Electrical Outlet Box

[Jenkins5950]

because this is a video for people learning how to work with electrical related devices........you might want to say turn off the breaker first thing..........there are some dumb people out there

[scottishlad2k10]

shouldnt use a knife to cut the wire. its a bit dodgy...... not acceptable on sites here youd be booted off

[dannyboyrocks6]

I use the Channellock wire stripper, you can strip and loop the wire with one tool.

[tammas2000]

God you're rough! Get a pair of side-snips twist them into the end of the cable then pull back the earth wire to strip the outer insulation off - simples! :-)

Nice hair though, and so well-mannered in your replies!

[Ryans943]

you should also talk about using VDE safe screwdrivers, incase the breaker gets turned back on by some idiot whilst you are working on it,

[AsktheBuilder]

@Ryans943 Thanks for the suggestion. I went to your channel and there are no videos there at all. Also there's no profile information to show who your are or what you do. This would be a great opportunity for *you* to tape a simple video showing the use of the screwdrivers. Think about that from now on. When you see something missing in a video, you share your knowledge with us in a video, not comments.

[hitachi088]

@AsktheBuilder

not everyone speak English fluently like you do .

it is why we don't want to spam youtube by posting bad quality video with a presentator that can't be understood by youtube viewers .

[AsktheBuilder]

@hitachi088 Are you kidding me? Tape a video with no sound track and support it with annotations. We have a saying here in the USA: Excuses are reason for failure.

[nathanralphyellow]

Good video - the only problem I have is that this doesn't actually explain the hookups. I would like to make sure I'm hooking up the correct wires to the correct part of the outlet!

[Dmitrytln]

Not comfortable outlets have americans. Not easy to install, also hot-wire-pole parts are stripped.

In Europe, I install the outlets only putting stripped wire to terminal and can do it even under voltage (if I have insulated pliers) cause european outlets are insulated.

But, in America outlets are clumsy even for electricians.

[pamansprewell33]

i actually use the small hole on the wire strippers for making your hoops rather than a needle nose plyers. it's much easier

[AsktheBuilder]

@pamansprewell33 Why don't you do all of us a favor and tape a video showing you doing this? Then post it to your channel.

[Prairielander]

@AsktheBuilder That's what I do too. I'm in Res electrical I wouldn't have time to pull out my pliers just to make a loop. Also I use Romex wire strippers I find it faster than having a knife. You can just strip the insulation in one go. Also most plugs here now have holes in the back and you can just push the wires in there rather than using the screws on the side. Some may disagree with using them but I have never had any problems.

[Kieran6988]

Handy tips, but pliers will do the job. What are the rules in the US regarding electrical work? Cause in Australia it can only be carried out by a licensed Electrician

[FiberMania]

So why do some electrical outlets in my home get quite hot when running a 1500 watt ceramic space heater but other appliances seem to be fine? Any suggestions?

[AsktheBuilder]

If it's a 15-amp circuit, you're running close to maximizing the amount of electricity coursing through the wires. The movement of the electricity causes friction which in turn creates heat. The breaker is the throttle control so that the heat does not get great enough to melt the insulation on the wires.

[FiberMania]

@AsktheBuilder: That's good information, but why are some outlets getting much hotter than others? Is it possible to have some 15 amp circuits and circuits of higher amps say... 20 amps in the same house?

[AsktheBuilder]

Yes, it's possible. Remember that several outlets are commonly on the same circuit. Please go to my AsktheBuilder website and read all of my Electrical category columns before asking any other questions. You'll get a wealth of info there.

[Kieran6988]

Its drawing a heavy load.

Simple equation..

Heat = Current x resistance squared

The more current = More heat

[thebeanery87]

it's worse than that:

power lost to heat is actually (current)^2 X Resistance

double the current, quadruple the heat

the reason large appliances don't generate as much heat at the outlet is bc they run at 240V.

power is voltage X current.

more voltage allows more power with less current which leads to less (current)^2 heat loss.

this is also why utility power lines can run at several hundred thousand volts.

[electRon330]

Fiber, the answers you have received have been good. You are probably on a 15 amp circuit drawing 12.5 amps so it may run warm. You might turn the power off, pull the outlet out and make sure the connections are tight. If the wires are just stuck into the back of the receptacle remove them and wrap them around the screws instead. This may make a big improvement regarding the heat.

[biglak]

just nick the wire in the middle at the end clasp on to the earth wire and pull up against sheathing thats how its done in the u.k. with side cutters or cable cutters

[GOINGGONEGOING]

WOW!!!! Please tell me you are kidding.

