There are so many small and not small tips and advice that anyone can use that they didn't know even after so many years of being a DIYer. Thanks for a great video.

[binaryglitch]

Absolutely correct. What amazes me the most is that you know the common problems we see with DIYer/Handyman work and Apprentices.