Dumb receptacle question...

[ZRX61]

House has those blue plastic boxes in the wall that the doodad mounts to.


Are they actually threaded to hold the receptacle part or do you just buzz a short drywall screw in there?

 

[Shiftless]

You’re kidding right?
Unless somebody else did what you’re suggesting, the standard screws supplied with the electrical device, receptacle or switch, will screw right in.

 

[torqueman2002]

Yup, like these pictures. Amazon sells just the screws, also. (Leviton 6-32 Thread Flat Head Device Mounting Screws)

 

[wyliesdiesels]

do not use a drywall screw. wrong thread type

 

[nadogail]

Another posting that makes me wonder about the person who asked the question. Drywall screws are for drywall.

 

[Norcal]

I use a insert kit like Helicoil to repair stripped plastic boxes, keeps the ability to use the proper 6/32 screws.


Edit: I hate plastic boxes.

 

[pancho400cid]

The plastic boxes aren't threaded, but the cast-in hole is just right so the correct 6-32 (I thought it was 8-32 but I'd trust Norcal over myself on that) machine screw will self-thread. You can buy the right screws in small packs at home depot etc.


...

 

[PugetDude]

#7 or #8 drywall screws work well when the tract-home electricians strip the 6-32 screws out with a screw gun.

 

[ZRX61]

Well these holes are wallowed out like a hookers ******, that's why I asked. It's been years since I worked on this tedious **** & back then the boxes were metal.
I'll get the right screws but it looks like they'll be a bit of plastic welding rod stuffed in the hole first so the screws don't flop around like a snorker in the Holland Tunnel.

 

[ZRX61]

Another posting that makes me wonder about the person who asked the question. Drywall screws are for drywall.

An A&P, been flying lately? I sort this kinda **** out when it goes wrong..

 

[ZRX61]

Yup, like these pictures. Amazon sells just the screws, also. (Leviton 6-32 Thread Flat Head Device Mounting Screws)

Perfect answer

 

[pancho400cid]

wallowed out like a hookers ******

You may need a lag bolt.

 

[mike93lx]

I would probably use a #6 wood screw way before a drywall screw.

Drywall screws are very brittle and only good for hanging drywall

 

[alfredeneuman]

There's no way to get a cover plate tight if you use bugle head drywall screws.
The flares on them are larger than the slots on the devices, thus the heads stick out too far.

 

[rlitman]

The plastic boxes aren't threaded, but the cast-in hole is just right so the correct 6-32 (I thought it was 8-32 but I'd trust Norcal over myself on that) machine screw will self-thread. You can buy the right screws in small packs at home depot etc.


...

They are 6-32, but I've used a tap tree and replaced 6-32 screws with 8-32 when the holes are too loose.

 

[torqueman2002]

Perfect answer

Thanks.

If the screw holes are too wallowed out for the usual screws, try using some pieces of tie wraps to 'tighten' up the hole - like wood tooth picks in a wood door jam/door hinge.

 

[PugetDude]

I would probably use a #6 wood screw way before a drywall screw.

Drywall screws are very brittle and only good for hanging drywall

I know that they're not designed for holding up a 2- ounce receptacle but they are plenty strong. He's not hanging shop cabinets or building a tree house.

You're not going to snap one off screwing into a blue plastic handi-box.

 

[mike93lx]

I know that they're not designed for holding up a 2- ounce receptacle but they are plenty strong.

. If you break the head off, you are stuck. Plus the head design is completely wrong. But use whatever works for you

 

[Old Man Roger]

I'd rather have an "airplane guy" work on my keyboard than have a "keyboard guy" work on my airplane.

So many jokes to be made.lol

 

[PugetDude]

. If you break the head off, you are stuck. Plus the head design is completely wrong. But use whatever works for you

In the real world, drywall screws get used for hundreds of purposes besides hanging drywall. Not saying it's right, just a fact of life. I've done a lot of remodeling and have found (and in a pinch occasionally used) them in places you probably wouldn't approve of.

Favorite trick is to use a drywall screw when you need to hold a piece of base or crown molding away from a wavy or out of square wall a little bit to close up a joint. Sink a drywall screw into the wall behind the molding to create a stop, then adjust it in or out to close the gap and nail off the molding.

I also hang pictures with them...should I be concerned the heads will snap off and my pricelesss lolart collection will come crashing to the ground?

OP I've found quite a few switches and receptacles installed in plastic boxes with drywall screws. Cover plates fit just fine.

Ask a question like that and the answers will range from "just run a drywall screw into the wallowed out hole, put the plate back on and go have a beer" to Oh, f*ck, it's unsafe, you need to re-wire the entire house, get out while you still can."

 

[sberry]

I know that they're not designed for holding up a 2- ounce receptacle but they are plenty strong. He's not hanging shop cabinets or building a tree house.

You're not going to snap one off screwing into a blue plastic handi-box.

I am gonna go with this. I cant recall ever coming across one with a screw broken in it. Like most guys I collect up some stuff and wouldn't have to go to the store for some 6 recept screws, I would use the right screw but it would cause me no loss of sleep to do a repair with a drywall screw or most any other one to get it done.
I certainly aint gonna piddle putting a heli coil in one, would never even occur to do that in a common plastic box.
I very rarely use a drywall screw. I bout got to buy a box when doing drywall, I have just got rid of, don't stock them in our screw bins. We use sq drive decks for general so I was on a job a while back and really had to rummage thru the truck to find a couple general or drywall for some repair, cant even recall what it was but it was just the right thing.
A reasonable repair is what the mechanic is sposed to do most of the time. Be a different matter if the idea was to go thru the house and toss the stock and run drywalls in with the drill.