[AsktheBuilder]

Not at all. All of us who see your comment want to see the tool you use in action. Show us how it works better than the tools I showed.

[GOINGGONEGOING]

You dont need the needle nose or the strippers, both can be done w/ your pliers. Less tools the better

[AsktheBuilder]

I would love to see you tape a video showing us using those pliers of yours closing the loop of wire around the screws of the outlet.

[speedsnipe]

(No wire stripper will not nick the copper wire 100% of the time!)

Using a pair of pliers, which ever type to strip wires, makes your hand more fatigued especially if you are doing a lot of connections.

Like Goinggonegoing said, using more tools for a given task at one time, makes the job slower, especially when you have to make 100 connections per control panel.

BUT: I totally agree that for the grasshopper using a wires stripper leaves a better cut.

[AsktheBuilder]

I don't know if I agree with that at all. I have a stripper that actually doesn't cut all the way through the plastic insulation. No doubt cheap strippers not ground to one or two thousandsths larger than the outer diameter of the wire will nick the copper.

[speedsnipe]

The pros and cons:

Both wire strippers and pliers can and will nick the wires which in turn makes that area hotter and prone to electrical fires, but the linesmans pliers gives you somewhat better control. With practice, you can make nick-free strips.

[speedsnipe]

Hey, being a professional electrician myself, on normal jobs I use linesmans pliers by themselves. If I'm connecting circuit boards I use auto strip wire strippers. As for the bending wires, the sockets here require you 'plug' the copper wire into the back of the socket, with controls that use screw we are required to use Y or O crimp connectors..

If it is called for, normally screwing in the bare copper ground wire, we are required to use round pliers.

[squirrelsniper58]

this is directed at GOINGGONEGOING

listen you NEED strippers and you NEED needle nose. it's a fact you will need them don't strip wire with pliers you'll damage the wire

[rmk6002002]

Please people hire a electrical contractor for any electrical work. This is not the area to skimp!!

[AsktheBuilder]

Hmmmmmm. Sounds like you have a skin in the game. Are you an electrician or work for one? If so, tell us all about your first week on the job. What was your skill level? Are the houses you first working on still standing, or have they burned down? Bottom line: you once were a grasshopper. Everyone has to start at the bottom. Homeowners can call for an inspection just as you can.

[rmk6002002]

I mean no disrespect but, I am a journyman electrician. Currently laid-off because of our great economy. When you go into a Home Depot or Lowes and constantly see home owners that drive expensive cars but don't want to buy the right size wire because of volt-drop or for what ever reason, it just gets frustrating. That is why I mostly do commercial and industrial wiring. I just would like to see wiring methods used correctly.

[AsktheBuilder]

None taken. 1. There's a segment of the population that wants to DIY, but it's small - about 25%. The rest WANT to hire you, but you've decided to take yourself out of circulation by *not* doing residential work. I urge you to rethink your situation. Why do you want your destiny, your living and your income controlled by others? If you were self-employed, you could have nearly unlimited work each day. Remember: Excuses are reasons for failure. You need to take control of your destiny.

[Joelby81]

Ha ha, Use the Right tools hey!!! Why not use the right tradesman to do the job for you so your house dont burn down!

[AsktheBuilder]

Because you don't need a tradesman for every job. Plus, some want to do it themselves. Finally, every tradesman had the same or less level of education the first day on the job. So if you're a pro electrician, can you tell us if the first house you worked on is still standing or a pile of cinders? If a DIY'r gets an inspection and it passes, how's that different than if a tradesman did the job?

[buzzobug]

hmm, the first job i started on is still standing. 1978, DIY is fine with me. Just think straight forward most of the time and you are fine. Don,t use to small of boxes for your cables. Most places use romex. Some places you are suppose to use conduit. that stinks in my opinion. Remember when you get the cable into the box to leave at least 6" of free wire. code. from back of the box . It is important. Most elec for a house is not hard. Some things do throw DIF,s like 3/ways or 4/ways

[mattyice11]

Dont give him shit dude, he's doin fine. He knows what he's doin.

[mattyice11]

im talking 2 joelby81 by tha way

[kino261988]

tim your great...

[jameskap]

HiTim which fish tape do you recommend for running wires , steel or nylon??, im looking at pushing these through 1/2 " conduit , I heard that nylon ones tend to coil and unmanagable. Any ideas? Cheers

[AsktheBuilder]

I prefer steel.

[BCherbgardener]

Thanks for the tips man, alot of help.

[sw8741]

dudeeeeeeee........spend $10 and get some new strippers!

[AsktheBuilder]

Thanks, but those have been with me for years and I'm sort of attached to them. Surely you have tools that you just can't part with?

