STOP Cutting Wires So Short!!! What Does Code Say?
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- Опубліковано 16 жов 2024
- There are not many things that irk an electrician more than when the previous electrician installing a device cuts the wires in the box super short!! I am quite confident that most of us electricians have been forced to work on a box that someone has left barely enough wire to install the devices! It isn’t fun!! In this latest episode of Electrician U, Dustin explains a bit about the rules surrounding how much wire to leave available in the box.
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Article 310.14 of the 2020 NEC states “at least 6 inches of free conductor, measured from the point in the box where it emerges from its raceway or cable sheath, shall be left at each outlet, junction, and switch point for splices or the connection of luminaires or devices. Where the opening to an outlet, junction, or switch point is less than 8 inches in any dimension, each conductor shall be long enough to extend at least 3 inches outside the opening.” The biggest reason for the length required at the box is so the electrician working on the device, fixture, or junction can actually have enough wire to perform the work. If the wires are too short to put a device or wire connector (wire nut) on, it makes the installation quite difficult, and sometimes unsafe, to accomplish.
The above code reference states 6 inches from where the wire emerges from its raceway or cable sheath. So that is from the BACK of the box where the wire enters! It is ok to leave a bit extra, but not overdo the extra length as it can become difficult to install some of the larger devices (GFCI or USB receptacles) in the boxes with too much wire. The second portion of the code reference states that for boxes with dimensions less than 8 inches, the wire must extend at least 3 inches from the opening (front) of the box. This part can be used to get the length correct on the grounds that are cut off when installing a green wire nut and leaving one wire long to connect to device but cutting the others short.
A couple good tips for getting the correct wire length in a box without having to pull out your tape measure!
1. When working in single switch boxes, push the wire into the back bottom of the box, then accordion them up to the top of the box and back down to the bottom and cut. This insures you have left enough wire to work with but still fit neatly inside the box.
2. Another tip is to use your fist to get the length you need. When working in a commercial setting where you pull wires in a pipe, grab the wires in your fist, put the back of your fist against the opening in the box, extend your thumb out and then cut your wires at the point where they reach your thumb.
3. Another item to remember are the wire connectors. You do NOT have to use RED wire connectors for joining two #12 wires. For those joints where you only have 2 wires, you can save some space within the box by using a smaller connector!
We hope this has been helpful in determining how much wire you should leave in an electrical box for access. Is there a topic you would like to see discussed? Leave a comment in the comment section below and let us know. Please continue to follow Dustin and Electrician U as we are constantly adding new content to assist our followers in being the best electricians they can be!
Ultimately, it’s about caring about the next guy, which is what sets a good workmanship apart from hack work.
And that next guy might be you.
So true, I recently put in a few lightbulbs and an extra outlet in my garage and literally was thinking about Dustin‘s video here and tips about leaving enough wire for the next guy so thanks for everything!!!
Tape your receptacles too! Especially in metal boxes.
@@cheflebowski8155 overkill
It takes less than a second looking at the wires, or "make up", in a box to see the quality of an electrician.
You can tell that Dustin just dealt with this the day he made this video. It's so irritating when people cut the conductors so short that they don't extend from the box at all. Easily one of my biggest pet peeves!
I was laughing hard at his reaction.
Your first channel got me so interested in electricity. Now 2 1/2 years later I'm 2 months in with the IBEW local 145. Thank you so much Dustin! You helped me find my career!
Congratulations! I'll be getting my IBEW 20 year pin at this year's Labor Day picnic. Joining was one of the best decisions I made in my life.
@@greedo2660 whats ur pay right now
Thank god you mentioned both of the requirements for wire length. I’ve gotten into this argument way to often with people I have worked with who don’t satisfy both requirements of 300.14
I’ve always been told to stick your linesman plier head to the back of the box, and at the end of the handles of the pliers is where to cut them out so there is always plenty of conductor. Depending on brand and size, you’ll always have 6 inches of conductor, sometimes more, but always what you need. Thanks for the content!
