I do property maintenance, but I do a lot more than what a typical handyman would do. I know enough, to not do things I shouldn’t be doing. I really enjoy learning new things, and I always learn something new watching your videos. Thanks for putting these out there.
Watching your videos fills me with a mixed feeling of calm and terror. Calm because it reaffirms that the little bit of stuff that I've done recently is correct. Terror because I now realize that my dad had no clue what the hell he was doing when he wired up my childhood home and we just kinda got lucky codes and safety wise.
1: GNH - HNG is the order ( Rule ) in which you assemble or de-assemble wiring. G= ground, N= Neutral, H= Hot. ( If the H is removed first then I always cap it first before proceeding ) 2: For looping wires around terminals always loop in the same direction as the screw turns.
@Paul 1. G= ground, N= Neutral, H= Hot. ( If the H is removed first then I always cap it first before proceeding ) EXACTLY !! 2: For looping wires around terminals always loop in the same direction as the screw turns. For stranded and solid wire?
@@electroman982 Answer for 2: There are different types of receptacles, some have screws only and or holes and others have screws with clips/plate that will squeeze the wire together, I find the latter works best for stranded wire however in a pinch I will twist stranded wire so that they are less likely to separate when you screw them in (same direction as the screw turns). NOTE: DO NOT use the holes for stranded wire due to the way the hole method works to hold the wire in place you should not use it for stranded wire. Important NOTE: Wall receptacles are made and designed for standard indoor and in wall solid wiring and should only be used with solid wire as designed!
As I’ve been diving deeper into DIY electrical, I’ve developed a love for the metal boxes. I just want to thank you for your videos. Because of your concise but informative content, I have tackled quite a few projects that I at one time would have thought impossible. Thank you!
I've never seen any metal electrical boxes here Germany, what's the advantage in using metal instead of flame retarded plastic? One broken Wago clip and the whole box turns into a shock hazard.
@@Arltratlo Yeah, me too ! The PVC ones are not as robust to withstand the heat of a fire but then again.....if you DO have a fire going on which threatens the integrity of the junction box, you have a lot of other things to worry about anyway :-) :-). For that matter I do prefer the PVC types.......much lesser chance of accidentally creating shorts.....
@@bertschalk1798 our PVC boxes dont burn, they are self extinguishing. we are professionals here in Europe, all names you use in electricity are from Europeans!, Volta, Ampere, Hertz and Gauss!
I recommend that you don't secure the box to the vertical board of the truss. Cut the wires at a longer length and secure the box to the webbing of the truss as to keep it unburied out of the insulation. That way you can access it with ease without having to fight the insulation. Plus, you know exactly where to go to access it. I sure hope you're putting covers on those boxes.
@@steevemachine118 you didn't use your critical thinking. The op said not to secure it to the vertical board of the truss, which is wrong. It should be secured to the vertical board. David mentioned that the op should have said to not secure it to the HORIZONTAL board, and that it should be secured to the vertical board.
When no vertical board is available near the junction, I’ve actually added a vertical board to the truss in order to get the junction box above the insulation. Also, add height to take into account the homeowner adding extra insulation in the future. Last thing I want to do is dig around in fiberglass insulation.
Your example of having an energized switch box reminded me of way back at the dawn of time, when I was entering the gas trade, there was an exam question which dealt with switching the neutral. Don't switch the neutral. One day very early in my career I discovered why. I was changing a belted fan motor. So I switched off the furnace switch, then immediately got lit up trying to remove the wiring. The light bulb went on, and it finally all made sense. Training is great, but without field experience, questions will remain.
Very good information! I have done a ton of electrical work myself in our 1950s era house, and I prefer these metal boxes any time I’m making a spice or adding a device etc.in a place where it will be exposed. Another thing that DIYs should be aware of is box fill, that is how many conductors are allowed in a specific size box. The reason I mention this is because it’s the 3rd DIYer mistake after the first two you mentioned.
I've done a few DIY wiring projects, and metal boxes are my favorites. I've found stripped screw holes in plastic boxes several times. That problem is a lot less likely to happen in metal boxes. Your point about grounding the box is important. I've always done that because I like having all my connections inside a grounded metal box. Like you said, if anything ever comes loose in the future, it will just touch the box and trip the breaker, and then you will know that you have to investigate and find the cause of the trip.
@@soundwave7678 through the ground wire that should be common in all wiring in newer installations. Older homes may be wired using wiring that only has 2 conductors. That can be a problem when trying to ground the boxes.
