Back stab receptacles

N

nizak

Senior Member
Went to a service call where the homeowner was attempting to change a receptacle . He had removed the device ( power still on) and shorted out the hot to neutral conductors.

Called saying that power was out in the living room and bedroom but no breakers had tripped.

First thing I checked was the breaker and it was supplying 120V

Figured a GFCI had tripped somewhere. Not a single one in the house.

Started tracing a path where power was off and led me to a living room receptacle. It had 6 wires stabbed in the back and one showed considerable discoloration and overheating.

Apparently the fault caused just enough arcing at that point to break the wire.

I randomly pulled a number of other devices throughout the house and found several that showed signs of overheating.

40+ years of use with several window AC’s being used over that time.

Ended up getting a job replacing all devices throughout the entire house.
 
Backstabbing should not be allowed. I wouldn't think much of any electrician that would backstab.

This is a perfect example of why the code is inadequate.

They hammer you with meaningless stuff but then allow backstabbing.
 
tom baker said:
Recps used to allow #12 backstab, UL listing changed to #14 only maybe 20 years ago
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I seem to recall it being longer than that. Not trying to make anyone feel old but it is 2025. I know that 1990 seems like it should have only been 20 years ago but it is now 35 years ago.
 
Guess what, when those came out, they were the best thing since sliced bread. A lot of homes were done with backstabs. Legal and totally acceptable. So were 3-wire ranges and a single GFCI in the house. Time has shown maybe that those needed to change. So be it. I would bet dollars to doughnuts that something we are doing correctly now, will be considered hack work in the not-too-distant future.
 
ptonsparky said:
Guess what, when those came out, they were the best thing since sliced bread. A lot of homes were done with backstabs. Legal and totally acceptable. So were 3-wire ranges and a single GFCI in the house. Time has shown maybe that those needed to change. So be it. I would bet dollars to doughnuts that something we are doing correctly now, will be considered hack work in the not-too-distant future.
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It was changed a number of years ago to only permit 14 AWG for the back stabs. Originally you could use 12 AWG.

As far as it being hack work, many, including myself, have always seen backstabbing as "hack" work. The fact that they are listed products and permitted by the code does not change that opinion.
 
I remember receptacles that had back stab terminals and nothing else. 2 terminals per corner IIRC so you could really make a junction out of them with no wire nuts.

Most of my house built 1974 is backstabbed AFAIK. I have not bothered to redo most of them. For a while I was running an air conditioner that really maxed out one circuit and the receptacles were getting warm. So I pulled those receptacles and rewired them to the screws and put them back. But I don't think there was any real damage to the wires or the devices, just getting warmer than I really wanted.

Here in California we can't afford electricity anyway, so my receptacles carry little current.
 
don_resqcapt19 said:
It was changed a number of years ago to only permit 14 AWG for the back stabs. Originally you could use 12 AWG.

As far as it being hack work, many, including myself, have always seen backstabbing as "hack" work. The fact that they are listed products and permitted by the code does not change that opinion.
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I been in the trade since late 1980's, I don't recall ever seeing "new" devices that accepted 12 AWG, but have seen existing ones from installations not too much older than when I started working this trade that accepted 12 AWG.
 
Birken Vogt said:
Here in California we can't afford electricity anyway, so my receptacles carry little current.
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It is your HVAC, possibly laundry or water heating or a pool pump that is significant users of energy. Cooking appliances have short term draw (usually) and don't add as much overall usage as some might think they do. Some of those things can be more of a problem if you pay any demand penalties and use them at the more expensive times of the day.
 
kwired said:
I been in the trade since late 1980's, I don't recall ever seeing "new" devices that accepted 12 AWG, but have seen existing ones from installations not too much older than when I started working this trade that accepted 12 AWG.
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I believe the change by UL was in the early 80s. Not exactly sure.
 
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