Just mentioned this trick without noticing someone beat me to it! Same thing I was always told 👍🏼
Yup, that's exactly what I do. Pretty simple. I don't want to piss Dustin off!
same here..
Sadly the ones that are cutting wires to short probably don’t care enough to watch this video either. 😂
As a UK Electrician i find this video really interesting, I'd love to see a video of yourself reacting to UK electrical common practices :)
Fully agreed that there’s should be a mandatory minimum wire extending out of the box to facilitate electrician to fix receptacles basing on common sense even if there’s no regulations. Longer wires can be cut short while shorter wires only hamper the smooth execution of any kind of electrical works. Anyway, thanks for uploading a video stating the obvious
There is a mandatory minimum. It's 6 inches
@@JesusPerez-yc6yu yes, that’s correct and true …… something so obvious that the government need to legislate it.
@@PSM-IPADZ_OX well they have to. Then it would be to ur own discretion. Ppl would say no cut it 9 or 10 some would say no go 4. So instead they made a minimum 6, past 6 u can do as u like.
I know you don't like us DIY guys, but I can honestly say... Ive seen horror in some of the boxes i've had to fix from your electrician brethren. And it's not often, but I personally have a passion for Electrician work, and can spot shoddy work a mile away. Not every "pro" has the passion you and I do, and it shows. All i'm saying is give us the benefit of the doubt, I do my homework as best can be done with the resources I have, The information isn't readily available if you aren't in the trade so that makes mistakes more common.
Tbh a lot of times I see homeowners asking questions on forums only to get told "if you have to ask, you're not qualified for the job. Hire someone". It's such an idiotic thing to say on a forum designed for this purpose.
The guy is going to have a go at it anyway. Why not give him the best advice possible so that he completes the work safely instead of letting him guess?
While I have enjoyed several of your recent videos, I was glad to see you return to an educational video where you pull out the code book - thanks. I agree that those short wires are a real pain. I tend to use my lineman pliers to measure where to cut the wires. Depending on the brand you use, there are many features that were specifically designed into this tool (Kleins) to facilitate in these sort of things - like the depth of the cutting jaw being the correct amount to strip from wire for a standard red or yellow wire nut
An in-depth coverage of the Kleins and all their features would make an interesting video - I'm sure Klein Tools could help with some of the more subtle aspects of the design features that were designed into this versatile tool.
I would be interested in the same question for the breaker box; what does code say, and what are good practices for extra wire in the panel. I've seen some boxes where the wire just barely reached the breaker, and others where it seemed to do a lap or two around the outer edge first. Especially fun when trying to clean up wiring in a mammoth 400A service panel with multiple 100+ amp feeds to sub-panels.
Great video! I’de also like to add to leave service loops on the cable going into the box. When there skin tight like that and a drywaller cuts your wires inside the box you can pull in the extra slack to redo the splice. Master Electrician LU 213
Also known as fu@k up loops. They can be such a godsend after the drywallers have their way with a build!
The quick way I cut the wires to length is I have a set of linesmen pliers that are 9” long. So I just put the tip in the box and measure along the handle. Where the handle stops that’s where I cut.
Keeps everything nice and consistent.
Yes, and while 6" is minimum, 8-9" is better.
Thank you, I'm an CEO and it is so hard to explained that that reference does infact mean the grounds need to be 6" long and extend minimum 3" also.
bulky smart switches, gfci outlets, etc etc, the days of skinny toggle switches are almost over, when are they going to make all these single gang boxes a 1/4 inch wider, geeze !
Great video and explanation. I have to admit, when I bought this house 10 years ago, I wanted to learn how to change light switches and outlets. So, I jumped into it, watched some videos and went to it. I did cut some of them back too far I feel, but my reason wasn't so much about recycling, I got USB outlets, big boys, and I was getting frustrated because I couldn't get them in flush and thought there was too much wire blocking the way. Now, in the last 3 years, I've learned my lesson, since I've tried to change them again and they are super short. So, anything I currently change, add, or replace, I've left at the 6- and 3-inch marks, I get it now lol. Previous house owners also cut them short, so I've been adjusting and fixing their issues to bring things back into code and make things right. Wish I saw this video back then. I've learned a ton from your videos and have now installed new lighting in my ceiling, and more. Feel a lot more comfortable and even have large electricians' book now. I do enjoy it. Thanks again.
