BIG Reasons Why DIYers Should Stop Wiring Their Outlets This Way | How To Make a Pigtail

In this video I am going to talk about how the old way of connecting outlets may be inferior and why you might want to think about using pigtails. If you don't know how to make a pigtail, I am going going to show you how I make mine and where I use them. Of course we always want to be mindful of our box calculations and not overfilling them so depending on the box you are using might affect which method you use.

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Blessings,
Adam

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[rrussell]

I pigtail every device box. I am a Master Electrician that's been in the trade for over 35 years. I have seen so many problems caused by using a receptacles terminals to complete a circuit instead of pigtailing the wires. Even if everything is done perfect you can still have power quality issues and failures when several devices are being relied on to have the circuit completed. The worse method i usually see, although Code compliant, is having a dozen receptacles daisy chained as well as back-stabbed. Back-stabbing is fine if you are pigtailing and only connecting one hot and neutral to the outlet, otherwise it has a higher potential for failure. Pigtailing is the only way to go. My company policy, even in the hyper-competitive new residential market is to pigtail and screw-wrap ALL devices. It's slower but far superior and not as likely to fail.

[bg]

some of the circuits in my house were incredibly unstable. Finally, an electrician diagnosed it as 40 year old sockets, wired socket to socket without pigtails. The sockets were simply coming loose. He replaced a couple and the stability went way up! Now, every time we move furniture, I replace the sockets behind the furniture with a pigtail connection and the stability continues to get better. We also found circuits wired backwards (hot to neutral). Without using pigtails, once you get it backwards, everything downline is backwards. I think I've got the worst of it, but have a long way to go! Do it right and you'll save yourself lots of problems. I love the Wago style connectors too. Makes it faster for me!

[blargo]

Recently replaced a loose outdoor outlet + box. Previous installer had used an outlet with 8 backstab holes to daisy chain three sets of wires. The whole thing (wires + the outlet itself) literally fell apart in my hands as soon as I unscrewed it from the box. Absolutely stunned this setup didn't cause a fire.

[tambourvideo]

A convenient aspect of Linemans Pliers is that the mouth often the cutter is 1/2" wide; so if you put your pre-twisted wires in up to the insulation, you'll have a perfect 1/2" of twisted wire to go into your wire nut. This insures no bare wire outside of the nut.

[Mark-ggiy]

I appreciate the presentation and knowledge in the comments.

Today I hired a welder for a very simple job. He did the overhead job with no gloves and nothing but his normal eyewear. He told me he shuts his eyes when he welds to protect his eyes.

I have had three electricians redo the house and that was after it was lived in for 20 years by the previous owner.
One thing you learn here in Brazil is that you have to manage everything and everybody. You cannot ask for a simple task to be completed and expect it to be done properly. It's a real pain in the neck.

[dmatsuoka]

I enjoy this channel great information for a DYI person, and helps to ensure I’m doing good and safe work.

[brianjohns]

Yeah, I use the wire nuts and the Wago. When I use the wire nuts I prefer to pre-twist. I always looked at the wire nut as more of a way to insulate than to make the connection. Although I have tested it out and it works without pre-twisting.

The Wago lever nuts are great when you have a lot of wires to connect in a single box. I remodeled our master bathroom and used Wagos because everything went through the GFCI outlet. I did have to daisy chain everything from it to connect it properly so that everything in the bathroom would be protected by it. I ran a pigtail from it to the Wagos though and then connected everything else to it. I don't think I connected the incoming power to the middle. I think I just connected it to one end and then added everything else in line. I had to use the 5 conductor lever nuts for it. I personally don't think it matters which order it goes in but it does make sense to put the incoming power in the middle that way if there is a failure it's possible that the other end of the circuit still works. I think in the future I will do this.

The other reason I like Wago lever nuts is when I hook up a light or something with stranded cables. It's so hard to make a good connection by twisting stranded wire with solid wire. I have seen too many failures this way.

I'm glad you made this video though. I have so many plugs in my house that have gone out and caused other issues down the line. We have 2 bedrooms in our house that run off a single breaker. the plugs are all basically daisy-chained together. I wish I had the money and patients to rerun another line to put one of the rooms on a different breaker. Until that day comes though I think I'm going to start replacing the plugs that I know are bad and use pigtails like you suggested so the same issue doesn't happen again. It seems like daisy chaining just puts too much power through the first outlet in the chain. Especially when we have the air conditioners running in the summer. I really should get them on their own circuit though.

[mikezimmerman]

I’m just a DIYer with 50 yrs of self taught and I totally agree with the Master.

[machone]

I agree with you mostly. However, if you buy the more expensive outlets, they generally can clamp a straight wire with no need for bending a Sheppard's crook on the wire. The hot & neutral on these can hold two wires each. You put both wires on the same clamp to feed the next device. No need to go to the trouble of pigtailing, but you are not feeding through your outlet either.

