A Little Heads Up On Wall Outlets

[TMonter]

Here's some photos. They are not 5$ per outlet. You can buy them bulk at home depot. I find that the plug is less distorted than when I use a sidewire and tighten the hell out of the screws.

http://www.handymanhowto.com/electrical-outlets-side-wire-versus-back-wire/

I used the cooper equivalents through my house on the heavily used plugs and the standard plugs through the rest of the house and wrapped the wires around the screw posts. Cooper uses a similar screw clamping system on their commercial grade plugs.

 

[Highbeam]

Does anybody dare bring up the TR plug issue?

 

[Ncountry]

Does anybody dare bring up the TR plug issue?

They suck

 

[Warm_in_NH]

Does anybody dare bring up the TR plug issue?

Argh. Hate em. If BB is changing them all out then technically I would say it's an electrical remodel and he should use them. Yes, no?

However, if he puts in all new TR (tamper resistant) plugs, he'll be so pissed at them in a month he'll be swapping them out again with regular ones.

 

[Highbeam]

Code requires them in the residence. No allowance for how many, it's just "all". Fortunately, you can still buy non-TR plugs. If you really want to get down to it, even changing an outlet requires an electrical permit which is when they are supposed to catch these things.

 

[begreen]

I've never liked backstabbers for a connection. Never trusted them, especially for a high load circuit which are most if you consider the amperage a good vacuum puts on the circuit. I don't have a problem however with switching a rarely used outlet from the backstabbers to the side screws.

 

[bsruther]

What about the stabber wire connectors, has anyone found those to be unreliable as well?

 

[Highbeam]

Those are called wagos. I've only ever used them in can lights because they come pre-installed on the stranded wires. Really convenient and feel secure in this low load application.

I use tan wirenuts for connecting wires.

 

[fbelec]

i never use those wagos. same idea as outlets. cut them off and tan wirenut them. bb your house will be grandfathered in the code on tamper proof so they are not required in your house unless you install a new outlet.( wire and box ) the older leviton outlets the plastic breaks when plugging in or pulling out so it's up to you whether you change them out. since you are going to do the work of pulling and installing to rewire the outlets anyway you might as well change it also lowes or home depot has the non tamper resistant outlets cheap. when i said your house is grandfathered in about tamper resistant i meant if you sell your house you are not required to have them. the tamper resistant outlets especially the gfi outlets are a fat pain to plug something in the first half dozen times then they get better. stupid code as far as i'am concerned. the plastic pieces that you manually put in for babys are tuff for a adult to pull out never mind a kid. .50 cents verses almost 3 dollars each that should be left up to the home owner and not the code book. but like with the back stabs on a outlet there is plenty of proof out there that their use is a hazard it won't get changed because that is what the big companies want so they get. when pulling out the wires that are stuck into a backstab no need to try to use a third hand to stick in the hole to release the wire just hold the wire and twist back and forth while pulling the wire and it usually comes out. the worn one might even come out when you pull the outlet out of the box.

 

[Hogwildz]

Don't forget to use 20 amp outlets for 20 amp circuits. Everything I seen posted is for 15 amps. 20 amps have the little T on 1 plug slot top & bottom.
15 amp outlets on a 20 amp circuit can cause a fire if overheated.
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...Q-7VOa_Foj5yQT2pYBw&tbm=isch&ved=0CDoQMygKMAo

 

[BrotherBart]

Every 20 amp circuit in this house has 15 amp outlets.

The salvation being that a 20 amp plug won't fit.

 

[fbelec]

by code as long as there is two or more outlets on the 20 amp circuit the outlet can be a 15 amp outlet. that is never a issue but a 15 amp outlet by itself on a 20 amp circuit is a no no. even 15 amp gfi outlets have a 20 amp pass thru.

 

[begreen]

What about the stabber wire connectors, has anyone found those to be unreliable as well?

Both wagos and backstabbers on outlets concern me when there is a downstream load possibility. If there are no daisy-chained receptacles following or other downstream circuits, then the risk of overheating is lower. Personally I prefer a solid mechanical connection that maximizes wire to wire or wire to screw surface contact. It takes a minute or two longer, but long-term peace of mind is worth it.