Why not cut out the box and install a larger one? I don't really see a reason to ever use shallow boxes (understanding that yea, older work probably used smaller boxes) unless there's some sort of space constraint behind where you're installing the box. Would be curious to know there is a reason other than cost savings to use one.
@@danielherman9483 Exactly, if I get away with it now, I will. But back then I was a little intimidated and didn't know. This past year when I remodeled my basement, I added new lights and the way the old owners had it wired, was a nightmare. I basically rewired the entire basement, they had things going all over for no reason that I could find. I streamlined it and it's so much nicer now. I work IT, built many PC's and now do web dev stuff. So now electrical is like building a PC to me. I enjoy it and look forward to my next project. This house has been my training grounds. Next house will be fun!
@@ThommyGunnGaming Hah, similar boat. Software Engineer here, and the things that the previous homeowner to me did are horrifying. Some are pretty dangerous. In addition to the deteriorating old BX I need to replace, I've found something wrong in every box I've looked in.
@@danielherman9483 hah exactly, know how you feel!
I'm a DIY electrician - but I stay in my lane. Love your video's.
Some DIYers are better than professionals. Some guys just want to be in and out as fast as possible and they have no pride in their work. They cut corners all the time. They lost their passion.
Whereas some competent DIYers put a lot of time to research everything properly and they follow every single code to the letter and they do the job right because they know they will have to live with it and they might have to work on it again one day.
Exactly what I used to do for many years. What’s the saying, I’d rather be looking at it than for it? Great explanation 👍
Great video thanks for preaching it lol another annoying thing is when they strip just enough sheathing to barely get enough wire to terminate and then cram it in there.
Dustin thank you so much for your videos. They help to explain some different concepts to this Canadian Apprentice. Cheers buddy.
Thank you sir. I really love watching your video even though im from the phillippines. More power to you sir
DIYer here, but I learned most of my stuff doing side-work with my best friend who is now a master electrician.
He never cut any corners and wouldn't let me either, so I learned good habits from the start.
I always measure the wire by grabbing it with my hand outside the box and leaving a couple more inches. This always leaves at least 6" outside the box. You can always trim the wires, it's a lot more of a pain to make them longer. Extra wire nuts for pig tails fill the boxes up real quick. Especially in the old metal boxes in most of the houses around here.
A good rule-of-thumb I see a lot of journeymen teach apprentices is stick the jaw of your (9 inch) lineman’s pliers against the back of the box and cut your wires off even with the end of your pliers handles.
I'm an advocate of thumb to pinky outside the box. Even guys with the smallest of hands can make the wires long enough.
@@IceBergGeo that’s a good one, too! Actually, the thumb to pinky rule is even better since boxes are different depths and putting your kleins against the back of the box may not be enough if you have an extra deep box or box with an extension ring
I just use the the tip of my thumb to the bottom of my hand as a ruler, for how long I need my wires to be outside of the box, because it's exactly 6inches, but thats gonna be different for everyone.
Telling me not to DIY when you taught me everything I know to DIY! LOL!
A lot of DIYers watch your videos because they want to know how to do things right. Most of them earnestly want to do things correctly, and will call a professional if they aren't confident enough to do something right themselves.
You picked up on that side comment about DIYers too. Kinda rubbed me the wrong way to be honest. It's house wiring, not open heart surgery.
@@alexanderlavoie5461 Exactly
People DIY because they have been burnt by the so called professionals in the past. Cutting wires too short is often done by those who have under quoted to get the job and now have to scrape every last cent to make profit.
@@alexanderlavoie5461 I was thinking the same thing. Probably most of his viewership is DIYers.
I had an electrician help me relocate my meter but I'll be wiring the house. Just trying to be sure everything is up to snuff plus it all gets inspected.