[sw8741]

another quick note. its unfortunate, but always leave a legal disclaimer concerning electrical hazards or other hazards in the trades your videos portray. shame isn't it? a lot of peoples brains have been substituted with plain 'ol stupid!! i would hate to see general knowledge videos go the way of the dinosaur!

[AsktheBuilder]

People are not paying me for this advice. As such, there is no contract between us. That relieves me of liability. You want to read more about this, go to my website. Look at the bottom of any page for the LEGAL link.

[TDFG4602]

I am attached to my wire strippers also! I install security systems, and they were given to me by a owner of another local alarm company when they were training me. They are pretty bad, but I use them almost every day.

[dexdabox]

Hi tim, I wanted to say that you are very informative with your videos. I am 1.5 years new to the industry and I wish I had someone to explain these things without being condescending. Most of the electricians I have worked with are just that. I don't understand why people feel the need to put someone down when explaining what seems to be easily understood. Just wanted to say I will keep watching the vids for good advice.

[AsktheBuilder]

Those emotions you feel from the other electricians is FEAR. They don't want you to become smarter than they are. You can already work harder, so they fear if you get smart, they will become less valuable. Consume as many videos as you can. Fine Homebuilding also has some great books about residential wiring by Rex Caldwell. I've read all his books.

[russiasfan]

Am I mistaken that, being white, that's a 14 gauge wire and you are required to use 12 guage when wiring an outlet?

Thanks for the great videos.

[AsktheBuilder]

That is an old piece of 12 gauge cable that was in my basement from when I wired my house 22 years before the color coding of cable came into play. You must match wire gauge to the circuit. Just check your National Electric Code book for the requirements.

[Youtub3username]

i work without turning the breaker off ...real electricians are made like that haha. no im joking good tips

[AsktheBuilder]

David,

Thanks for your comment. I have years of electrical experience. You're one of the 78 percent of consumers that prefer to call pros. The others are DIY'rs that prefer to feel the satisfaction of hands-on work. You don't have to meet anyone. Just keep calling pros and they will love you. This will also help stimulate the economy. Spending your money is a good thing.

[dmoney22]

i dont know tim, this all seems so complicated. what kind of electrical experience do you have? i hope its better than your video quality experience. when i have electrical problems i call an electrician, i dont want to meet the people that come and watch you explain how to wire up an outlet tim.

[KingNast]

If this video seems complicated to you, you'd probably need to call an electrician to change the batteries in your flashlight.

[AsktheBuilder]

You took the words out of my fingertips.

[danny11011]

what the hell was the point of this question silly fool

[AsktheBuilder]

As my father-in-law says there's no substitute for brains.

[MaxAcid21]

Hey thanks! you make all of this sound so easy, im pretty sure that theres alot of electricians going "oh well thats not safe, you have to hire an electrician, for your safety, *cough*i want your money*cough".

[AsktheBuilder]

You're welcome. I believe you are 100% correct on your thoughts about why I get so much static from the pros. They just don't realize that the statistics show that 78% of homeowners have no interest in DIY work. But that's not enough..... They seem to want 100% of all the work so you DIY'rs can't be self-reliant.

[rgsgww]

Just some information for you diyers out there...be sure you use the right size wire! 15 amp=14+ awg, 20 amp=12+ awg.

Also, if you have aluminum wire (silvery, soft wire) use devices marked co/al

[Catfishrah]

Thanks for the jacked up audio at the end.

[AsktheBuilder]

You're welcome..... Sorry about that. We fixed it on all going forward.

[Catfishrah]

I noticed- what a relief. :)

[DWRich17]

Read the packaging carefully. Almost 100% of the time, the rubber or other coatings on the handles of pliers and screwdrivers are only to give you a more comfortable feel or grip. The kliens Linesmens pliers even have the words "Warning-not insulated Will not protect against electric shock." etched directly into the metal. The coating can keep you from getting a shock, but it is not intended for that purpose.

[AsktheBuilder]

Amazing! Then many of the pros I see are using uninsulated tools..... I just got some new insulated screwdrivers and will be taping a video about them next week.

[klef77]

i carnt belive this guy said at the end "use the right tools" !!!!! well for starters it would be a good idea to use tool that are insulated.

[AsktheBuilder]

What????? All of the tools shown have insulated grips. I went to your channel and there's not one electrical video. Why not? If you're an expert, then we all would love it if you would show us what you know.

[sunshinetalia]

I want those wire cutters...

