Who makes a backstab outlet/switch that the wire is tightened in with a screw. After a couple of problems in my home I want to change them all out and I prefer not to haveto restrip and bend all those connections. One manufacturer had an industrial quality connector but I could only find them in brown. Wife would not go for that.
Jimmie
Those are made for stranded wire. I am sure just about everyone carries them. You can, of course, use them with solid.
Do you have a real electrical supply convenient to you? not a hardware store or big box. They will know what you're talking about. BTW you are looking for a "back wire" not "backstab" receptacle.
back wire = good; has the little clamps under the screws to hold a straight wire in
backstab = teh suck
side wire = good, but you have to loop the wires around the screws.
nate
Cover them in whipped cream.
Leviton BR15 or CR15. My local home depot carries them individually and in a 10-pack.
Cheers, Wayne
You forgot to mention that you can't trust backstab outlets, they're real weasels. I don't like working around them.
TDD
Cooper makes a receptacle with a screw down clamp where you don't need to bend the wire into a loop. Lowes sells them. You may have to restrip some wires as you will find some of the ends will break off after removal from the old receptacle. The best way to go is pigtailing multiple conductors.
Wouldn't it be easier to change the wife? Lou
Are they backstab now? If so, why do you want to replace them with new ones that will be just as much a problem as you are having now? If they are screwed in now you will have to rebend them straight. If the ends are now straight you will not have to do that much work to strip a little more wire and bend them. It is not that big a deal if you want the job done right.
Mike D.
Wouldn't it be easier to just get a new wife? Lou
Those are called "spec grade" receptacles.
Not all spec grade receptacles have this feature. I have some Leviton spec grade receptacles that I bought for an upstairs bedroom; they do not have the "back wire" feature. I'm not real broken up about this, but the OP did specify what he wanted. I'd specify a brand/model if I knew, but I just know that they exist.
nate
He doesn't actually want backstab (where the wire contact is springy), he wants back-wire outlets with a screw to hold the wire. I think that is clear from the description (see above); he just didn't use the correct term.
Dave
Pass & Seymour/LeGrand has eight different colors. Many of their back wired are screw clamped, but their cheapo TradeMaster line may not since it is rated 14 ga only. Most box stores in the midwest have them, as well as our local electrical distributor. Keep looking, you're sure to find what you want.
Joe
Agree that the bending and fitting to the terminals is no big deal- I replaced the 2-hole outlets in this place (yes, the boxes were grounded), and rewired the reversed-polarity grounded outlets. A pair of good and large needle-nose helps a lot. However, the monkey wrench in all this is if the guy that wired it didn't leave any slack in the wall, and the wires are not long enough (like if the end breaks off or something.) I had a few that were a real struggle to get around the screws, and still manage to fold everything back into the wall.
IMHO, outlet/switch boxes need to be deeper, and code should say no stud staples closer than a foot from the box, with at least 3 extra wire inches between the last staple and the clamp on the box. It would add a couple bucks to the price of the house, but make life a lot easier for the guy 20 years later doing the upkeep. When you wire, be kind to the next poor SOB that is going to be in there- I always TRY to, at least.
-- aem sends...
I've also used the Levitons and I liked the positive connections and the easy back wiring. Just strip and tighten. I got mine bulk packed at Home Depot.
Bernie
That's only because Americans make crap. They could be made better and work properly.
Huh?
Consider the JDAM (Joint Defense Attack Munition). It's a bolt-on guidance system for legacy gravity bombs. Using GPS it can direct the bomb to within thirty feet of the programmed target from a release point up to fifteen miles away.
With it, we can kill beaucoup boogers!
At about $30,000 a pop, they're far cheaper than $750,000 for a Tomahawk for the same happy package.
How can one forget the TV jingle:
JDAM guidance saves a lot, Precise boom is what it's got, Kills 'em faster, better too, JDAM bomb is the bomb for you.
But you forgot the cause and effect. Big Box came along and told us the only thing we want is cheap, cheap, cheap and they delivered on the promise. Some call it the Walmart syndrome. Give most people a choice between quality at a fair price and cheap, cheap, cheap and most will pick cheap. So we get what we have been trained by big box to want.
I don't recall asking for cheap, cheap, crappy, crappy backstab outlets. I also don't see a big problem curling the end of a wire to fit around a screw; take what, 2 seconds?
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.