@@soundwave7678 You connect a wire to the box and then to the ground conductor from the supply cable. I'll typically use a short scrap piece of bare conductor to make that box-to-supply connection. Then the box connects all the way back to your house ground via the supply cable, and if a hot conductor comes loose and touches the inside of the box, the breaker will trip.
*may possibly trip the breaker. Or it may energize the entire box, or it may start a fire. Plastic boxes are far safer. The chances of them stripping out is negligible. Almost all plastic boxes have metal thread inserts. Thousands of boxes installed and interacted with, and I've only come across a few stripped ones in 25 years of work. The benefits far outweigh the downsides.
@@Mpg-gh5fq Could you explain your statement ? I understand previous reply referred to a two wire system that has no bare ground from the service panel. Are you talking about connecting a ground to the neutral then pigtailing it to the box?
Two important points. Determine where your lines are going to come in on the box. Then rotate the box so the lines don't interfere with the placement of the ground screw. Mount the box first. Then run the wires. Second. You can use ground clips if you have a project in existing work and the old box has no threaded hole for a ground screw.. One last point. Always mount the appropriate cover for junction boxes. When you're done, use a permanent marker to indicate what purpose box services and what each wire is...power in, pass through, switch, outlet, appliance etc. This will be huge if you have a problem that someone else needs to address.
Yes! I was actually kinda disappointed he didn't mention the need for a cover. I've seen far too many boxes just left open after people were done with them, then all kinds of crap falls into them (possibly causing who knows what problems) or the wires/connectors/etc get bumped by people passing by, etc, and the connections get loose and start arcing, or etc, etc. One related thing I've seen too is just trying to stuff way too much into one box. If it's so packed full of wires/connectors that you can't actually put the cover back on it, *get a bigger box.* Sheesh...
@@foogod4237 The electric Code does prescribe how many wires are allowed in an electrical box. Wiring devices (switches, receptacles), pigtails, etc count, too.
@@jovetj Yeah, but arguably the whole point of all of these DIY videos is that most DIYers have never actually read the code so they don't know these things, and they need to be told...
The example of the early 1900s home is exactly everything I'm dealing with in trying to re-wire my house. Really appreciate all your videos here on these topics as they're helping me make sure that during my re-wiring projects I'm doing things properly and not leaving any "WTF was this guy thinking" for the next guy coming around. Also big thanks to all the electrical guys in the comments as well for their takes and additional information they add. After watching videos like these, I like to go to the comments section and browse around for other opinions on the matter as well and they've been a big help -- so all you folks leaving those comments I just want you to know you've been mega helpful as well in learning.
Great video, thanks. I have run into the very same knob and tube switch installations as your example. Many times in the oldest houses I have worked on the switched wire in the knob and tube mess was the neutral. Of course the return from the fixture is live all the time as is the light fixture itself and wow does that lead to confusion when sorting things out. It always amazes me when I think that it has been working like that for 100 years or more,.... time to pull some romex.
Yeah, in my area there are still a good number of homes with K&T. It is actually very common to remove the K&T from the attic, basement, or crawlspace running new Romex to junction boxes and then using the old wiring going up/down through the wall to the switch and outlet boxes. I understand the time/cost motivation behind this but the results Frankenstein mess is not my favorite.
That's what I have now and everything on YT indicated I should be able to pull a receptacle off a switch in my bathroom. I didn't know both wires were hot. Needless to say I am now waiting to hire someone e to replace the last few K&T lines in older rooms. I was lucky, but YT videos should have mentioned that for all DIYers working in K&T houses! I finally found out from 1 video.
Pro here, licensed Journeyman/Master Electrician, I like your way of tightening Romex connectors. I've never seen someone do that before. I usually d the same thing with my pliers, screwdriver would work better in most cases.
@Craig Dendy I see that you're trying to make what I said look silly, so I'll explain what I said. The video creator usually asks questions of his audience to see whether they've learned something from his content. He usually asks whether we are professional or do it yourself. That's why I said "pro". In my jurisdiction, you are required to keep your journeyman license even after you obtain your master license to continue doing field work. That's why I said Journeyman/Master. I wanted to convey to the video creator that he is putting out useful content, even for those of us that think we know everything. And lastly, I never said I wire houses. Thank you for your time.
@Remodz, I'm a journeyman and mostly do residential, but the guys you're looking at are the ones doing cookie cutter homes. Most of their work is garbage. But since that's all you see you clump all residential electricians into one as if all are the same. But then again you may live in the ghetto and garbage work is probably all you see. I work on custom homes only. The price tags on them range from $2,000,000 to $10,000,000. My license also allows me to do commercial and industrial jobs as well and I do those jobs on occasion A GC decided to go with another electrical company one time and still regrets it because that company did garbage work.