 

[sportbikerider78]

There is another option not yet mentioned that is more expensive than the backstab or the sidewire. It's a backwire outlet. Usually the medium price outlets. I think they are superior to the hook and screw because you don't have to worry about proper hooking without insulation under the screw. How they work is you shove the straight, stripped wire into the back of the outlet and then tighten the sidescrew which clamps down on the wire. It's a big clamp not unlike the method used to hold the wire to the circuit breaker at the panel.

I first ran into these with GFCI outlets and loved the concept. Way more foolproof than the sidehook or the backstab.

I love this type. They are great.

 

[seige101]

Found in an office at work yesterday. 2 Space heaters, lights and 4 computers were downstream of the circuit.
Changed several receptacles raised the thermostat in the building 2 degrees and my boss sent out an e-mail no more space heaters, if any are found next week the cords will be cut off.

As you can see pretty bad, probably just caught it before it started a fire.

 

[begreen]

Lucky save. Did someone smell the insulation burning?

 

[seige101]

No the call over the radio was circuits not working. The rooms the panels are in are locked only us maintenance electricians have keys to them. These are in some crappy 30 year old 'temporary' office trailer setups. Old #14 romex on 15 amp breakers.

 

[fbelec]

Found in an office at work yesterday. 2 Space heaters, lights and 4 computers were downstream of the circuit.
Changed several receptacles raised the thermostat in the building 2 degrees and my boss sent out an e-mail no more space heaters, if any are found next week the cords will be cut off.
View attachment 152112
As you can see pretty bad, probably just caught it before it started a fire.

nice find. yet the code and UL still let these companies that make these type of receptacles keep on making them and the fix is a 45 to 50 dollar arc fault breaker. and we have the install these breakers by code. makes me think about who is running the UL and the code book.

 

[fbelec]

the copper showing is junk

 

[seige101]

the copper showing is junk

Yes it was. There was barely any wire in the box. We ended up moving the outlet over slightly and running a new wire to the outlet on the other side of the wall. That was the only way to get to good copper

 

[fbelec]

nice job. i hate when someone does the repair with a wirenut and 2 inches of wire and a lot of hope

 

[Bret Chase]

Code requires them in the residence. No allowance for how many, it's just "all". Fortunately, you can still buy non-TR plugs. If you really want to get down to it, even changing an outlet requires an electrical permit which is when they are supposed to catch these things.

must be a state by state thing. In my state (Maine) A homeowner can more or less do what ever he/she wants electrically in their *primary* abode. This has been confirmed by both my local CEO... and the state electrical inspector. The only times a permit *has* to be pulled is when the service is changed out.... or you pay an electrician to do the work.

The risk is... you burn your house down... you're on your own.

I told the both of them that was pretty dumb... they agreed... but its what the rules are here.

new construction, yes you're stuck with them.

That being said, I greatly dislike any type of stab connector... though they seem to work alright in 24v control circuits.
I despise TR plugs and arc-fault breakers. I have heard many stories from my electrician friends that CMP's smart meters have been tripping one particular brand..

I won't back stab anything.

I have been slowly rewiring my house... getting rid of the last of the fabric romex...I do know what I'm doing. but I will not put in TR plugs.... or AF breakers.

 

[moey]

must be a state by state thing. In my state (Maine) A homeowner can more or less do what ever he/she wants electrically in their *primary* abode. This has been confirmed by both my local CEO... and the state electrical inspector. The only times a permit *has* to be pulled is when the service is changed out.... or you pay an electrician to do the work.

Theres very few electrical inspectors in Maine good or bad I don't know. I put a new sub panel in I remember almost the same conversation your describing. Except for plumbing in my town you need few permits for a already built house.

 

[Bret Chase]

Theres very few electrical inspectors in Maine good or bad I don't know. I put a new sub panel in I remember almost the same conversation your describing. Except for plumbing in my town you need few permits for a already built house.

Well.... there's not many wiring related electrical fires reported each year.... so.....

my neighbor's house (1850) burnt down because of malfunctioning heat tape on its pipes... that was a loooooong night.... and proof my house isnt smoke proof,

 

[sportbikerider78]

Once you do some plumbing yourself, you can't believe that you would ever need someone to come out and do it to maintain code. lol

I replaced 50% of the plumbing in my entire house (pex conversion) in about 20 hrs, by myself.