Back stabbed devices

[jmellc]

Did a service call this week where customer had no power on a whole room full of receptacles. I found 5 out of the 7 had very loose neutrals on stablock connections. Some had loose hots too. I pigtailed all & they were fine.

Stablocking is 1 of the worst methods ever allowed for electrical work. I hope it stops somewhere along the line. I still can't believe code forced AFI so hard, but still allowed stablocking. Over 90% of my service calls about receptacles over the years have been at least partially caused by it.

 

[Dennis Alwon]

This has been debated many times and I am on your side. At one time stab lock was allowed with #12 wire. Now 14 gauge is only allowed in the device

 

[bradleyelectric]

Money is made by requiring AFI and not by removing stablocks. If a manufacturer would decide to retool without stablocks and thinks he could get get it into the code cycle in such a way that he could boost a quarters earnings at a good time for him and grab marketshare before others retooled stablocks will get removed. Probably not till then.

 

[ceknight]

Money is made by requiring AFI and not by removing stablocks.

Money is made by me for replacing stablocks. I'm all for them.

 

[jmellc]

Yes, I'm glad to earn troubleshooting $, but I also have an aversion to sloppy work. Stablocking is sloppy to the max.

 

[growler]

I still can't believe code forced AFI so hard, but still allowed stablocking. Over 90% of my service calls about receptacles over the years have been at least partially caused by it.

The stablocks don't work very well in the long run but I'm not sure they are all that dangerous. They do have UL approval so they are allowed by code. The NEC is conserned with safety and not function or reliability.

I have seen many of the stablocks so loose they just popped out of the receptacle but they didn't start a fire.

 

[laketime]

Yes, I'm glad to earn troubleshooting $, but I also have an aversion to sloppy work. Stablocking is sloppy to the max.

may be sloppy but allowed by code and fast.

 

[LarryFine]

Just to mention it, Stab-lok is an FP breaker-to-bus plug-in connection style. You're talking about back-stabbing receptacles and switches. I agree that it's historically a poor connection method, and never use it in new work.

 

[failelectric]

I serviced a lot of screw tite devices that were not tight, same effect in the end.

 

[stevebea]

I serviced a lot of screw tite devices that were not tight, same effect in the end.

Yes, but that is an installer error not poor product design.

 

[G._S._Ohm]

A quote from this book
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Blind,_Flying_Safe
may apply here. It is
"not enough people have died yet."

As far as approval by agencies, you could try searching "regulatory capture."

 

[Sam Moore]

Can't understand how they're allowed, but I make good, easy money off replacing them

 

[cowboyjwc]

Never really had a problem with it my self, really no worse that wrapping it around the screw and then not tightening down the screw properly.

 

[bluesmoke...oops]

Never really had a problem with it my self, really no worse that wrapping it around the screw and then not tightening down the screw properly.

But again, that is an installer error, not a design failure.

 

[cowboyjwc]

But again, that is an installer error, not a design failure.

That is true.

 

[kwired]

Did a service call this week where customer had no power on a whole room full of receptacles. I found 5 out of the 7 had very loose neutrals on stablock connections. Some had loose hots too. I pigtailed all & they were fine.

Stablocking is 1 of the worst methods ever allowed for electrical work. I hope it stops somewhere along the line. I still can't believe code forced AFI so hard, but still allowed stablocking. Over 90% of my service calls about receptacles over the years have been at least partially caused by it.

But if the loose connection is arcing the AFCI should trip right maybe.

Money is made by requiring AFI and not by removing stablocks. If a manufacturer would decide to retool without stablocks and thinks he could get get it into the code cycle in such a way that he could boost a quarters earnings at a good time for him and grab marketshare before others retooled stablocks will get removed. Probably not till then.

Just like AFCI's that would not put that product design into code if only one manufacturer makes it available.

Besides I can and have been able to buy devices without a push in connection for as long as I can remember. Most specification grade devices do not have the push in connections - insert from rear and clamp down pressure plate yes. There is also plugtail and other similar devices although I have never used them so can't tell you what I think of them.

 

[curt swartz]

I backwire all receptacles and switches on 15 amp circuits and have never had a call back in 27 years. I always pigtail and never depend on the device for feed through. Most of the failures I have seen have been side wired devices. Pigtailing has been pretty much standard in my area even for the track guys.

 

[goldstar]

OK, here we go again. Here are my gripes with back-stabbing:

(1) While the method may be UL approved it's not the best connection method and it's designed for speed. I find back-stabbing mostly done in track-built houses where time truly is $$. When you buy the receptacle (or switch) you buy it with the screws all the way out. The installer simply strips the wire, stabs it in and moves onto the next device. This may not seem to be a big deal when you have one duplex receptacle in a single plastic box, but if you have multiple switches in a 2-4 gang box the screws are too close to the next device and can become a shock or arc flash hazard.

(2) If you are back-stabbing a switch for a lighting circuit, in all probability the only thing that can lose power is that lighting circuit. If you're back-stabbing receptacles (and let's say that you have 8 receptacles cascaded on a circuit) the first receptacle on the circuit is taking the heat for everything plugged in down stream. If a homeowner is lucky enough the fork holding the wire inside the receptacle will just heat up due to the amperage, spread open and have the wire fall out. Those that are unlucky will have the wire arcing and heating up inside the receptacle causing it to burn.

Stop and think about this - If the stabs inside a receptacle were that reliable why wouldn't the NEC allow you to use them as neutral feed-thru's in a MWBC rather than having you wire nut the neutrals together ?

 

[iwire]

Stop and think about this - If the stabs inside a receptacle were that reliable why wouldn't the NEC allow you to use them as neutral feed-thru's in a MWBC rather than having you wire nut the neutrals together ?

The NEC does not allow us to use the screw terminals for MWBC neutral feed through either.

 

[jimport]

Could someone please explain why the problem seems to always show up on the neutral side and not the hot?