Speaking of mistakes I make all the time, even though I know better: don’t use the knockout that’s right next to the grounding screw tower. The wiring just gets in the way.
Thanks for encouraging people to ground their boxes. In all my years working in older homes the half assedness of some peoples electrical work has NEVER failed to astound, and shock me............ LOL.
Yeah, my father rewired a bad basement flexible-wire-hanging light-socket over a wash tub. He changed the black wire from the black screw to the white one. Now the socket shell was live instead of the filament. I checked this (secretly) too soon to get anyone (i.e., my mother) zapped. He never knew how electricity worked. And, he wanted me to have NO education beyond his three years! Oughta be a law!
@@Arthur172B there is nothing worse than finding out they have been switched the hard way, like when your computer is plugged into one outlet, and the stereo is plugged into another.... and you realize you can play music on the computer through the stereo...... THAT SUCKED.
2 things to mention about the grounding straps/wire pigtails with the screws attached... First off, the screw they use is NOT a 6-32 screw, (like the plastic cover face plates of switches and outlets use), but instead it is actually almost always a self tapping 10-32 screw. And the 2nd thing I was going to add is that those screws also usually can be driven into the hole in the metal boxes using a 5/16" hex driver tip. That is also a more reliable way to keep the screw straight and not get it crossthreaded, AND not to slip out of the screw head like especially a flathead screwdriver tends to do!
@@electroman982 Unless you're just trying to be "funny", I will say that the reason that it's a 10-32 instead of a 10-24 screw is so that it has more threads holding into the relatively thin sheet metal of the back of the box, therefore allowing a slightly higher tightening torque before it strips out. Plus the fact that you just usually don't see self tapping 10-24 screws nearly as much as 10-32 ones. And as far as I am aware of, there is no such thing as a "10-20" pitch screw, especially not commercially available. That would be too coarse of a thread for such a relatively small screw diameter, and that would make the shaft of the screw much more prone to breaking when trying to tighten it.
Note from the UK: metal junction boxes are supposed to be non-combustible, and firesafe. The bushings used in this video don't actually close the box so are not firesafe. In the UK we use intumescent grommets.
@@crusherfang9368 I see the xenophobic Americans are out in force, the ones who don’t realise RU-vid is an international platform 😂😂 My comment was a point of interest, not a complaint
Mat, US electrics are scary af mate. The fact that full rewire how to videos are on a channel called "Everyday Home Repairs" tells you everything you need to know. Whilst he sounds like a dick, Crusher Fang has a point... stay well away from this sh*t
Great info! I really wish Wago would make a four bay connector in the same format as the two, three, and five. Why don't they offer a four? Your situation with having to use a five bay connector when only needing four for connecting the grounds is exactly what I'm talking about. I've run into that situation myself.
😂 Another example of needing a 4 port Wago 221-X14. I see a trend and a need in the market, lol. Just calling it like I see it. Gimme a 4 conductor port already Wago!!!
At least they're making single inline splices now. A 3x and 4x inline would be nice to have. Someone posted a video about a 3x inline counterfeit WAGO, not the 221 style. After seeing tests of these 20 amp rated WAGO 221 connectors shrugging off 60 amps like it's nothing, I'm sold. They're especially nice for all those light fixtures with stranded wire that's so bleeping difficult to get to stay into a wire nut with solid wire. Even nicer for connections that need 3+ wires into one wire nut, and the wire nut has to be put on 5 or 6 times before all the wires get sufficiently grabbed so none fall out. With a WAGO it's flick, flick, flick and it's all together fast and frustration free. I bought a big assortment box of WAGO 221 connectors and every time I open up anything in the wiring here, off come the wire nuts to get replaced with WAGOs.
Here in Michigan, a contractor bidding for flood repair told me that my metal boxes would have to come out as they are not allowed in residential wiring. That makes no sense to me except maybe to avoid the "hot box" situation. They also did not like that the power came into the garage and then the house was a sub panel off of that small main panel.
00:20 I wouldn't say plastic boxes are inferior. I'm an Electrican in Germany and you will have a hard time finding a metal box in any house or even a home depot (yet still, we have a verry well working system over here). It is just a different philosophy. In North America, you seem to use mostly metal boxes and metal installation tubes which you then connect with each other and the ground system and secute it with a GFCI. In Germany on the other hand, the ground system is only connected with the potentional metal housings of devices via the PE pinns of the power sockets (which is then secured by an RCD). All tubes and boxes are made out of plastic so that in case of a lose hot wire, no ground fault can happen because everything is insulated. From what I have seen it also seems that PVC Boxes are way easier to make water proof becuase the wholes are usually made out of a rubber material that tightfits any cable you might stick through it. I guess the stability argument is in parts true, however I have never seen a wireing box break before (how often do you really step on those?) so I'm not sure how important that feature is... on top of that PVC pipes and Boxes are way easier to work with and lighter. I don't want to say that the american system is bad or that the european system is better. They both work perfectly fine when done right. All i say is just that PVC Boxes are not inferior but only different and that you need to keep different things in mind when working with either of them...