[DWRich17]

The new 2008 Nec(article 406.11) is requiring tamper resistant outlets and GFIs to be used for replacement(and new installs) on 15 and 20amp circuts in dwelling units. Just a little extra info for your viewers. People are going to try and do the small stuff anyway, might as well give a little good advice. It's never cost me a day off work and extra knowledge is good for everyone. Keep up the good work Tim. P.S. Arc fault tech is getting much better so don't fret, it's all in good time.

[AsktheBuilder]

Many thanks for this great information. I always appreciate it when pros stop by and are willing to share.

[jameskap]

Okay tim, Thanks for the reply, i guess your cable is of much better quality than we have here, no one in the right mind would ever do that here in sa, as the conductors get overloaded and wiring fails plenty. cheers, keep up the great videos

[jameskap]

Hi Tim, Why is it you guys dont use conduiting /sleeves in your houses, i would dread rewiring one of those houses or finding a problem when one occurs, the only solution being to rip all the dry wall down to replace cables etc, why dont you use conduting systems in your part of the world such as we have here in south africa, if there is a fault in the wire we just attach a new one to it and pull the old one out with the new one being drawn in.same applies to rewiring,

[AsktheBuilder]

I can't tell you..... Conduit is heavily used and required in certain commercial and institutional applications. But for residential, I have never had an issue with a conductor going bad. I am sure it happens, but my guess is it is pretty rare. With our frame construction, it is fairly easy to fish a new cable to many locations.

[thombaker86]

these videos just cover snippits of information and i dont believe that after watching them all sumone would think "hey now i can go rewire my house!" so i think sparkys jobs are safe! The videos are just informative and interesting and means that when sum1 does have a sparky in their house they will have a small clue as to what they are doing! Good work Tim

[AsktheBuilder]

Thom,

Thanks! You see the plan. Small helpful tips. If I wanted to teach how to wire a house, I don't think it could be done in 1,000 of these short clips. There is so much to learn.....

[trx746]

Twisting copper stresses the wires. You run "cable", not wire.

[scotwilcox]

just a few tips. strip the wire before you put it into the outlet box. once wire is in the outlet box, make sure you hold onto the wire to be stripped. pulling on the wire, using the outlet box wire support can "pinch" the wire. the wire strippers have 2 holes in them, that can be used to bend the wire for termination. and finally, remember to place the wire under the terminal, so that when you tighten the screws, the wire tightens into the device.

[bendingspring]

This video is obviously not trying to teach you how to rewire a house!!

Its just a short, helpful video showing how to disconnect and reconnect sockets in an american house.

All the naysaying, destroying our trade, part p blah blah blah is typical of a UK response.

And I AM a niceic registered electrician in the UK.

Nice helpful videos from Tim the toolman carter.

Keep up the goodwork.

[AsktheBuilder]

Many thanks! You nailed it. Short videos that try to explain just one small task.

[rgsgww]

its not that hard though...use some tools to check power...black goes to brass screws on outlet white goes to silver and green or bare goes to green or if you have a metal box pigtail to box then to outlet

[524hudson]

your a bit ruff realy . can i see your part P please?!

i dont know why i went to college for five years, should have watched this instead. lol

[MrRivaz]

This job done in the Uk, under our electrical regs, would be breaking the law were u not n.i.c.e.i.c qualified ( uks standard for qualified sparkys )

[AsktheBuilder]

Thanks for your comment. The purpose of each short video is to discuss a very specific topic. My plan is to have *many* electrical videos trying to cover lots of points. I need HELP. If you know anything abut the topic, start taping your own videos and place them on your channel to help others.

[kls68]

we need a discussion on these new arc breakers!

[AsktheBuilder]

I plan to do just that. Stay tuned.

[rgsgww]

i heard some hairdryers can trip them...

[alexoneone]

it's not smart to be doing this sort of stuff if you arn't an electrician

[AsktheBuilder]

I beg your pardon. It sounds like you might have a dog in this fight. If you are an electrician as I suspect, you had to be trained. So what is wrong about using videos to train people?

[alexoneone]

it takes away work from sparkys

[Axenmoon]

it also lowers the cost the electricians can charge, because allot of people cant afford thousands of dollars upgrading from a 2 wire system to a 3 wire system, and believe me not having grounds is really bad.

[AsktheBuilder]

I suggest you look at the statistics. Only 22% of the general public are DIYrs. There are plenty of people out there who will hire great electricians who offer a dollar's worth of value fer a dollar spent.

[Elevator5]

I am not Gay but this Guy is one Handsome man!

[AsktheBuilder]

You better hope my wife doesn't read this comment thread. She will be the one with the steam coming from her nostrils. :-)

[brent52]

Hi

how about a video on conduit bending??? 30, 45, 60 and 90'

[AsktheBuilder]

I'll put it on the list.....