Thanks Dustin love ur videos I’m going into my first year at school and these are helpful.
I hate when I come to a box with short wires. Love your content. Thanks for sharing
The folding trick is pretty good haven't seen that. When I was doing residential as an apprentice I was taught to pull the wire out straight put my lineman's pliers to the back of the box and cut the wire the length of my pliers. That gives you 9 inches from the back of the box and that folds up well after splicing. I had my lineman's pliers in my hand anyway so it was a convenient way to do it.
always wondered if the twisted ground was allowed to be shorter than 3".... nice bit of detail there King 👑
I'm a DIYer that just finished building my new home. I used the lineman pilers trick, plus I used pigtails. Only thing I found weird here in Southern Mississippi is everything had to be 14 gauge on 20 Amp breakers, even my hardwired smoke detectors..
Seriously? I'm pretty sure that is a code violation, and a fire hazard, if anyone puts 15+ amps on that circuit... it will protect from a dead short still, but not overloading the wire. Who demands that? The inspector?
My rule of thumb is my fist against the box, with my thumb extended. That gives me around 6 ones from the face of the box. If rather have too long then too short, and I can always trim it if needed.
I'd agree on that yellow wire nut advice. It makes things easier.
You're reaction to the first part had me 😂, my house has basically that 3" FROM THE BACK, on the kitchen lights.. the wire is extremely brittle and I'm like.. I can't do anything with this.. wtf.. who installed this shit?!?
Short wiring in outlets and junctions is not always the DIY guy or the handyman (I'm both). I find old wires left really short by the original electricians on the 1920s wax & cloth wiring, which is still prevalent in the area where I live.
Great video man.
There are a few things that really piss me off when I am doing service work and one of them is when I need to remove a switch or receptacle and the wires are so short that I can't get to the screws to disconnect the wires. How in the world does someone install a device like that? What goes through their mind when they think that the shorter the wire the better it is? Or is there some other reason for it?
I understand that sometimes someone screws up and just fails to pull in enough wire or ran out of wire, but for God's sake put a fucking wirenut and a pigtail to extend the wire so you can work with it. So annoying.
Things that unqualified people will do when installing electrical that saves them a minute or two ends up being an hour or more of headaches and aggravation for the troubleshooting service electrician.
For all you installers and new guys and girls, here is a tip that will help you out in the future, as well as the electrician from the future who has to follow up your work someday.
Think about the next electrician who has to work on your install. If you do your job right it won't need to be fixed in the future and if you do it with bad workmanship you are making life more difficult for the next electrician which could be yourself. An extra minute or two will save someone in the future an hour or more fixing your crappy install.
Exactly. And if the wires are just barely long enough to begin with, what do you do when you run into some knucklehead that decided it was a great idea to plug in 6 powerstrips into one, and then run a dozen+ extension cords off of those, and burns the receptable up. And the only way to fix it is cut off the burned part of the wires and hopefully there's enough left...
Yes think about the next electrician, because the 'next guy' might be you 10 years down the road.🤣
@@brnmcc01 --- if there isn't enough wire, that's when the real money gets made. New wiring from that box to wherever those circuits are being run from. If it's flex it's not so bad, knob and tube - you're screwed, Romex or BX or MC or free air wiring, you're screwed. Actually the customer is screwed, we just have some work to deal with. But that's what we do. That's why we get paid the big bucks.
I already knew this because I'm pretty sure you put out a video with this about 1 year ago. I remember the 3" past the box, but don't recall you mentioning 6 from the sheath. This comes into play I guess with deeper boxes.
The electricians that did my house used crimp sleeves on all the ground wires... like 2" from the entry to the box. Honestly, as annoying as this has been to deal with I'd be curious to know HOW they even managed to crimp them that close to the back of the box.
@Let's Go Brandon --- as a licensed, own elec contracting business, 16 yrs as a union journeyman, and over 30 yrs total experience working with tools, I have say... STOP DOING THAT! LOL
@Let's Go Brandon thanks for sharing your ignorance.