Really good video. Recently did work in the attic and was told to ground the metal box with the added ground wire. This person called it “bonding” the metal box. ??? Thanks again.
As a retired ex-sparky in Australia, can I make some observations? Most junction boxes in use in Australia are the plastic type especially in home installations. Metal junction boxes are usually used in industrial situations where steel conduit is used instead of plastic, for better protection against damage. Earth(or grounding wire as you call it in the US) is ALWAYS insulated stranded cable. I have been out of "the game" for 20 years or so and at that time - and I think it is till the same at the present time - single strand was not allowed for earthing. Over here single stranded cables were being phased out. Your illustration of the junction box shows uninsulated earth cable, also a no-no here and connections in earth connecters have to be 2 screw connecters, normal "hot" cables as you call them, can be single screw connectors. I expect if there any other Aussies looking at this comment, I stand to be corrected, as I said at the start I have been out of it for about 20 years, so I won't take offence if any one corrects me as I am not up with the current electrical regulations.
Plastic sucks for anything that isn't set and forget or where conditions too corrosive for galv'd steel. Plastic has no toughness and distorts and strips out too easily. Has no business in electrical applications where some structural integrity and durability is required. It's usage is synonymous with the designed to fail, one use, under engineered, throw away society the world has devolved into
@@hawthornvalley O really? .. and no it's not obvious. Bet your Made in China hardware comes from same factories as our Made in China hardware. Identical even for common items I'm sure. An interesting observation I've made through the years is how tyrannical and meddling the governments are in these low population countries like Aus, NZ, and Canada nearby. Another is how accepting the populations are of such government intrusions in general. Guess you guys didn't achieve independence from the British Empire early enough to thoroughly erase it's cultural influence.
I just wired up a J-box for the first time using the Wago connectors. Honestly, I thought it would go a lot easier than it did, but most of my difficulty stemmed from having cut my wires a tad too short which forced me to use needle-nose pliers to get the stripped ends into the Wagos. So, what I did wrong (are you listening newbies?) is a) picked a box that was too small, and b) did not leave myself enough working length of wire. It all worked in the end and I'm fairly certain I did not violate any code, but know that the Wagos are a tough way to go when you don't have much room and it's your first go. Other than that, your videos are my go to for doing electrical jobs for the first time. Thanks!
Re-wiring my whole bedroom now, all in MC. You wouldn’t believe the hack job wiring I found. No wire nuts, ungrounded, no strain reliefs, used bent finish nails for staples, a mix of old fabric wires, Romex and EXTENSION CORDS! Criminally incompetent.
Good lord, yeah I am worried about a lot of the new homeowners over the past year. To get offers accepted in many markets they had to bypass inspections (not that inspection catch all issue) so not sure they know what they are getting into especially when buying older homes with all sorts of work done by a wide variety of experiences over the years 😬
@@EverydayHomeRepairs I bought a fixer upper built in 1963. I did have an inspection but even that is only as good as the inspector and remember, these guys work for the realtors. Since I am an electrical type, I have replaced all switches, receptacles and my panel. I was in the attic just yesterday, OMG I about crapped. Someone used an extension cord, splices using cloth tape, etc.....the wiring in the house is mostly #14/2 w/grd. But the grd wire is like an #18 gauge. Its more of a bonding conductor than a ground wire. Under a short circuit the grd conductor would experience a high level of electrical stress (if thats a good term)....Basically, the electrical system WAS a mess....mostly fixed as best it can be....love the videos...
@@EverydayHomeRepairs Yup, about to close on a new (to me) home and one of the things I'm going to be doing is bringing out an electrician. It looks like one of the previous owners installed a 60 amp breaker in a box that has a max limit of 50 amps per breaker. It looks like they were running some high watt power tools through the garage, but those connections are no longer there. In my current home that I'm getting ready to sell, I've changed out literally every switch and every outlet. WAGO connectors throughout, new GFCI outlets. Even installed some new junction boxes in the attic and ran new romex to create a simple on/off switch for a garage light. What I found was an old pull string light with a broken grounding wire that fed an ungrounded exterior non GFCI outlet that then piggy backed to a high watt external flood light that had loose wire nuts and was not installed into a junction box. I'm honestly shocked it hadn't started a fire yet. Appreciate all your videos - looks like I need to head back into my attic to make a minor change to my junction box install based on this video.
