Is there an electrician in the house? (My house is not about to burn down or anything.)

Factual Questions
1

My house was built in 1984. It has copper wiring. We bought the place in 2001 and have been living here ever since.

From time-to-time, I find it necessary to replace an electrical outlet due to wear. The outlet simply won’t hold anything plugged into it. While I am no electrician, I am fine with installing light fixtures or replacing switches and outlets.

My questions:

  1. Without fail, I have found the original outlet to be wired by using the holes on the back. Does this indicate that the original electrician was prone to cutting corners? I install outlets and switches using the screw terminals on the sides with a clockwise hook. The wire cannot work its way out of that.
  2. All of the outlets I have worked on have had two black wires and two white wires (and a bare ground). One of the outlets I replaced today had only one of each wire. Is that okay? Why would this one outlet be like that? The outlet seems to work fine with just the one pair.
  3. Any time I am working in a utility box, the hardest part is getting all the wiring back in the box. Any advice on how to stuff everything back in there? On one outlet I replaced today, I just couldn’t get it all back in. The face plate is not flush with the wall, leaving the neutral side slightly exposed. I don’t like this. It doesn’t look good and it strikes me as slightly dangerous.

Thank you for any advice y’all may have.

2

I’m not an electrician myself, but I’ll call this thread to my husband’s attention, since he is.

3

IANAElectrician, but -

#2 - The two pairs of wires thing is because outlets are wired in sequence, the wires lead from the breaker panel to the first box, the next wires lead from that outlet box to the next one, and so on. There’s a suggested limit of about 5 or so boxes, so there will be a last one in sequence for each breaker circuit - and that’s the one with a pair in but no pair out. Some electricians will cheat and for convenient wiring have 3 wires - one in, two out in different directions. You cannot hook two wires on one of those outlet screws. Tie the extra wires plus a short bit to the outlet box, using a barret.

#3 - I’ve seen electricians fan-fold the wires. rather than stuffing them into the box, they begin doing a fold -up, then down, the height of the whole outlet. put a bend in the wire where the last fold will go before pushing the outlet in. This avoids a big ball of wire top or bottom. If there’s too too much wire, snip some off. Most boxes will hold a outlet and wires that let it sit 6 inches out while you work on it. Or don’t snip - there’s a clamp screw where the wire comes in (I hope) loosen that and push excess wire back into the wall - and then tighten down, leaving the necessary slack. You better have the breaker off when you manhandle the outlet and wires like this!!

#1 Never noticed “holes on the back”. If the screw clamps down and tightens so it doesn’t pull out, it’s not a loose connection. Any loose connection - hole or hook/screw - is a fire waiting to happen. Always screw things tight. One hooked wire per screw.

4

I am an electrical engineer, not an electrician.

No. This is called “backstabbing” and it is 100 percent allowed by code in most places. The whole reason backstab connectors exist is to make wiring up houses and such faster. The electrician wasn’t doing anything wrong by using them.

That said, I personally hate backstab connectors and I wish they would remove them from the NEC. The contact area between the wire and the metal inside the outlet is tiny compared to a screw terminal, so a high electrical load can overheat the connection and cause issues. They are also much more prone to failure in the long term.

Typically outlets are wired up in series. The wire comes from the breaker box to the first outlet (that’s one set of black/white/bare wires), then a second wire is run from that outlet to the next outlet in the chain (that’s your second set of black/white/bare wires). The outlet that only has one set of wires just happens to be at the end of the chain.

Fold the wires in such a way that when you push the outlet back in, the wires will fold out of the way instead of all bunching up behind the outlet.

I’m not sure what you mean here, but just to clarify one thing. When you use the backstab connectors, you just strip the wire, shove it in the hole, and you’re done. You don’t need to tighten anything.

There are types of connectors where you strip the wire, put it in the hole, and then tighten down a screw, but that’s not what we are referring to here.

