Pig tailing receptacles

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nizak said:
Looking for some feedback on pig tailing conducters before attaching to receptacles.

I'm not talking about MWBC installs.

This is just residential wiring with 14/2 and 12/2 NM cable.

My current way is attaching to receptacle side screws, not back stabbing.

Is it a better quality install by tailing and not feeding thru the device?

I have never knowingly had any issues from the way I do it, but have had inspectors tell me on occasion they would prefer to see the wires tailed.

Thanks
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IMO it's a slightly more superior way to terminate (with the pig tails) but in this production sensitive dog eat dog low cost world we live in, ..... an expense that cannot be justified.
 
romex jockey said:
How many countries allow 15A devices on a 20A circuit?
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It's not a big deal if you understand that a 15a receptacle is a plug-rejecting feature and not an electrical rating. 15a and 20a receptacles of a given device line are internally identical.
 
LarryFine said:
It's not a big deal if you understand that a 15a receptacle is a plug-rejecting feature and not an electrical rating. 15a and 20a receptacles of a given device line are internally identical.
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Thank you for a succinct way of putting what I've been trying to tell people for a decade. I will remember that.
 
Since I consider every wire that's squeezed against another or under a screw to be one connection, I've always counted the typical receptacle pig-tailing to be 8 connections versus only 4 if you don't.
Therefore, IMO not pig-tailing is twice as good.
 
RAKocher said:
Since I consider every wire that's squeezed against another or under a screw to be one connection, I've always counted the typical receptacle pig-tailing to be 8 connections versus only 4 if you don't.
Therefore, IMO not pig-tailing is twice as good.
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I've tried three times and can't wrap my head around what you are trying to describe.
 
MAC702 said:
I've tried three times and can't wrap my head around what you are trying to describe.
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There are 3 wires in the pigtail... line in, line out and the pigtail. That's 3 connections. LIn-LOut, LIn-Pigtail, LOut-Pigtail. There's a 4th connection between the other end of the pigtail and the device.

Personally, I think that's over-thinking the subject... how many hundreds of splices and connections are there between you and Hoover Dam?
 
kwired said:
Mostly North America or anyone else using any North American standards. If they use IEC standards they don't have 15 amp devices or 20 amp circuits;)
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Canada has its own standards and code book. And no, our code does not allow us to put a 15 amp receptacle on a 20 amp circuit. We are also limited to 12 outlets on any circuit.


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Eddy_Current said:
Canada has its own standards and code book. And no, our code does not allow us to put a 15 amp receptacle on a 20 amp circuit. We are also limited to 12 outlets on any circuit.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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But you do have 20 amp circuits, IEC standards have such things as 13, 16, 32, 64 amp plugs and/or circuits, yet they want to go with SI units based on "units of 10" for everything else :huh:
 
LarryFine said:
It's not a big deal if you understand that a 15a receptacle is a plug-rejecting feature and not an electrical rating. 15a and 20a receptacles of a given device line are internally identical.
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Thank you Larry

That there exists many manufactured electrical apparatus that would take up 70 odd % of the ocpd as a continual load begs the weak link in the circuit.

How many times have we seen, for ex., space heaters do bad things?

~RJ~
 
romex jockey said:
Thank you Larry

That there exists many manufactured electrical apparatus that would take up 70 odd % of the ocpd as a continual load begs the weak link in the circuit.

How many times have we seen, for ex., space heaters do bad things?

~RJ~
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too many, and it doesn't matter if receptacle is pigtailed or not. I've probably seen more melted cord caps and receptacle contacts than failed supply wire terminations involving space heaters or other similar loads.
 
kwired said:
too many, and it doesn't matter if receptacle is pigtailed or not. I've probably seen more melted cord caps and receptacle contacts than failed supply wire terminations involving space heaters or other similar loads.
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So what's the deal with space heaters? Are they just not made to handle the load continuously and they are used that way?

Edit: Or maybe it's the heavy load on then off, so a constant heating/cooling of the contact points?
 
oldsparky52 said:
So what's the deal with space heaters? Are they just not made to handle the load continuously and they are used that way?

Edit: Or maybe it's the heavy load on then off, so a constant heating/cooling of the contact points?
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Many high load appliances don't run for very long and therefore heating of any poor contact points doesn't get as severe before it is allowed to cool again. Even something like a high wattage cooking hotplate, only heats until a setpoint is reached and then cools before there is demand for heat again. Space heaters tend to run long or even literally endless cycles so heating of poor connections keeps going.

When you see a melted down receptacle or cord cap, space heater is the load involved probably 90% of the time as it is a near continuous load that kept working on the meltdown. Other more intermittent loads still cause failures, but is from short cycling causing expansion and contraction and eventually connection gets in worse condition until eventually it doesn't conduct anymore (or at least doesn't conduct well enough to work as is expected)
 
kwired said:
too many, and it doesn't matter if receptacle is pigtailed or not. I've probably seen more melted cord caps and receptacle contacts than failed supply wire terminations involving space heaters or other similar loads.
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Now i'm wondering what statistically would be the 'weak link'..... :? ~RJ~
 
romex jockey said:
Now i'm wondering what statistically would be the 'weak link'..... :? ~RJ~
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I'd say most the time poor contact in a 59 cent receptacle, or if cheap TR type maybe closer to a buck.

Occasionally cord cap has already been weakened by being plugged into the 59 cent receptacle then they move the heater to a decent spec grade receptacle and the already compromised cord cap begins heating and degrading the condition of the spec grade receptacle.
 
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