My daughter bought a house last year in a rural area with a small outbuilding. Someone used two extension cords to get power to the back corner for a floodlight. Used duct tape on the splice. Charred insulation showed that was not appropriate. Seller had disconnected the feeder at the panel, I could see why!
Hello Everyday Home Repairs! Yes Metal boxes wherever possible to many things are plastic these days like those wire connectors You have used I liked the black Marettes they are Bakelite which handles heat much better ( hard to find now ) even those have changed to the plastic now all these push in methods like back wired receptacles are just a problem in waiting a properly applied marrette twists the wires around each other and makes a far better connection! Cheers!!! Rick Armstrong Aurora Ontario
I'd like to point out that another reason for bonding metal boxes and conduits to ground is for fire protection. Especially if you have a lot of metal conduits and boxes there is no telling where current might find a path to a lower potential and create a fire through resistance. This also makes sure that everything metal all has the same potential so you don't end up getting shocked from just touching two different metal bodies (hint: don't ever remove the ground prong from any appliance for this reason). Forgive me if none of that makes sense because I am fighting the flu and passing the time by watching RU-vid.
Very interesting n informative vid for our novice DIYers to prevent serious injuries n staying safe. Kudos. Sometimes we get lost in the explanations but try to keep focused n learn. Anticipating ur next one to assist us. Peace
What is a 5/32 nut runner? I never heard of that before? You mean nut driver? Where do you commonly see 5/32 nuts? I know 5/16" is popular as the ground screw with 10/32 threads have 5/16 hex head....Just curious?
"...if you have a fire they're not going to melt." - My house is on fire. Not going to lose a lot of sleep over whether or not my $10 plastic junction box melted.
A big thing I love about your videos is your INTEGRITY --- You're not afraid to admit error or ignorance --- and that's what DIY is ALL about ... we learn by trial and error, but more importantly, by the trial and error of others! I don't have to learn that slamming the door on my hand hurts --- I can learn that lesson on the face of the other guy that did it first.
Yeah, but the old video with the errors is still up. This is a problem with RU-vid in general. Put up a video, with honest mistakes, if you are lucky you’ll get millions of views. Then later post a new video with the corrections. It is hard to take down the original and lose the revenue.
Wires as they heat and cool (when current is and then isn't flowing), will expand and contract. This expansion and contraction will work free outlet screws, and strip insulation from the wires over less time than you might imagine.
6-32 is mostly witch screws, 8-32 mostly light light-fixtures screws, 10-32 is ceiling fan rated, grounds screws. I don't use wagos. I've replaced couple failed wagos in junction boxes because of the amount of current going through. Wagos is more like for ballasts and led light fixtures.
If you have an old installation with ungrounded metal boxes and you are replacing an ungrounded receptacle with a GFCI one, then in case of the box becoming live the voltage will go through the ground wire to the equipment case. The GFCI will NOT cut the power. If it happened in a receptacle chained to the load side the GFCI will work.
if you are replacing an old receptacle and the wires come in contact with a tree you are at very high risk of getting struck by lightning three or four times in your lifetime.
If the gfci detects a current diferrence of 0.5 uA between hot and neutral, like if the box becoming live and you touching it, then the gfci will trip. My guess for the situation you described, your using a plug in tester. It likely wouldn't trigger the gfci because it probably shorts the neutral to ground to test the gfci and the ground pin on the receptacle is a dead end. If, however you touched it and it were energized while you were grounded, it would detect the decrease of current on the neutral and pop so you don't get electrocuted.
awesome, I stuck with plastic boxes because of wasnt sure how to ground them, I do now, thanks, the steel ones are better for the reasons you mentioned and how you use the tension built in.
The NM cable (Romex) has to be secured within 6" of the box connector. Use a wire staple suitable for NM cable nailed into the 2x lumber. . Read the code. Use a box with sufficient volume. If you need more room use a box extension. And of course, use a 4x4 metal box cover when done.
You are mistaken. The two basic requirements for securing nonmetallic sheathed cable are: Metallic boxes with cable clamps (factory or field installed) within 12-inches of the box. Nominal 2” x 4” nonmetallic boxes, within 8-inches of the box.
I would think this had been mentioned before, but the ground screws must be 10-32, not 6-32. On another note, you said you got shocked by touching the metal box with the knob and tube wiring. What else were you touching? There is no way you could have been bit unless you were grounded. Electricity must make a complete path. You can become energized with potential (voltage), but unless it has a path to ground, no flow and no shock. This is some good knowledge for DIY'ers. Thanks for sharing.