@Let's Go Brandon ---- having the correct tools, will make your life a lot easier, your workmanship will improve, and you save time and effort.
I am not even joking when I say this... I just finished a service call to move a receptacle for a drinking fountain in the local community theatre. The box and wire run are surface mount wiremold raceway and box. The person who did the install made the wires so short I had to shut the circuit off to get the receptacle disconnected from the wires. It's all good now. That's my luck. I talk about it and next thing you know Old Jed's A Millionaire. $150.00 for 45 mins work. Not including new parts. I love my job.
Tim -- yeah that close to the back of the box is annoying -- but it's done using a crimping tool (it's a wrench that just used for crimping). I guess they're not as common nowadays.
The licensed electrician who wired my house in the late 1980s was big believer in cutting short and using backstab devices. I'm a big believer in cussing about him every time I have to replace a duplex or a switch. Sometimes my only option is to pigtail., and as short as the conductors are, it can be a real hassle to release the backstab spring.
I really, really wish manufacturers would stop with the backstab connections.
Can you do a video on Highlegs?
I just ran 12/2 BX for my dishwasher. I left some extra in the 4x4, plus I left about 2 ft curled up underneath the floor in case whoever happens to buy this house if we ever move can move it possibly to the other side of the cabinet. Even put a note in the electrical panel that there's extra wire.
Talk about short wires; in Hawaii the receptacle box was cut in the baseboard which is 3/4 inch thick; so only one romex to the box and you need to leave enough wire to connect the receptacle so it you can install it in the box.
I do industrial electrical work for the most part but the few houses I've worked on had this problem. I had to use needle nose pliers just to make it work when replacing outlets. Obviously you'll just make it work in this situation but are you technically supposed to refuse to reinstall a device without wire being repulled?
I've always added a pigtail to give the wire the needed length
Fresh into trade work knowing nothing about anything, I was tasked to do this, even at that point it took me 0 time or thought to realize that I’d want at least half a foot to have this wires be useful to me. If you can’t figure this out then I pray for you 🙏🏽
Crazy a code so simple can have language i’ve missed for years and i’m 20 years in and licensed. Always made a habit of 6” passed the opening of small outlet boxes and now realizing it’s 6” from the sheath or conduit and only 3” passed the opening on small outlet boxes. Code is a minimum, but with larger devices it’s good to have a way out legally.
Almost 30 years in and I still experience the same thing on occasion (simple code language that I missed). But, like you said, code is the bare minimum and sometimes the code isn’t even adequate for all situations. What about a 5 or 6 gang switch box? 6 inches from the point of cable/raceway entry into the box is not enough. What if your romex comes into the right side of the box but you need that switch on the far left side? It makes for some nasty joints and unnecessary cramming of wires/ wire nuts when trimming out your switches
You can make the wires longer as long as you don't exceed box fill.
@@Ephesians-ts8ze 6 inches is a minimum so just make them longer.
8 inches from the back of the box. Klein strippers is my gauge
You did not mention wire stretchers as a solution.. Haha yup I have had to wire new outlets in with barely enough room to get the screw driver on the screw to tighten it down. Thanks for that lesson!
thanks for the tip Dustin
Im in canada, before pulling wire into the box i do a quick loop so after my install others can go in and pull extra length out
I'm a professional Contractor. Old work is where I find that the most. Irritating for sure, but deal with it, don't regulate the crap out of it. I reserve the right to do my own work. Used to be we could do up to six feet of lead to install appliances or add an additional box in the course of a remodel. Now I have to wait a speed killing week for an electrician that's going to charge me a ridiculous 500.00 for 30 min of work. Other's can shove it where the sun doesn't shine if they want to regulate it to the point I can't do my own work I've done properly for thirty years. I'm tired of "We need more laws" people just wanting to protect their own trade, but don't wanted it applied to them when they want to do their own plumbing and so on.
I always tell my apprentices to put the tip of the linesman to the back of the box and cut it at the end of the handle. This is a huge problem whenever I do side jobs. I can't believe what people in the past have done.