[jfowler]

The more connections (i.e. splices) you have the greater chance of failure or problems. Rarely does a device fail, it's usually the connections (splices) that do. Plus wire nuts and Wago's aren't cheap so you're spending more money on less reliability. You now also have to consider your pigtails and connectors into your conductor count when figuring out your box fill calculations.

[richardlewis]

I appreciate that your regulations in the US are different from ours in the uK but I was very surprised to see that you leave exposed copper in the unit as it could touch the L or N as you close up the front. We always used a green cover on all E wires

[Paul.Douglas]

Great video. I agree that wires should ALWAYS be twisted before installing a wire nut. It’s not just DIYers, I wish some “pros” would do half as neat of a job as you’ve done here. A lot of wiring I’ve ran across as a homeowner has been atrocious! When I do my own install, I remove about 1” of insulation about 6” from the end of the wire, wrap that once around the 1st receptacle terminal screw (make a u-turn) and then connect the end to the 2nd receptacle. I do this for all 3 wires including feed through, unless they’re on a separate circuit. Also, the aircraft electrician in me can’t stand the even the thought of using any kind of push in or lever lock device. I know, different environment, but that prejudice is still there.

[dunckeroo]

Pre-twisting helps keep wire lengths aligned. Maybe about 1.5 turns. Some prefer to pre-twist 2 turns and cut off the little excess. Do not over-twist.
A pair of electrician pliers will save some grief : used to pre-twist and also post twist to provide a little more force than what might be possible with fingers alone. Insulation strip length is correct when skirt of wire nut covers insulation but insulation does not interfere with connection. Have a habit to point wire nuts upward to avoid water collection in case of flood or water leakage. To connect to stranded wire squeeze solid wire with pliers to roughen surface by impression left and put a subtle double "s" bend in feed end. This will catch the multi-strand wire and prevent it from slipping around when the wire nut is twisted on. For a stranded wire connections a Wago is probably better for faster secure connection if time is limited.
Try not to work harden the wire by to much bending -- plan you bends ahead. Shoot for Six inches of free lead length in the box -- that is the basis of box fill calculations. Use Pig Tails were needed and consider the pigs tails as conductors in the permitted box fill chart. That box where a freed T's into two directions might need to be bigger and end of line box could be smaller. Also, check local codes to see if service loop slack is required. Most code enforcement branches will have a hand out guide for basic domestic wiring : Follow that to prevent having to redo your work. Modern 14 gauge is under spec 10% -- use 12 gauge for any heavy load or long length. Lighting circuits are likely 14 gauge OK. But something like a microwave or A/C will benefit from full capacity feed.

[RageQuitSon]

What is the difference between daisy chaining ONLY from one receptacle to a second receptacle VS using a Wago? You are sending power through a connecting bar of metal in both instances creating extra resistance, no matter how minute in each situation. If the master receptacle dies, that piece of metal is still there to send to the slave receptacle.

[thebnbaldwin]

I'm going to start using Wago connectors for wiring ceiling fans and lighting overhead. It's faster and reduces fatigue working with my arms over my head. Of course I will use the ones made for twisted and solid wire. I can install 6 fans in a day but, at 70 years old, it's tiring. Cheers!

[ericbaker]

Very good video. I am a DIYer and recently did some outlets in my house. I'm very confident that I did a good job, but will definitely be pigtailing all connections going forward. Thanks!

[bassman]

One of the advantages of pre twisting is that the wire nut is not the only thing holding the connection together. When it enviablly comes time to disassemble that joint removing the wirenut doesn't allow the joint to come apart and allow the conductors to hit anything else in the box. (something electricians who do live work care a lot about).

[shawnhicks]

For diyers using wire nuts pre twist is the most reliable way to connect.

Never used waygo until recently and they are quite handy. And as others have commented connecting solid wire to stranded wire seems to be superior to wire nuts. I don’t subscribe to the equal load theory of placing the hot wire in the center(it shouldnt have much deviation) however always placing the hot in the center makes it a known location for incoming supply for future work inside a box.

Like many other electricians I’ve seen some really odd stuff both from diy and older electricians. But at the end of the day, if you are doing it yourself, you want to remember that mistakes when wiring is dangerous and can cost you your home or you or your loved ones lives. Taking a few extra minutes and spending a few extra dollars is the difference between a safe connection and a future catastrophe.

[IllyaLeonovMorganFreepony]

I always pre-twist the equipment ground wires simply because it pulls them all close together and being they are un-insulated it helps keep them from getting into hot areas in the box.

[thomasaylmer]

You present your methods in a very clear and logical manner. Thank you.