My Number One beef with DIY electrical work is GFI outlets and dimmer switches. These devices are bulky and often will not fit into existing wiring boxes. In those cases where we absolutely had to upgrade, I have ripped the old box out of the wall and installed a deeper box, along with dry wall repair. Pain in the behonkus!
Exactly, there is no need not to make the boxes 3" deep. Some of the plastic ones even have an extension to the side to tuck the wires into. Working with #14 is easy, #12 a pain, and #10 PITA.
a ninety degree set of needle nose pliers also work. They are surprisingly helpful for grabing wire snakes in the wall, bashing difficult to reach ko's and grabbing stuck wire at the end of the pipe.
Have you seen the ECX! and ECX2 bits from Milwaukee tools. They fit the odd screws that are found on all outlets and switches. They combine a #2 square and flat blade to really fit the screws great. HD carries them in the bits section and also in 11in 1 screwdriver sets sometimes.
It's my understanding that electrical code (Ontario, Canada) requires junction boxes to be easily accessible and not concealed behind drywall, either in the wall or ceiling. With that in mind, should any junction box be attached to a roof truss as shown at 1:40? This has always been my understanding. I needed a few junction boxes when I finished my basement 10 years ago, and have a few white cover plates in the ceiling where they were installed.
they can't be covered by insulation, as I understand it. In an older home, as depicted here, a 2x6 joist will usually be exposed above the insulation in southern states in the US, from my experience (2x4 ceiling joists are generally too low). until the homeowner blows in additional insulation, burying the boxes, at least. as some have suggested, use the roof truss webbing to keep them elevated above the expected insulation levels
@@pgood7266 Thats my take. In the US it doesn't mention "easily", which is too vague. To some people, getting in the attic aint easy. Hell, to some people getting down on the floor or ladder isn't easy :) I have put my share of JBs into technically accessible but tight places, but I always took the time to make the splices bulletproof.
@@efthegop8000 The code doesn't state anything about "easily". In the NEC it states that junction boxes shall be "accessible" (which yes, means they can be in an attic) other items in the code need to be "readily accessible" which means you should not have to get on a ladder to service it.
Here in Ontario the metal boxes all come with a Robertson ground screw. Also I am confident that here code says the ground wire from the line Romex must go directly to the box ground first before any Wago or wire nuts.
To echo what a previous writer said, instead of using a green jumper to the box, I prefer on junction boxes to use the ground wire from the source fed cable to first go around the box ground screw and then extend it to couple to all remaining cable grounds. This increases the probability that you will preserve a solid box ground back to your source in the event your cable connector (whether twist or WAGO style connector) should ever fail. It was previously suggested that this way you also know which is your source cable but that assumes the original installer deliberately chose the source cable's ground to begin with. For my own home, OK, maybe I've always done that, but I wouldn't assume everyone else thinks the same way or got it right 100% of the time so always test with a meter (never assume). Now some light fixtures come pre-equipped with their own green ground wire to chassis, so in those cases, the alternate method has been predetermined for you by the OEM as the ground method to their apparatus (typical also for ceiling fans) but in these cases, the recessed ceiling box to which the fixture mounts, can still enjoy the grounding from the source cable.
Using the "supply" ground directly to the ground screw is in violation of the NEC. Both the ground and the grounded conductor must be pigtailed to the appropriate connection.
@@argekay1960 I'm in Canada so we don't go by the NEC. Not sure if there's been a similar change here. I'm an electrical engineer, not an electrician, so I'm not routinely involved in wiring, mostly industrial controls, but for years, the method I indicated was deemed just fine so I'm curious as to the rational behind the NEC change, particularly as it fails to address my concern where the box can float if the ground jumper fails to adequately contact the true source ground conductor due to an improperly installed twist connector or WAGO style connector.
I usually take a sharpie and write on wire next to romex connector where wires go! Hot from panel, hot out to sw, hot out to recept! Easy to trouble shoot if needed and building inspectors comment positively on it!!
@@ProfessorV. who knows could be just for inspection. Or maybe they were concerned with the source ground breaking at the screw and risk losing all grounding.
At our new house I went to change a bulb in a can light and felt a tingle. I thought I got some hand hair snagged in the can so didn't think much of it. Years later I was crawling up in the attic and I noticed the previous owner had connected the green ground wire to the can to the hot wire along with the black. This is a perfect example of a safety feature being used incorrectly causing a more dangerous condition than if the safety feature didn't even exist. The entire can light was hot and I had got a shock years ago. I lost count on how many times I cursed the person who did this.
