3 Separate Switches on Single Source in 1 box

[brachus12]

I'm preparing to wire in the switches for my overhead lights.

I have a deep plastic 3 gang box for this task. I want to mount three switches, each running off to a separate string of lights, but incoming is only a single power source.

Do I need to use the pigtail method for the hot wires? I ran across a handyman site that showed you could just keep the hot input long, strip the insulation from small sections and wrap that around the incoming screw on the switch. So a single wire that physically touches all three switches.

Next what about the grounds? No way I could get a large enough cap for single source plus the three pigtails for the switches and then the three runs to the lights. Any suggestions there as well?

Thanks,

 

[sammm]

Take a 12-2 from your panel to your switchbox and then pigtail from that one hot to all the switches.

 

[pattenp]

First off what size wire are you dealing with? You can string the one hot wire as shown on the Handman site. With three switch circuits you should have 4 neutrals and 5 grounds to wire nut. You can get wire nuts that will hold 5 #14 or 4 #12. Just pig tail a continuous ground to the switches.

 

[Kevin C]

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Broan-NuTone-White-3-Function-Rocker-Switch-Wall-Control-66W/100599268?N=c33w#specifications

Another option- What I used in my shop...

 

[brachus12]

Forgot to mention that... It's 12/2

 

[larry_g]

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Broan-NuTone-White-3-Function-Rocker-Switch-Wall-Control-66W/100599268?N=c33w#specifications

Another option- What I used in my shop...

X2 on this switch. Have one just installed in the bathroom. makes things easy.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[tylernt]

I ran across a handyman site that showed you could just keep the hot input long, strip the insulation from small sections and wrap that around the incoming screw on the switch. So a single wire that physically touches all three switches.

I'm not aware of any NEC codes prohibiting this, but it's faster and easier to just use pigtails in my opinion. Cutting out sections of insulation is a pain, and your inspector may not like it.

Next what about the grounds?

Now, for bare ground wire I do like to "rabbit ear" those as you described earlier -- one wire run continuously and looped around all the ground screws. I also rabbit-ear the ground bonding screw on metal boxes (and my inspector is fine with that). You may still need a small ground pigtail if other cables leave the box bound for other locations, but a "greenie" wire nut (one with a hole in the end) is ideal for that.

EDIT: If you have too many wires to go under one nut, you can put half of the connections under one nut, and the other half of the connections under a second nut, then run a pigtail between the two nuts.