 

[ZRX61]

So many jokes to be made.lol

LOL!! Even more so now my hair has turned blond

 

[dscheidt]

I know that they're not designed for holding up a 2- ounce receptacle but they are plenty strong. He's not hanging shop cabinets or building a tree house.

You're not going to snap one off screwing into a blue plastic handi-box.

I've replaced plenty of plastic boxes where some knucklehead has driven a drywall screw into the boss, and split it in half, so no device could be properly held. I don't understand why it took until the 2014 code cycle to make this explicitly disallowed.

 

[Farmall450]

I know that they're not designed for holding up a 2- ounce receptacle but they are plenty strong. He's not hanging shop cabinets or building a tree house.

You're not going to snap one off screwing into a blue plastic handi-box.

This ^

 

[ZRX61]

I've replaced plenty of plastic boxes where some knucklehead has driven a drywall screw into the boss, and split it in half, so no device could be properly held. I don't understand why it took until the 2014 code cycle to make this explicitly disallowed.

I might just gives the holes a quick squirt with a hot glue gun.


Btw, the face plate was apparently removed from this receptacle by prying it off...I found a piece about 5/16 x 3/4 still held in place by the screw.

 

[sparky 1971]

Factory device screws are 6/32 X 3/4" long. I have had some success using a longer 6/32 screw and catching some unused threads in the back of the box. If that doesn't work, the drywall screw comes out. If that doesn't work, I tap the hole to 8/32 but that's a pain in the ****.

 

[ZRX61]

I could damn near get a 1/4 20 in there, the lag screw suggestion may have merit.

 

[rlitman]

Factory device screws are 6/32 X 3/4" long. I have had some success using a longer 6/32 screw and catching some unused threads in the back of the box. If that doesn't work, the drywall screw comes out. If that doesn't work, I tap the hole to 8/32 but that's a pain in the ****.

I understand that in the field you can’t carry every tool in the universe on your shoulders, but I keep one of these triple tap trees in my electrical tool bag:


Triple Taps 6-32, 8-32, 10-32 Klein Tools 625-32 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000MAWKZQ/?tag=atomicindus08-20

It’s got a 6-32 on the tip, an 8-32 behind that, and a 10-32 behind that.

 

[sparky 1971]

Why not just change the box then? Undo the wires and straighten them out. Pry the box off the stud with a screwdriver, you may have to reach in and cut the nails with a pair of dykes. Let the old box fall inside the wall. If your lucky, you have a fiberglass box, those you can break into pieces and let them fall. The box stores carry single gang plastic boxes that have internal screws so you can mount it. I have also been known to cut the nail ears off a regular zip box and run screws right through the side into a stud.

 

[coyotehunter]

Never thought of using a helicoil in a plastic box to repair the threads. If they could be found locally and readily available that would be the cats *** for a repair.

 

[sparky 1971]

I understand that in the field you can’t carry every tool in the universe on your shoulders, but I keep one of these triple tap trees in my electrical tool bag:


Triple Taps 6-32, 8-32, 10-32 Klein Tools 625-32 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000MAWKZQ/?tag=atomicindus08-20

It’s got a 6-32 on the tip, an 8-32 behind that, and a 10-32 behind that.

I have that too. I also have the tap with six sizes. It starts at 6/32 and ends at 1/4-20. I also have the Greenlee drill bit/ tap set. What's your point? It's still a pain in the *** going to get a tool that might get used once every six months.

And I don't carry any tools in my shoulders. I am old school and still wear a pouch, but as I get older, it's getting lighter.

 

[ZRX61]

Fixed! Ended up using 3in deck screws. They went in 2in before they found something to thread into.

 

[sparky 1971]

Fixed! Ended up using 3in deck screws. They went in 2in before they found something to thread into.

Congratulations!

 

[ZRX61]

Why not just change the box then? Undo the wires and straighten them out. Pry the box off the stud with a screwdriver, you may have to reach in and cut the nails with a pair of dykes. Let the old box fall inside the wall. If your lucky, you have a fiberglass box, those you can break into pieces and let them fall. The box stores carry single gang plastic boxes that have internal screws so you can mount it. I have also been known to cut the nail ears off a regular zip box and run screws right through the side into a stud.

Because I don't want to have to fix drywall & start painting.

 

[MikeF2316]

I think there's some jokes in this thread that some folks have missed. Cough, cough, helicoil, cough, cough.

I've found a few drywall screws doing this duty in my 1950 house.

 

[torqueman2002]

Well, this was entertaining.

Thanks for the different ideas.

I get very short sighted when it comes to electrical. As a pre-teen in the 50's, I helped my dad wire/re-wire new/existing houses on the weekends. So, I think - how would he have done it.

Ha! You know how long it took me to try LED bulbs.

 

[sparky 1971]

Because I don't want to have to fix drywall & start painting.

You wouldn't have had to fix drywall. That's why we let the boxes fall inside the wall never to be seen again. Might have had to get a larger cover plate though.

Doesn't matter anymore though. You were able to git-r-done.

 

[ZRX61]

Well, this was entertaining.

Thanks for the different ideas.

I get very short sighted when it comes to electrical. As a pre-teen in the 50's, I helped my dad wire/re-wire new/existing houses on the weekends. So, I think - how would he have done it.

Ha! You know how long it took me to try LED bulbs.

I helped my step dad re wire, re pipe, plaster walls & ceilings (not drywall) lay brick, point existing, replace joists & floorboards, restore sash windows, slate roofs, paint & wallpaper etc from age 10 to 16. But that was in the UK in houses over 100 years old. Still can't understand why you guys out here in colonies build homes to fall down in 50 years.

 

[torqueman2002]

... Still can't understand why you guys out here in colonies build homes to fall down in 50 years.

That's good!

 

[ZRX61]

That's good!