@@pgood7266 This is false. Depending on how dry your skin is determines the amount of current that can pass through the skin. Your skin is really not very conductive compared to your blood and internals so it really comes down to the conductivity of your skin at the time the shock happens. Of course taking into account voltage. This is why you don't get shocked touching a 12v car battery.
@@seephor I’m an electrican and I’ve been shocked by 120v many times in my days and no matter how dry your skin is if you get hit by 120 you aren’t going to mistake it for anything else
@@pgood7266 Again, this is false. There are countless factors that go into it. I'll give you an example, if you touch the hot wire and the neutral, you're going to get much more current passing through you than if you touched the hot and bare concrete. Even though the concrete is a ground, it's not a very good one so the resistance of the poor concrete ground will make the shock much less and maybe even unnoticeable. If the concrete were wet, the shock you feel will be greater. If your skin sweaty and you touched that same hot and the bare concrete, the shock will be felt more. The reason why getting shocked by a 20amp 120v circuit generally doesn't kill you is due the skin resistance. It actually takes very little current passing through your heart to kill you so why don't you generally die? Thank your skin because if you stuck probes past your skin and passed 120v 20amp, you will cook internally.
~stares at the thumbnail wondering if narrator will mention that you should put the source line into the center of the WAGO clip~ I found out that you CAN actually put the romex clamp inside the box and put the knut-ring for it on the outside. That's how conduit/armor works and the building inspector can suck fumes. I use a correctly sized and applied gasketed nut for the hot and am ok with waggers for the neutral and grounds.
One thing I also like to tell ppl about electrical work is that the screw heads are actually designed for something called a Combo Bit. They come is sizes C1 and C2. They are a combination of a square drive and a standard slotted drive... basically a Robertson bit with wings...get some and they will change your life for electrical work. They are just as effective as using nut drivers instead of a Phillips or Slotted but save you for having to constantly change sizes. Can't recommend the Klein ones enough! 👍
I believe the metal boxes are much more secure using metal cover plates and are especially good in a garage where you may have open framing. The ground screw bump is another bonus of metal boxes.
Newer grounding screws and pigtails with grounding screws use the new combo head that is cross slotted and S1/Robertson, your bag might be the older style.
Yup. I picked that out 30 seconds into the video. And of course I learned the hard way, I failed an electrical permit years ago because I forgot to ground to the box.
Step ladder...old school! I to, like the "old" clamps for the punch outs. I had a slight, negative feeling when you showed the box without the one clamp installed. Weird, but it must be hard set within me. No clamp-no install (and please don't cheat with electric tape. I've seen that in the past) Nice video.
im a german electrician and the fun thing is i have never seen or used a metal box. didnt even know those exist. btw experience tells its a bad idea to use clip wagos for stiff wire, beter use classic ones here. Had a few errors with them the last years
Your example of the hot leg energizing the unprotected sharp-edged hole in the box: this happens not only because of movement of the unsecured wires but also because of the insulation softening due to heavily-loaded circuits which heats the insulation.
You have the nut on the Romex connector backwards. Notice they are somewhat cup shaped. The concave side goes toward the box, which provides some compression and the ears grab like a lock washer when tightened.
Most of the machine screws when dealing with junction/device boxes will accept a square #1 drive bit. It is especially convenient when applying torque to the machine screws on devices to secure conductors properly without much risk of stripping the head of the machine screw.
Always do your ground wires first then move your wires and the hot wires so when you open the box the hot wires AKA the ones that shoot Sparks are right on top so you can handle them safely.
Im retired now but I always HATED when they started requiring switches to be grounded and then the manufactures put the ground screws in a stupid place that made it hazardous to remove/replace them hot. If they would have configured them just like the receptacles on the lower left, it would have been much better
This is something you might want to address on a future program. In the old days two or three 120 volt circuits could be run through the same box. Of course, that would mean that it could allow for 240volts to be active within the same box. We had a project one time that had a light blowing out over and over again. When we took the fixture down and checked it, it had two hot wires crossed together supplying the fixture with 240, not 120 volts. I'm retired now and having two or more circuits in the same box may be a code violation now, but it used to be legal. Glenn Norris PE
I think the green handle nut driver works on those ground screws. What about the green ground clips? Those go from the edge of the box to the ground. Yes they are a PITA to get them installed but they do work.
Using Wago is one of the biggest issues. After some time due to oxidation of Cu and Al connectors such as Wago may cause fire. All wires in rockets are connected using soldering or welding.
