Outlets series OK or parallel necessary

[machsnell]

So I wired my garage with alternating 20 amp 12 wire and 20 amp outlets.

I wired them in series mostly and not in parallel unless I had an outlet separated from lower run and had 3 wires in the box

I have gfci outlets on the start of each circuit to protect the entire circuit.

My question is do I need to redo all of my outlets to have pigtails and be wire in parallel or am I safe the way they are?

I did a good job no backstabbing and tight circles and tightened well on all the screws.



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[wyliesdiesels]

Umm i think youre using the wrong terminology.

Outlets would have to be wired in parallel to work.

I think what youre referring to is that u connected them outlet to outlet instead of pigtailing?

Do u have a pic?

 

[machsnell]

Also will it pass inspection that way?

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[machsnell]

Yes that is it. I connected the source wire on the top screws and the outgoing wire to the lower screws.

They are both connected with metal so I didn't think it mattered but I did so anyway



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[pattenp]

You wired them like this...

 

[machsnell]

Yes sir.

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[simpler=better]

Sounds like you're good to go.

Some people don't like doing it that way (makes the outlet part of the chain and not just a consumer) but it's legal

 

[machsnell]

Thank god. I enjoyed wiring them up but I really didn't want to have to do it again.

Thanks for the advice all!

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[nadogail]

IMHO the blacks and whites should be connected like the grounds.
Wire nutted together with a third conductor going to the receptacle. This will allow the other receptacles to keep working if one should fail.

Also the other receptacles can remain in service if one has been removed for any reason.

 

[zmaxmotorsports]

You wired them like this...

I prefer to pigtail them myself,loosing a jumper on one of the outlets will still kill the rest of the circuit if you wire them like the picture.

 

[zmaxmotorsports]

IMHO the blacks and whites should be connected like the grounds.
Wire nutted together with a third conductor going to the receptacle. This will allow the other receptacles to keep working if one should fail.

Also the other receptacles can remain in service if one has been removed for any reason.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

Yeah the prefered method is pigtails but not required!

 

[Slowgsr]

I usually bring both bonds under the bonding screw on the box, cut one flush and leave the other long to the device.

I never pigtail unless it's #10 or #8 for line loss and the wires too big to terminate.

 

[Shiftless]

I usually bring both bonds under the bonding screw on the box, cut one flush and leave the other long to the device.

I never pigtail unless it's #10 or #8 for line loss and the wires too big to terminate.

I assume you are talking just about the grounding wires (green or bare) under the bonding screw on the box.
OP was asking about the black and white wires. I too like to pigtail for the above mentioned reasons.

 

[CJ7VFR]

For the electrical jobs I have done around my house, I have done it 50/50 with pigtails or not.

If I am only adding in a few (two or three) receptacles, then I will just daisy chain the wires using the screws and bus bar on the receptacles.

If I am adding more than three, then I use pigtails everywhere. This has saved me more than once when I had to remove a receptacle but leave the rest of the circuit working. The pigtails made it easy to just remove the receptacle and wire nut off the ends of the wire going to that receptacle so that the entire circuit was still working until I had time to replace the removed receptacle.

Jim

 

[ExxWhy]

In the rare case of temporarily removing a receptacle, it's not too difficult to wire nut the wires together if you need to have power downline. For the small amount of electrical work I do, I prefer using the back clamp style receptacles, very secure connections and easy easy.

 

[LS6 Tommy]

IMHO the blacks and whites should be connected like the grounds.
Wire nutted together with a third conductor going to the receptacle. This will allow the other receptacles to keep working if one should fail.

Also the other receptacles can remain in service if one has been removed for any reason.

The "downstream" recepts will still work if one fails. No current flows through one receptacle to the next. I swear I posted this exact info a while back.


Tommy

 

[checkthisout]

It's fine.

Downfalls to pigtails:

1) more wire nuts

2) more connection points in circuit that increase resistance and can fail (I'll get burned on this one).