Here is how a backstab works:

Some of them have springs in them, but I couldn’t find a picture of that type.

The screw terminal is a MUCH more solid connection.

5

If - a big IF - you can get the box out of the wall then you can replace it with a larger “old work” box. Those old guys sure liked to use small boxes.

As mentioned, there is also another type of outlet with rear holes. It this style you push the stripped wire in the back hole but a side screw tightens it. It is the best of all designs and many outlets are that way. It’s all I use anymore.

6

Oh, is that what those are… You’re never too old to learn something new.

Never noticed before that this was an option. I guess I don’t have electricians around here who are lazy or in a hurry. I see your point, depending on how straight that wire tail is, it could have very minimal contact with the outlet brass/steel. Even worse if someone is pulling outlets out and pushing them back in for servicing, that’s gotta be hard on the contacts for the stab method.

7

The power should go from the breaker to the 1st outlet box. from the 1st box to the nest box and so on until the last box which will have only 1 set of wires. You will notice I said the power should go from box to box, I did not say from outlet to outlet. Wires should not be daisy chined through the outlets, because if you get a loose connection through heating and cooling at the outlet then you will have a stream of outlets not working properly and the is also a greater chance of overheating the outlet.

The wire from the supply side needs to only be about 3 inches long and same for the down stream wire. You should also make a pig tail wire about 3 inches long. Strip and connect the Supply wire, the downstream wire, and the pigtail wire. I twist the wires together and then use a wire nut. do this with the black and white wires separately. I do the ground wire a little different. If I can I pull in about 6 inches on the supply ground. then at about 3 inches I twist the downstream ground wire to the upstream wire and use a “copper compression clamp” (I do not know the proper name). This will leave me about 3 inches of ground wire to connect to the outlet.

If your boxes are small (most are) you may have to cut the wire a little shorter to fit into the boxes. Then I stuff one wire at a time back in the outlet box. The I connect the wires to the outlets using the screw connectors. (I despise back stab boxes). Also I only use #12 wire which is too large for most back stabs.

I was taught over 40 years ago not to daisy chain outlets and to not to cut the wire too short.

8

That’s a way that is allowed under the NEC, for 15-ampere, but not 20-ampere or higher devices. It’s faster to make a connection that way, than by using the screw terminals, but inferior, and eventually likely to fail. I don’t trust it, and I don’t recommend it.

One set of wires goes back toward the breaker panel, the other goes to the next receptacle in the chain. The last receptacle in the chain will have only one set of wires going to it.

It’s not really proper to connect both sets of wires directly to the receptacle. The proper way to do it is to wire nut the two sets of wires together, along with a pigtail wire of about six inches, and connect that to the receptacle. In fact, under more recent versions of the NEC than what was in effect when your house was built, the ground and neutral wires must be done this way, so that the ground and neutral connectors to receptacles farther down the chain are not dependent on the connections at this receptacle, though last I knew, it is legal to connect just the hots, both directly to the receptacle.

There’s something of an art to that, to rolling the wires around to fit neatly in the box.

Keep in mind that the NEC requires each wire to be long enough to be able to extend six inches out of the box. Connect the ground wires (ALWAYS the ground wires first, then wrap them in a loop, and stuff them in the box. Do the neutrals next, and wind them likewise into the box. And do the hots last. I do not recommend the “fan fold” method that someone else described. I doubt that’s even legal, as it involves bending the wires too sharply, which can weaken them. Somewhere in the NEC, there are specifications for how sharp each different kind of wire or cable is allowed to be bent.

ALWAYS connect the ground first, the neutral second, and the hot last. And when disconnecting a device, reverse that order—disconnect the hot first, the neutral next, and the ground last.

9

IIRC, the NEC also doesn’t allow you to use #12 wires for backstabs. They did originally, but then later changed it.

I have also never seen a house wired up with pigtails. Every house I have lived in has been daisy chained. I am also an engineer, not an electrician, so I don’t see anywhere near as many different homes as an electrician does. In my limited experience though, pigtails don’t seem to be common, at least not around here (PA, MD, WV).