I just put my hand on the box with thumb extended and cut them off there. Rule of thumb. It's probably a couple more inches than needed, but that extra 2 inches or so, the next guy that has to replace a burned up light switch or receptacle will thank me for leaving a little bit of extra wire so can just cut off the old receptacle back to undamaged wire and just replace it. Always think of the next guy, switches and receptacles don't last forever...
I always favor having as much slack as is practical to still fit in folded up without shorting, rubbing, or obstructing, you can always cut it shorter later if the extra doesn't fit. The most useless expensive wire is one that's ALMOST long enough. Didn't know there was a specific code but I have also used the "2x/3x height of box" as a rough guide because its easy to fold in but easy to pull out and work with.
My favorite wire nuts to use are the 3M O/B. They are good for 3 #12 wires. Absolutely awesome for single gang outlets, where you have to go in and out. Super easy to install and they take up next to no room on your pouch.
USE wago 😘😘
@@PumpiPie naw. They are stupid expensive. And HUGE.
@@IceBergGeo huge? xD Than you have probley used the old type.
I guess the price is different
where i live. Wagos is fast and easy and smaller than wire nuts. From my exsperians.
@@PumpiPie look up the 3m wire nuts. There is no way a wago is smaller.
@@IceBergGeo They are super easy to install which makes them more economical than wire nuts. And when it comes to later mods, they are by far the best way to go. They are almost identical in size to the 3M wire nuts when used properly.
damn bro,... super informative info for me as a DIYer lol
Dustin is absolutely correct in saying electrical work is not a DIY thing. I have seen way too much ridiculous and dangerous slop in my experience to believe otherwise.
In some older houses in CO, they used to terminate the receptacles and pull the wire out of the box and staple the wire, work on those, hahahahaha! I have ran into that quite a few times in the last 20 yrs!
Can you talk about what the code says for extending conductors where the splice point is outside of a junction box or enclosure? For example a hardwired appliance where the feed is too short, can you just use a wago or butt splice out in the open without an enclosure?
Can you make a video on how to fix this issue if you come accross it? I'm assuming you can just wire nut some extenders, but that seems like the easy way out (not the right way)
Dustin, have you seen my left-handed steam powered wire-stretcher?
I just put it down before coffee break and now it's gone...
I always do double the box size. I do commercial and industrial work, so say if I'm doing a 4×4 box I'm making it at least 8", if it's a 12×12 I'll leave 2ft and so on.
Excellent Video. Bro-where's your nail plates?
I am a total amateur and I know extra wire is better. When I started doing rehab on my house i was appalled at what I found. Silver lining brought me to your channel.
I learned to wrap my hand around the wire, put the base of my hand against the box, and stick my thumb out. Where the tip of the thumb is, that's normally 6 to 8 inches from the face of the box.
if its too short for you to work with or just too short so its super frustrating, could u just make a joint to extend the wire ?
Jason, I have a question for you. I have 3 closets, 30'' x52" and 9' tall. I want to put lights in them and would like your opinion as to what type light you think would be the best for this application. I do like things lit up well. Keep the videos coming. I listen to you because your a master electrician. I myself am a master plumber and gas fitter, I've been doing plumbing for 50 years now. You hold down Texas and I'll hold down Alabama....
I'm starting to put high-output strip lights hung on the wall horizontal above the door on the inside of the closet. Doesn't get in the way of racks or shelves and doesn't block you from putting something big on the top shelf like one on the ceiling might. That's just me, you may not like that.
I'd just find the brightest surface-mount light you can get at Home Depot or Lowe's. Good luck
Stop holding back, let us know how you really feel! (Yeah, I've run into wires that really can't be worked with because of being too short too. 😞)
I noticed the way you mark the stud for your boxes. I learned the opposite way (27 years ago). Your 'to the top of the box' mark is my 'to the bottom of the box'. I will admit that your way might make more sense and I didn't necessarily learn from the sharpest tools.