Great advice. I don’t mean to be picky but the ground screws are 8-32 to differentiate them from the 6-32 screws used in devices like switches and receptacles. Also, at least here in Canada, ground screws also take a number 1, or green Robertson screw driver. The slot looks like a Phillips but it actually is meant for either slot or Robertson. Unfortunately a Phillips will fit, but risk camming out. I’ve been installing devices for over 40 years and have never once used a Phillips screwdriver. We hate those things in Canada😀
at 9:10- those ground screws can also be tightened with a 3/8 inch hex driver. I always keep a 5/16 and 3/8 inch in my tool bag. Both have a drilled relief inside the drive end to tighten a nut down on a long threaded shaft as well. The hex driver is more secure and allows for single handed tightening.
I have found that a yellow Robertson will work on the Phillips screws. One can't get full torque but it is good for starting. Yellow is one size smaller than green.
As a Canadian I feel our built-in inside box metal clamps are superior option to the US. The main advantage apart from being metal clamp included in the box, is that you can adjust/pull in more wire later if needed, as oppose to demolishing wall to get to clamp screwed on the outside of the box. Also the box comes with ground screw and terminal for each wire coming in already always installed.
I have been watching + subscribed to your channel and love how you calmed and explained at the speed that to can catch and understand you perfectly. Thx you!
Even though i use bushings or the wire clamps to secure wires in the box, i always attach the grounds so that they would take the strain if the wires were to somehow get pulled, and not the hot/neutral connections.
How about those little spring clamps that were used for grounds? You set a ground wire across the edge of the box, then push them over it to hold it in place. Then, the cover holds both down.
I watched another one of your videos where you showed using a screwdriver, but you also mentioned a tool, and I had never heard of the tool, so I bought three different sizes. I've always done it with the screwdriver, but I think I will hopefully prefer the little wrenches.
Hey another thing I noticed when you use your alignments to hit it with a hammer use the side the big side not the back of it that cuts that destroys alignments in it destroys your warranty too
I always label the box cover and sheathing too for future reference. I.e. Lvng Rm Lights on the cover. The switch keg romex I label Sw Leg. If power comes in on a different romex I label it Load or Power In for clarity.
ground screws have a 5/16 hex. i always carry a 5/16 nut driver in my electrical tools because, as you said, it is a complete pita trying to get them in with a screwdriver.
'metal electrical boxes' over here in the Netherlands we use metal junctionboxes in industry and in some cases metal 'fuse' boxes in larger residential buildings and public buildings. The common thing to use is composites and plastics that won't catch fire. If for whatever reason the insulation fails, you have a rather large surface area that now has electrical potential. It's like using wood to build a BBQ and then get hurt while it goes up in flames. In the industrial and domestic uses of metal boxes i mentioned, the metal is connected to ground and all the electrical components inside are insulated from the metal and fixed in place. The entry points are also made of some sort of plastic, you first drill a hole, then enter and screw tight the 'wartel' as it is called, which protects the cable going in and at the same time fixes it firmly so that accidental pulling doesn't mean the connectors inside get a jolt.
I was wiring up a new Minisplit. I ran a new leg from the panel to the QD box next to the Minisplit. Before exiting the house my Romex needed to go into a water proof conduit. So I used a metal junction box like that with a metal strain clamp. The thing was I didn't need to splice the wire since I was just using the box as a pass through to the conduit. Since it didn't have open wires I didn't bother to ground the box since I had no reason to ground and nothing to ground to. Well... Later when I went to show someone the box and where the conduit was going out I touched the box and got a jolt. It turned out one of the screws had some how cut into the Romex when closing the box and was coming in contact with the hot wire. Even after opening the box I couldn't see the marks on the Romex. I later talked to a certified electrician who said in many places what I had done would have been considered acceptable. Moral of the story: When in doubt, ground it out.
One advantage to the plastic bushings/connectors is they can be installed without removing the wires from the box. Your attic installation should use boxes with brackets, and I'll assume you put some staples on those wires and ran the wires THROUGH the joists or parallel to them, not over the top, right? Leave a loop at each fixture outside the box too, so if you have to move it...
In Ontario Canada the ground wire on the Romex from the upstream box (or breaker panel) has to ground the box first before going to connect to the other grounds. Pigtails in grounds are not allowed
@@stoneblue1795 actually that's a myth. Plenty of rifles and guns in Canada. They're just more regulated so we try to avoid shooting up kindergarteners. But legal weed, hell yeah
In the UK they now only allow plastic back boxes and wiring is easier to understand as the Earth (Ground) is Yellow and Green, the Hot (Live) is Red or Brown and the neutral is Blue…