3) More wire to have to fit into the box

Benefits:

1) Easier to push the receptacle into the box since you only have to fold 3 wires instead of 5

2) Pigtailed outlets can be made up beforehand

3) Losing benefit #2, you can easily leave the outlet out or remove it and still maintain downstream power. This is handy if you are doing a remodel project and need nearby outlets working while you texture, paint and trim out a room.

 

[Syberia]

I've always used the screws. How exactly does a solid, immobile buss bar between two screws fail? Usually the thing that fails are the contacts inside, which have nothing to do with the connection between the screws.

 

[zmaxmotorsports]

The "downstream" recepts will still work if one fails. No current flows through one receptacle to the next. I swear I posted this exact info a while back.


Tommy

What happens to the downstream outlets when he loses a jumper on one of those outlets ?

 

[zmaxmotorsports]

I've always used the screws. How exactly does a solid, immobile buss bar between two screws fail? Usually the thing that fails are the contacts inside, which have nothing to do with the connection between the screws.

Youve never seen one burned up? Ive seen more than one over the years.
The city of omaha wont sign off on a residential rough in unless all the wires are tailed out for the device to be installed,Its been that way since the 80s atleast.

 

[Cmreschke]

I have a q for the op. Are these part of a multi wire circuit (shared neutral between 2 circuits) or individual circuits (1 ckt per neutral)?

 

[machsnell]

These are all individual circuits. 20 amp with 6 to 10 duplexes per circuit.

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[LS6 Tommy]

What happens to the downstream outlets when he loses a jumper on one of those outlets ?

That wasn't the question. The question was what happens when the OUTLET fails.

Seriously, it happens. It's happened to me. It's also really rare. When it does happen, you have to replace the receptacle regardless of what it's feeding down stream, so IMO, it's not really a benefit to use pigtails just for that reason.

Tommy

 

[Cmreschke]

Op your fine, it's done every day. Pigtails or no pigtails is like arguing grounds up or grounds down.

 

[nh_yota]

Whatever you do, never use the back stab connectors, always use the screw or the clamp.

 

[machsnell]

Got it thanks all

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[My Old Tools]

There is a difference between spring loaded back stab and back clamping. Back clamping work great, very secure, and save a ton of time bending wires around screws.

 

[malibu101]

There is a difference between spring loaded back stab and back clamping. Back clamping work great, very secure, and save a ton of time bending wires around screws.

The difference is what you said above-- spring pressure stab versus screw clamp.
Nothing at all wrong with clamps. Very commonly used where stranded wires are used.
Spring pressure back stabs are a loose connection waiting to happen. Period.

 

[Speedy Petey]

Youve never seen one burned up? Ive seen more than one over the years.
The city of omaha wont sign off on a residential rough in unless all the wires are tailed out for the device to be installed,Its been that way since the 80s atleast.

Sure, I've seen it. Literally as many times as I have seen a failed wire nut splice.
Do it right and it won't fail, either way you do it.

The arguments given for pigtailing are lame IMO. "If you have to remove a device they all keep working", or "If one fails the others keep working".
Again, legitimate but lame in the real world scope of things. Again, do it right and it won't fail.

Does Omaha have a written amendment for this overkill practice?

 

[Cmreschke]

And the main reason to pigtail is to dummy proof it for the morons. If you go to replace a device, it doesn't matter if you interrupt the circuit down stream, since, the circuit should be OFF!!!

Just like taping a recep or switch prior to installing it. I don't really care if someone works on it when I'm done, it's not taped, if they get shocked by it then that person has failed the most basic of safety rules. SHUT THE POWER OFF!!!

 

[Slowgsr]

I assume you are talking just about the grounding wires (green or bare) under the bonding screw on the box.
OP was asking about the black and white wires. I too like to pigtail for the above mentioned reasons.

Bonding wires, bonding screws. Terminology isn't that important - but the only ground wire is at a services point of entry.

