Pigtailing neutrals

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480sparky

480sparky

Senior Member
Location
Iowegia
Flex said:
Is there a code that requires you to pigtail neutrals for a receptacle ckt? I found a code for mwbc but not for a single ckt.
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That pretty much sums it up.........
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220/221

Senior Member
Location
AZ
I have noticed that some residential guys always pigtail neutrals.

I assume it was easier to tell them "always pigtail white/blanco" than to actually teach them the reason behind pigtailing the MWBC neutrals at the split point.
 
peter d

peter d

Senior Member
Location
New England
220/221 said:
I have noticed that some residential guys always pigtail neutrals.

I assume it was easier to tell them "always pigtail white/blanco" than to actually teach them the reason behind pigtailing the MWBC neutrals at the split point.
Click to expand...

I remember seeing the work of a major residential contractor in CA that pigtailed all their receptacle connections. Pigtailing? In tract homes? Huh? :-?
 
augie47

augie47

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Tennessee
Occupation
State Electrical Inspector (Retired)
220/221 said:
I have noticed that some residential guys always pigtail neutrals.

I assume it was easier to tell them "always pigtail white/blanco" than to actually teach them the reason behind pigtailing the MWBC neutrals at the split point.
Click to expand...


I've resorted to that same logic on a number of requirements in the past.
Sometimes due to the complexity if the Code, the "denseness" of the installer and/or variances in local regulations. Sometimes its simplier to have a "shop policy" than try to sort out when and when not to.
 
W

wawireguy

Senior Member
In residential it adds uneeded costs to the install. It's not required for the most part and just adds time to the install. If your guys can't figure out when to pigtail and when not to you need to do some training. This is supposed to be a professional trade(some of us) and a "electrician" should be able to make basic judgement calls like this.
 
T

tajaj

Member
Gee i feel bad but i have always pigtailed, sure i used to do mostly commercial and industrial but for the last few years i have been doing residential work. Just from my experiance in my opinion pigtailing seems to give less trouble with loose connections and it is easier to locate trouble when a connection fails, yes i have seen pigtail connections fail but far more feed through failures. this may be due to the number of each in the field but i dont feel under trained or stupid for pigtailing and testing all my circuits before rough inspection. The local requires all grounding be complete for rough so i just make it all at once yep it may cost me $30.00 in labor but i work fast so it's all awash. Again i dont think i am under trained but maybe i'm just hard headed. then again i am a junior member. I did'nt know blanco was white until i looked it up today, well they say you learn somthin ever day,that should do me for today.
 
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Fulthrotl

Fulthrotl

~Autocorrect is My Worst Enema.~
Location
HB, CA (19 Hrs. 22 Min. from Winged Horses)
Occupation
E
peter d said:
I remember seeing the work of a major residential contractor in CA that pigtailed all their receptacle connections. Pigtailing? In tract homes? Huh? :-?
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i like it. :D

it's not like the east coast in califonia. here, you can wear flip flops year round,
and put surfboards on your ladder rack, without looking out of place.

try that in boston, and see the looks you get....:D

and here, we don't have different types of electricity like you do on the
east coast... the electricity that overheats devices in commercial occupancies
and causes fires in commercial buildings is very similar here to the electricity
we use in our residential services.

it's because SONGS is so close... makes the electricity fresher and zappier.
 
F

Flex

Senior Member
Location
poestenkill ny
Your at the box splicing the ground anyway whats an extra minute compared to saved time when you device out. We pigtail everything but I don't hate on anyone who doesn't.
 
A

arman

Member
i think that pigtail is always good if you want to avoid burned receptacles
or burned houses.
you can never predict how the owner will use this outlets and by backfiding receptacles it is possible to get the upstream one burn wen the downstream one is overloaded.or wen you have a unbalance load downstream.
 
byourdesky

byourdesky

Member
Location
vista,ca
wawireguy said:
If your guys can't figure out when to pigtail and when not to you need to do some training. This is supposed to be a professional trade(some of us) and a "electrician" should be able to make basic judgement calls like this.
Click to expand...

I pigtail if there are receptacles after the one in question but not at end of the line....that gets no "tail" :wink:
 
W

wawireguy

Senior Member
I didn't mean that guys that pigtail out of choice need training but the idea that your guys do if they do it because they don't have a clue. I agree it's a better system but if you're bidding against the guys that don't it adds time.
 
K8MHZ

K8MHZ

Senior Member
Location
Michigan. It's a beautiful peninsula, I've looked
Occupation
Electrician
In residential it adds uneeded costs to the install.
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To me that's like saying pain medications just add unneeded cost to post-op care.

I pig tail everything and don't see it as much time wasted, especially come trim out.

I do like the guys that don't pig tail, though. The practice is great for shutting down entire portions of homes when one receptacle gets a bad connection. I sure make more money troubleshooting a half a house than I do one receptacle!

Thanks guys!
 
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