Use pigtails on receptacle

[Yi Jin]

I am wiring a 20amp circuit. The #12 seems pretty hard to deal inside the electral box for the with the receptacle.

I notice all the books demonstrates that incoming wires and outgoing ones connect to the seperate screws on the receptacle. Is there any reason not to use a pigtail and connect to the receptacle first, then connect it together in/out wires with a wire nut, just like what is done to a ground wires? That would be much easier than to bend those short and hard #12 wires and try to screw on those 4 hot/neutral wires?

I am talking about the middle of the run, non-split receptacle.

Thanks.

Y.

[indago]

040613 0947 - Yi Jin posted:

It would be beneficial to wire nut the circuit wires together with a pigtail of 14 guage wire to the outlet.

[DanG]

What you are proposing is the preferred way of wiring an intermediate recep.

I do hope you have the deep rough-in boxes to allow more room for wire, wire nuts, pigtails.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Keep the whole world singing. . . . DanG

[PrecisionMachinisT]

14 ga is insufficient for use on a 20A feeder, use 12 ga instead.

[Yi Jin]

Thank you.

As I understand, as long as I have space to put those two extra pigtails and wire two wire nuts in, I am OK with the box. The pigtails and wire nuts don't reduce the number of allowable wires printed on the box, correct?

Y.

In article , DanG wrote: >What you are proposing is the preferred way of wiring an >intermediate recep. >

[Doug Miller]

That's correct -- conductors, no part of which leaves the box, are not counted.

[bill allemann]

It is OK to use 14ga at the end of 20A run, like in this example. Also, using separate posts on a strap to create a circuit passthrough is prohibited in most codes. The "pigtail" as described by the original poster is the correct method.

Bill

[zxcvbob]

Yes you can do that, although the box gets kind of crowded with the pigtails if the box is only marginally big enough to start with. You

*could* even use stranded wire for the pigtails if the outlets will take stranded wires or if you crimp terminals on the ends.

You also might look for heavy-duty back-wired outlets. I'm not talking about the cheap ones that have a stab-lok connector for a #14 wire, but commercial-grade outlets with wire clamps in the back that will take #12 (or even #10) wires. They're not that expensive -- maybe $1 more than the cheap ones -- and they are easy to wire. Just strip the wires, put them in the holes, and tighten the screws on the sides.

Best regards, Bob

[PrecisionMachinisT]

You would need to show me the pertinent code in order to convince me of this, and still it would be unlikely I would do it myself anyways.

Fairly recent, but at least in our area, outlets must be of the heavy duty ( 20amp ) if a 20 A breaker is used to feed the line--the more common outlets are only rated for 15 amps--and they no longer even accept #12 wire into the pushlock terminals.

[Jake]

It is NOT OK to use down-sized conductors ANYWHERE in a residential branch circuit without a overcurrent device suitable to protect the smaller wire.

It IS OK to use a strap on the receptacle, PROVIDED that device has the same rating or higher than the overcurrent device.

I think, from memory (so don't ding me if it isn't exact) the relevant NEC articles are 210-21 (Outlet Devices) and 210-19 (Branch Circuit Conductors).

Having said those two things, here's what I recommend:

If you want to use pigtails, that's OK so long as you've got permissible room in the box and you use the same size wire. I would buy the commercial grade 20 amp recepts. and use the screw-down clamps that a previous poster suggested.

In commercial buildings, and retrofits it is common to use pigtails so that we can replace outlets hot without disrupting the neutral, and to sometimes meet NEC requirements for conductor lengths inside the box... but these systems have conduit and stranded wire instead of the stuff you're working with here.

Jake