I noticed on the wall you have 12 gauge wire going to the lights but the you have a 14 gauge wire from the light to the switch. Is that on a 20 amp circuit or a 15 amp? I didn’t think you could use 14 gauge wire on a 20 amp circuit for any reason.
You’re videos are some of the best on here. I especially like that you refer to the code book for clarification. I’m a DIYer and I bought the book after watching a number of your videos so that I make sure anything I do is up to code. Thanks!
You can tap down. It's the tap rule in code.
@@Squat5000 Can you do that for a receptacle too or just switches and lights?
@@billsedutto8824 just lights. Anything that can take the full current (potentially any receptacle or switch box,) must be fully rated, for (hopefully) obvious reasons.
I use my fingers, pointer to thumb stretched is about 6 inches... so that to the back of the box is where I cut my wire... might be a hair shy of 6.
But how do yu feel when you rough in a house, come back to trim and see several outlets that are cut WAY shorter than I would ever leave in there? I always start blaming other trades immediately. Sometimes its drywall guy and his router they cut their holes with AFTER they put the drywall up. Sometimes even the box is damaged. It seems like they know when they messed up my wires bc they always cram sheetrock mud inside my outlet boxes they damaged. Then when I go to trim you dont realize how messed up the wires are until you pull them out and realize they're cut so much the wire just breaks there...
I always leave all the slack in the box I can until I come to trim. I treat it like I'm going to be the one to come fix it;my company warranties our work for 1 year.
I can understand the frustration 😤.
Not a electrical guy but when I do the wire works I usually put my cutters against the switch box and cut the wire at the other end of the cutters. Also side note. Before putting the wire in the box I bend the wire a bit witch adds another 4 inch before the back wire plate get tight down. That’s Incase the next guy fucks it up cutting wires short then the next guy can just pull down in more wire if needed.
It would make logical sense to leave an extra foot of wire after the last staple before it enters the box during rough in. It would save a lot of headaches for people down the line years later that have to go back in to the box to do work to have some slack/extra wire to pull into the box if some dummy cut it too short.
i had a guy call me a few years back that was finishing his basement. He said his job got to busy to finsh it so I said sure I can fix you up. Anyway the homeowner and a buddy of his had started doing the electrical. I noticed right off the bat that all the wires for the receptacles and switch boxes were way to short! I told the guy that most of the wiring he had done had to be taken out and re ran. He was not very happy about this, so I showed him the code measured out the wires and started work the next day! I felt bad but this is what happens when you do things you're not sure about!
You tell 'em, Dustin!
Leave some extra unstripped wire outside the box as well. If the wires are cut short or damaged by drywallers, a guy can pull down some more wire.
The way I measure my wire for receptacles is, I put my strippers (which are about 6 inches) to the front of the receptacle and stretch out the wires to the length of my strippers and cut em to that length . A old journeyman actually showed me that a long time ago.i know you only need 6 inches from pretty much the back of the receptacle but I like to have more than I need as long as all the wires fit in the box
Real talk!!🤙
Luckily we got wagos
When I started this was my Achilles heel. A year in and I have come across enough shorties that I never leave a wire short now. Cut it like you will be the next person in that box.
Thank you I had to go back and barely pigtail an entire set counter top receptacles. cause someone cut them not thinking about the granite backslash plus they cut them to damn short. I don't even won't to talk about their under cabs.
I'm an maintenance electrician but do so many dang renovations it's not electrical maintenance at all but yes PLEASE STOP CUTTING WIRES SHORT . AND DONT BACK STAB OUTLETS EITHER! Thanks
Thank you, more like this 👍
DUDE, what’s with the orange extension cord pulled through those studs??? MESSES with my head, hard.
Is that what that is? I thought it was for a 30 amp line. I don’t know what gauge wire that would be but I know it’s orange.
Number 10 Romex has an orange outer jacket
@@Ephesians-ts8ze nope! 😊
Look at the black stripe
@@Gruntled2001 ok,my bad. I couldn’t really see it too good on my phone without my reading glasses. I just know no. 10 Romex is orange.
