STOP Cutting Wires So Short!!! What Does Code Say?

There are not many things that irk an electrician more than when the previous electrician installing a device cuts the wires in the box super short!! I am quite confident that most of us electricians have been forced to work on a box that someone has left barely enough wire to install the devices! It isn’t fun!! In this latest episode of Electrician U, Dustin explains a bit about the rules surrounding how much wire to leave available in the box.

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Article 310.14 of the 2020 NEC states “at least 6 inches of free conductor, measured from the point in the box where it emerges from its raceway or cable sheath, shall be left at each outlet, junction, and switch point for splices or the connection of luminaires or devices. Where the opening to an outlet, junction, or switch point is less than 8 inches in any dimension, each conductor shall be long enough to extend at least 3 inches outside the opening.” The biggest reason for the length required at the box is so the electrician working on the device, fixture, or junction can actually have enough wire to perform the work. If the wires are too short to put a device or wire connector (wire nut) on, it makes the installation quite difficult, and sometimes unsafe, to accomplish.
The above code reference states 6 inches from where the wire emerges from its raceway or cable sheath. So that is from the BACK of the box where the wire enters! It is ok to leave a bit extra, but not overdo the extra length as it can become difficult to install some of the larger devices (GFCI or USB receptacles) in the boxes with too much wire. The second portion of the code reference states that for boxes with dimensions less than 8 inches, the wire must extend at least 3 inches from the opening (front) of the box. This part can be used to get the length correct on the grounds that are cut off when installing a green wire nut and leaving one wire long to connect to device but cutting the others short.
A couple good tips for getting the correct wire length in a box without having to pull out your tape measure!
1. When working in single switch boxes, push the wire into the back bottom of the box, then accordion them up to the top of the box and back down to the bottom and cut. This insures you have left enough wire to work with but still fit neatly inside the box.
2. Another tip is to use your fist to get the length you need. When working in a commercial setting where you pull wires in a pipe, grab the wires in your fist, put the back of your fist against the opening in the box, extend your thumb out and then cut your wires at the point where they reach your thumb.
3. Another item to remember are the wire connectors. You do NOT have to use RED wire connectors for joining two #12 wires. For those joints where you only have 2 wires, you can save some space within the box by using a smaller connector!

We hope this has been helpful in determining how much wire you should leave in an electrical box for access. Is there a topic you would like to see discussed? Leave a comment in the comment section below and let us know. Please continue to follow Dustin and Electrician U as we are constantly adding new content to assist our followers in being the best electricians they can be!

[Gruntled]

Ultimately, it’s about caring about the next guy, which is what sets a good workmanship apart from hack work.

[DominickRuocco]

You can tell that Dustin just dealt with this the day he made this video. It's so irritating when people cut the conductors so short that they don't extend from the box at all. Easily one of my biggest pet peeves!

[JrareProductions]

Your first channel got me so interested in electricity. Now 2 1/2 years later I'm 2 months in with the IBEW local 145. Thank you so much Dustin! You helped me find my career!

[stevenmiller]

Sadly the ones that are cutting wires to short probably don’t care enough to watch this video either. 😂

[major]

Thank god you mentioned both of the requirements for wire length. I’ve gotten into this argument way to often with people I have worked with who don’t satisfy both requirements of 300.14

[ryanhoffman]

I’ve always been told to stick your linesman plier head to the back of the box, and at the end of the handles of the pliers is where to cut them out so there is always plenty of conductor. Depending on brand and size, you’ll always have 6 inches of conductor, sometimes more, but always what you need. Thanks for the content!

[johngriffin]

bulky smart switches, gfci outlets, etc etc, the days of skinny toggle switches are almost over, when are they going to make all these single gang boxes a 1/4 inch wider, geeze !

[PSM-IPADZ_OX]

Fully agreed that there’s should be a mandatory minimum wire extending out of the box to facilitate electrician to fix receptacles basing on common sense even if there’s no regulations. Longer wires can be cut short while shorter wires only hamper the smooth execution of any kind of electrical works. Anyway, thanks for uploading a video stating the obvious

[briandillard]

Thank you, I'm an CEO and it is so hard to explained that that reference does infact mean the grounds need to be 6" long and extend minimum 3" also.

[paul.phillips]

A lot of DIYers watch your videos because they want to know how to do things right. Most of them earnestly want to do things correctly, and will call a professional if they aren't confident enough to do something right themselves.

[lordrichard]

The quick way I cut the wires to length is I have a set of linesmen pliers that are 9” long. So I just put the tip in the box and measure along the handle. Where the handle stops that’s where I cut.
Keeps everything nice and consistent.

[Ephesians-tsze]

A good rule-of-thumb I see a lot of journeymen teach apprentices is stick the jaw of your (9 inch) lineman’s pliers against the back of the box and cut your wires off even with the end of your pliers handles.

[alhughes]

As a UK Electrician i find this video really interesting, I'd love to see a video of yourself reacting to UK electrical common practices :)

[mattlitton]

I know you don't like us DIY guys, but I can honestly say... Ive seen horror in some of the boxes i've had to fix from your electrician brethren. And it's not often, but I personally have a passion for Electrician work, and can spot shoddy work a mile away. Not every "pro" has the passion you and I do, and it shows. All i'm saying is give us the benefit of the doubt, I do my homework as best can be done with the resources I have, The information isn't readily available if you aren't in the trade so that makes mistakes more common.

[JohnHessGA]

I'm a DIY electrician - but I stay in my lane. Love your video's.

[DerekWoolverton]

I would be interested in the same question for the breaker box; what does code say, and what are good practices for extra wire in the panel. I've seen some boxes where the wire just barely reached the breaker, and others where it seemed to do a lap or two around the outer edge first. Especially fun when trying to clean up wiring in a mammoth 400A service panel with multiple 100+ amp feeds to sub-panels.

[michellewilmot]

Great video! I’de also like to add to leave service loops on the cable going into the box. When there skin tight like that and a drywaller cuts your wires inside the box you can pull in the extra slack to redo the splice. Master Electrician LU 213

[qapla]

While I have enjoyed several of your recent videos, I was glad to see you return to an educational video where you pull out the code book - thanks. I agree that those short wires are a real pain. I tend to use my lineman pliers to measure where to cut the wires. Depending on the brand you use, there are many features that were specifically designed into this tool (Kleins) to facilitate in these sort of things - like the depth of the cutting jaw being the correct amount to strip from wire for a standard red or yellow wire nut

An in-depth coverage of the Kleins and all their features would make an interesting video - I'm sure Klein Tools could help with some of the more subtle aspects of the design features that were designed into this versatile tool.

[dhender]

My rule of thumb is my fist against the box, with my thumb extended. That gives me around 6 ones from the face of the box. If rather have too long then too short, and I can always trim it if needed.

[tay]

DIYer here, but I learned most of my stuff doing side-work with my best friend who is now a master electrician.
He never cut any corners and wouldn't let me either, so I learned good habits from the start.
I always measure the wire by grabbing it with my hand outside the box and leaving a couple more inches. This always leaves at least 6" outside the box. You can always trim the wires, it's a lot more of a pain to make them longer. Extra wire nuts for pig tails fill the boxes up real quick. Especially in the old metal boxes in most of the houses around here.