Tricks to Find and Fix Electrical Problems in your wall. #2

Tips that electricians use to fix electrical problems.
#2 Basic Residential Electricity.

[a.j.gregory]

As someone who lives in an apartment complex with questionable wiring, loose outlets, and a fly by night maintenance staff, this was incredibly informative and beneficial to help keep my family safe. Thanks so much for your videos Paul!

[TIMBUCKT]

Good information Paul your one of the few I've seen that is on point, I'm a Master Electrician of 36 years and have seen it all. Keep up the good work

[diy-aholic]

No offense intended but I am not a fan of pass through wiring from receptacle to receptacle (two in and two out). Consider pig tailing instead. (Some local codes specify this, in fact.) Pigtailing ensures downline receps are not rendered powerless if an upline recep fails. Imagine the scenario of a working, down line recep powering a medical device machine going dead in the pass through arrangement. Pigtailing ensures each recep on the circuit has continued power if an upline recep fails.

[waynebrown]

Your son is a lucky fella to have such a good mentor!

[Brian-Burke]

I haven't needed to replace an outlet in years so I didn't know they now allow you to put a wire straight in as opposed to making those tight bends. Also, I like to add a layer of electrical tape around the outlet which gives me extra insurance against a wire or screw coming into contact with the box.

[-old-Forthischet]

Just as an FYI, never assume that throwing a circuit breaker always shuts off the power. Never handle both wires at the same time, even with the power off. I have experienced brand new circuit breakers fail.

[coreysc]

I was always told to install with the ground up, that way if a plug was not all the way in and something fell on it, it would hit the ground not the the hot.

[peterallen]

FYI, ground up on the outlet is marginally safer. Either way is acceptable, but ground up prevents anything from falling across the prongs of a plug that is partially out.

[AlbertLebel]

I like this guy. Very good information and well shown.

[carlosmartinezreborned]

That is a great video Paul, full of good information and I really appreciate you sharing your knowledge before you kick the bucket. Thanks again my friend

[garychandler]

Good video. You left a nice but minimal length of wire. I've seen 6" recommended, but that depends on the box and what's in it. I HATE changingdevices when someone has cut the wires too short, and if you break an end off, you have a mess or have to add a piece and try to get it all in there - can't say enough good for needle nosed pliers here.

[cliffgrexton]

were I live all wire most be pig tailed by code and hate when people yous the push in connectors that the first plug was they are a service call in the waiting

[mikea-strong]

Great video as always. I hit thumbs up right in the beginning just for the shirts y'all were wearing!

[pcofranc]

I enjoyed the video and because I've done a lot of my own repairs and sub panels and all kinds of things including conduit I had no trouble following it. however I think it would be helpful for ordinary lay people to see a diagram on paper first so they see the power comes in from the power company to the main panel then goes on the branch and then I would describe the wires going into the outlets as the input wires feeding it and then the output you could also show several outlets wired together on the bench and just say okay here the power starts at jumps from this one to this one and so on. I would also recommend adding that the tester be plugged into an outlet that's good to verify that the lights work on it then go on and test the troubled areas. Also, I was wondering why the outlets were wired by the method of sticking the wire in the back vs using the screws or using pigtails which I realize takes up a lot of room.

[marklam]

hi Paul.i just finish my fence.looks very nice.thankyou

[benkerr]

is that a standard US socket outlet? no shrouding on the terminals, it looks like some of the older sockets we occasionally still come across in the UK, but they are usually dating from the 1950's or 60's. electrical safety has moved on since then. Also quicker and easier tto install, if the socket is one piece, rather than with a separate cover plate like this.

[CarlosChavez-kmpg]

another great video paul, i have 3 gfci's in my kitchen that have the red light on but they still have power but i can't test or reset but if i shut the breaker off and back on the light turns green and then back to red in a couple days any ideas would be appreciated.

[frankjenkins]

Paul, I love your videos and have learned from them all. it comes to write checks!! I know just enough to kill myself or burn my house down! I'd rather have the pro do it for have a warranty! LOL Merry Christmas!!

[jonmayberry]

hey Paul just wanted to know I have a shed with plywood siding and was wondering can I use that white elastic mirror paint paint on the side to get a good seal so the wood doesn't rot down the road and by the way I love your videos very informative thank you

[zagoda]

Will you upload a video on a gfci outlet installation?