@@Ephesians-ts8ze I hear you! There was even a discussion thread about this cable/cord from one of the previous videos on Electrician Talk, and the conclusion was that it is an extension cord after all, maybe as a stand-in made look like 10/3 Romex...
I use the width of my palm. With my hand against the outlet, I grab the wires in my palm and cut the wires that extend out of my grasp. Works for me.
when changing old 4 gang switches that are not grounded,and the wires are too short can you leave the new ones without grounds in a plastic box.I find it hard to add 4 ground jumpers.
Haha. The frustration is real.
Our code in Canada (CEC) went a little further on that and we are required to have approx 6 inches from the front edges (opening) of a box.
No, the CEC is the same as the NEC in this regard. 12-3000(6) specifies "at least 150 mm of free insulated conductor shall be left at each outlet for making of joints or the connection of electrical equipment, unless the insulated conductors are intended to loop through lampholders, receptacles, or similar devices without joints."
Since I've inherited my dad's farm, I've been slowly replacing and fixing a lot of electrical issues in the shops. One outlet has the wires so short that I couldn't even get it out half an inch from the wall, I had to break it apart. He must have connected it and then pulled the wire back through the wall as he mounted the outlet x_x.
Old house wiring (1910 etc). all pulled those wires super tight
My theory is that in ANY job category, from truck drivers to brain surgeons, there are always a few who are brilliant and just way ahead of the rest. Then, on the other end are those who are not good at what they do and should be doing something else, and the vast majority of us who are somewhere in between fairly good to almost brilliant. Same goes for electricians. I am not an electrician, but before I retired I worked around a lot of electricians in a commercial environment. I found some of them excellent, and most were at least competent but there were a few who did really bad work. I worked on one job where they wanted us to put in isolated ground receptacles. We had never installed these before and we did it wrong, but an inspector caught our mistake and we fixed it. Then a young building engineer came to our crew and started asking questions about isolated ground receptacles. The electricians who wired the building apparently did not know how to wire them either and wired them as you would wire a standard 3-wire receptacle, and there were a lot of these around the building. I knew our limitations but I thought that the electricians should have known how to wire those outlets. By the way, I think you are near the top.
My journeyman had a way of always ensuring that our wires were of length. In the rough, before you cut and store your wire, pull out the wire and bury your lineman’s into the box. Grab the wire at the end of the lineman’s and cut. Approx 5-6in out of the box always.
I use my pinky and thumb and extend them. I have 6 inches between the two. Put it in the box and cut it the length of my thumb
Dual three-phase load centers ... will there be a transformer there?
I just added smart switches to my whole house. I had to cut out a lot of excess wire to get the switches to fit. I basically consolidated everything with wago lever nuts and pigtailed line, neutral, and ground. So if the wires going into my wago are shorter than 6" I'm violating code? Is there any increased risk of fire or shorts if all connections are secure?
6 in is minimum when I was a apprentice in the 70's I was taught to use my lineman pliers which was 9" in length from the wall to make your cut. Now the installer has plenty of wire to work with. If he or she is qualified they will leave enough wire for the next person.
Had a remodel we were working on and they put a layer of brick on the outside of the house over the original exterior. I barely had enough room to put my fingers into the box to pigtail new wire to the existing. The original length would have been to short so this extra layer made it a nightmare.
I live in an old house and all the wires are too short. Last year I replaced all switches and outlets. It drove so crazy and angry that all the wires were too short. It took me so much time to get everything done.
the issue I've had is packing the conductors or low voltage cables so drywallers don't damage them
Yeah all the grounds are cut short and pushed to the back of the box of my parents '95 home. It's annoying to try and figure something out to get it long enough to use properly. Like none of the switches, except the ones I have already dealt with, are grounded.
Bulk materials are usually much less expensive than the time it might take to make up for too short stuff like wires, conduit, pipes, cords, etc.
Would the 3" rule also apply to box extension rings and such?
So tell us how you feel about "Pigtails". I've seen guys pigtail everything. The issue I see with that then becomes box fill. Especially with wagos and ideal in-sures.......