6 MORE MISTAKES DIYers Make When Wiring Outlets

These 6 additional mistakes can be a safety hazard and cause code compliance issues but there are easy fixes for each of them. #diy #electric #homeimprovement

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[petermoto]

This was actually a good video right up until #1.
For one thing, you may think you are describing series and parallel, but electrically these are both parallel. It is doing a disservice to those who don't know to describe it this incorrect way.
Second thing, it is absolutely FINE to use the side screws on a receptacle. As long as the connection is made properly it will NOT fail. Devices generally do not fail, connections and splices do. In my well over 30 years in the trade I have easily have seen as many wire nut/splices fail as I have device connections. In pretty much every case the failure could be attributed to the installation and not the material itself.

[Hermiel]

12:02 Daisy-chained outlets are always in parallel (presuming they're correctly wired). The difference between wiring through the terminals or through pigtails is not electrical but mechanical.
A failed outlet which is daisy-chained through its terminals will continue to pass current to downstream outlets unless the brass tab between the upper and lower terminals has been broken off. The downstream outlets lose power only when you *remove* the failed outlet in order to replace it. Using pigtails allows you to replace outlets without disrupting service down the line but it does not change the fundamental circuit topology; it's still parallel.

One could, in theory, wire receptacles in series but doing so would be foolish, hazardous and in violation of code.

[crazysquirrel]

I like leaving the ground wire an inch longer than the hot and neutral.
Especially since that horrid ground screw is farther way from the terminal screws.
I sometimes leave the ground wire even longer so I can 3/4 wrap the green box screw first.

[LTVoyager]

I have an old metal stripper that works much like your plastic one. It doesn’t do the other functions, but it strips the Romex jacket very nicely and quickly with no damage to the conductor insulation. You just slide it over the cable, pinch it together and pull it off. Easy peasy.

[LTVoyager]

That isn’t running in series. The wire are still parallel. They are simply run without pigtails which is a bad idea other than for devices like a GFCI that need to control the downstream leg.

[chriswisneski]

I use a seam ripper for stripping sheathing. Simple, cheap, effective, and useful for other things rather than being a single use tool.

[Sylvan_dB]

Daisy chain is not series. They are in parallel in all cases.

[surferdude]

It seems to be an often used misnomer to refer to receptacle wiring as parallel or series. There's no such thing as series wiring with receptacles, it's always parallel. The distinction is whether you want to use the receptacle as a connecting device or bypassing it when there's no load. It's mostly personal preference. Personally, I prefer pigtails, easier to fold into the box with only 3 wires instead of 5 and easier to change later. Series wiring only applies to switches, dimmers, fuses, and circuit breakers because the current must flow through them or the circuit is open.

[DbeeSapphire]

When stripping the jacket, I do what was shown, sliding the blade down the jacket length wise, but I don’t put pressure on the blade till I get to the end. This way you can’t slice through to the wire, but you can easily tear off the jacket. Applying pressure on the jacket, cutting through at the last half inch, doesn’t matter because you’ll be cutting off the ends anyways.

[berkleyman]

When doing outlets in parallel I run the feeder side longer than needed so I have a longer ground wire. Hot and neutral get pig tailed together and the grounds I use a green wire nut with a hole in the end for the ground wire to the receptacle. Doing it this way I always know which wire is the hot feeder by following the long ground wire back. Clean, neat, and secure. Always make your connections mechanically sound before putting on the wire nuts.

[robertmungenast]

Another great video, i enjoy your videos, very informative

[Sparky-wwre]

I've used series wiring for receptacles for years and never had a problem. Generally only two rare situations exist where I use pigtails, because it costs more for labor and material. 1) if I have three cable entering the box. 2) On multiwire circuits, the continuity of the neutral must not rely on a receptacle, so I must pigtail the neutral, and also the hots if I'm alternating between the black and red along the wall, this is an obsolete wiring method in dwelling units because of AFCI/GFCI requirements, but is common in older homes as a means of savings on material and/or labor, as well as other than dwelling units, specifically large office buildings where I might have perhaps a couple dozen or more 120 volt circuits spanning a large area fed by the same panelboard. This allows for smaller raceways, less conductors, savings in labor costs and less voltage drop, particularly in a 120/208Y 3ø system where I can alternate because phases A B C sharing a common neutral, vs, having to run a neutral for each circuit.

[imark]

Do you know if it was mentioned but the little eyes on the tabs of the outlets and switches are also usable as spacers.
And some outlet receptacles and switches also incorporate wire strippers with those tabs.

[jonesgang]

For box wire length push the wire to the back of the box and then use you plyers from back of box to end of plyers for cut length. Gives you a extra couple of inches extra without have too much.

[Grandpa]

I always wire the grounding wires in parallel, but not the other two. Fewer wires to stuff into the box.

[ArthurDentZaphodBeeb]

When using more than one spacer... instead of bending the string and snapping them together, break one off and rotate it 180 degrees so there is now a hole to thread the attachment screw through. The hole keeps the spacers from dropping down the wall or on the floor.

[JuanMartinez-dzwn]

Thank you Iam learnings from you.I been studying electricity.

[robertboykin]

# 5:36 I like that yeller thingy, [ wire stripper ]

[Demirose]

wow this is a great content i enjoy and i love watching your videos a lot

[ryanfowler]

As for finding the length of wire to cut in a box. Just fold it down inside the back of the box, and grip and snip the wire. Sure its going to be over 6 inch, but having 7 total inchs in a box isn't going to make or break.