10

There are 2 kinds of back-wired connectors.
The early backstab ones used spring tension to hold the wire in, and had a fairly small connection point. The problem was that over time and wires heating/cooling cycles as turned on and off, the spring tension tended to wear out, and not keep the wires in tightly and well connected. So they often eventually had problems.

The newer kind of backwired receptacles has a similar hole in the back, but then you need to tighten the screw on the side. That squeezes the wire between 2 metal plates, so it’s held tightly and the connection point is all along the stripped wire. These new designs work fine.

Daisy-chaining (rather than pigtailing) is allowed in the code for 15A circuits (like most lighting & receptacle circuits in houses). Pigtailing is considered better, but:

  • it takes more time to do
  • it requires additional wire & connectors
  • it doesn’t look any different to the homebuyer
    So it’s slower & more expensive to do. What will a developer trying to build many homes as fast & as cheaply as possible to do?
11

These are the types I use, and I love them. To reiterate, they are not backstab, but look like them. You strip the wire, stick it in the hole, and then tighten the screw. You’re done. It’s a very secure connection, and the wire can be easily removed if need be. They’re a little more expensive than the receptacles that only have screws, but well worth it IMO.

12

You can tell the difference between a “back stab” and the newer kind with screws by looking for a slot next to the hole. A back stab has a slot for a screwdriver to be inserted to relaease the wire. One of the newer ones with screws will not have that slot.

13

Here’s a good description about the differences between “back stab” and “back wired” receptacles:

Note that the back wired receptacles are a lot more expensive than the back stab receptacles - several dollars vs. a dollar or less.

ETA: Back wire receptacles are not really new - I used them in a project 20 years ago and they were not new then.

14

After recently replacing a couple of worn out light switches in my 1973 house, which were originally wired using the backstab connector, I have a question: Is there an easy way to release the wire from the backstab connector once it’s in there? Or once the wire is jammed in there is it pretty much stuck in there permanently?

When I removed the old switch I looked for some sort of tab or button to release the wire, but I couldn’t find an obvious one. So I just ended up tugging on the wire trying to pull it out, until it eventually broke. Then I had to go and re-strip the wire, and had a slightly shorter wire to work with when I connected the new switch.

15

There should be a small slot around the backstab hole someplace that you can use a very small flat screedriver to disengage the retention spur.

16

My experience with backstab receptacles is that everybody complains about them while replacing 40 years old ones that never failed.

17

Agreed. Under normal conditions they’ll be fine. But if I was replacing one I’d still get the screw terminal type. They will handle abnormal conditions much better. Overall, the chance of starting a fire or causing other damage is extremely low when modern wiring and receptacles are properly installed.

18

I was a trained electrician and hated this methodology. Still do, as it unnecessarily crowds the box (especially if you’re splitting the outlet with a switch leg). If a wire nut isn’t put on properly, it’s prone to falling off, creating a short (unless the box is plastic), or a shock hazard.

19

Thank you everyone for helpful information. I will redouble my efforts to fix the outlet where I am having trouble fitting all the wiring back in the box.

Regarding backstab wiring, I don’t use it. However, I discovered a much newer GFCI outlet that uses back wiring. I hadn’t seen that before and that it was a typical backstab outlet that wouldn’t release the wire. I ended up cutting the wire to remove it. When I loosened the screws to reinstall it, I was chagrined when the wiring I cut off simply fell out. :face_with_symbols_over_mouth:

I don’t believe my skills are up to the task to handle a pigtail installation, so I will simply continue with my side wire technique. Thank y’all for your help.

20

I started using these spring clip connectors a few years ago. Much better than wire nuts.

You don’t stress the wire by twisting together.

They’re legal most places. Check your local code.
They come in 2wire, 3 wire, 4 wire. 4 wire is really too bulky for a outlet box.