 

[Speedy Petey]

Bonding wires, bonding screws. Terminology isn't that important - but the only ground wire is at a services point of entry.

This is because Canada has MUCH better terminology than us.

 

[zmaxmotorsports]

Sure, I've seen it. Literally as many times as I have seen a failed wire nut splice.
Do it right and it won't fail, either way you do it.

The arguments given for pigtailing are lame IMO. "If you have to remove a device they all keep working", or "If one fails the others keep working".
Again, legitimate but lame in the real world scope of things. Again, do it right and it won't fail.

Does Omaha have a written amendment for this overkill practice?

Every inspector Ive ever dealt with in omaha over the years has had the same rule,Im sure I could make a phone call and get a copy of it in writing.

 

[zmaxmotorsports]

And the main reason to pigtail is to dummy proof it for the morons. If you go to replace a device, it doesn't matter if you interrupt the circuit down stream, since, the circuit should be OFF!!!

Just like taping a recep or switch prior to installing it. I don't really care if someone works on it when I'm done, it's not taped, if they get shocked by it then that person has failed the most basic of safety rules. SHUT THE POWER OFF!!!

Sometimes its not possible/feasable to turn the power off.
The main reason I tape outlets/switches is so I know that I did the job/was the last one in there if I have to come back 5 years later to look at something,it also slows idiots down from messing with things.
Its a habit from left over from my early days in the trades doing commercial work with metal boxes and plaster ears I guess.
And yes I do tape wire nuts on in machinery that rattles/shakes a lot,Again it also keeps maintenance monkeys from messing with stuff.

 

[egdede]

If you haven't pulled every single wire in the entire structure yourself you should pigtail. This is because breaking a circuit by disconnecting a outlet can cause sometimes cause serious problems in a shared neutral circuit (220v)!!!
Shared neutral circuits use one neutral wire to serve 2 circuits. These circuits are powered by the opposite side of the 110 legs feeding a structure. So, if the both breakers are not tripped, and a circuit is interrupted, the non-interupted circuit can be fed with 220v!!!

Tracking shared neutral circuits can be tricky at best (when they have been installed by professionals to the code requirements of their time), or impossible (when shade tree electricians have worked their magic). So, unless you really know how every outlet is powered (where each wire comes from), the only way to really ensure you don't send a 220 surge somewhere else by breaking a circuit when pulling an outlet even when a switch is thrown for the outlet you are working on is by throwing your main or using pigtails.

Pigtails need bigger boxes. But, done right, make for easier work in the future.

 

[egdede]

The arguments given for pigtailing are lame IMO. "If you have to remove a device they all keep working", or "If one fails the others keep working".
Again, legitimate but lame in the real world scope of things. Again, do it right and it won't fail.

Please see my above post. Think of your whole house as being a shared neutral circuit. (One neutral and two hots). Think what happens if a neutral is disrupted at the pole!!!

 

[wyliesdiesels]

If you haven't pulled every single wire in the entire structure yourself you should pigtail. This is because breaking a circuit by disconnecting a outlet can cause sometimes cause serious problems in a shared neutral circuit even if the breaker is thrown for the circuit being worked on!

Shared neutral circuits use one neutral wire to serve 2 circuits. These circuits are powered by the opposite side of the 110 legs feeding a structure. So, if the both breakers are not tripped, and a circuit is interrupted, the non-interupted circuit can be fed with 220v!!!

Tracking shared neutral circuits can be tricky at best (when they have been installed by professionals to the code requirements of their time), or impossible (when shade tree electricians have worked their magic). So, unless you really know how every outlet is powered (where each wire comes from), [/b]the only way to really ensure you don't send a 220 surge somewhere else by breaking a circuit when pulling an outlet even when the breaker is thrown for the circuit you are working on is by throwing your main or using pigtails.[/b]

Pigtails need bigger boxes. But, done right, make for easier work in the future.

If one breaker is off on a MWBC, how would there be 240v? Thats not possible. Only 1 breaker is on. And nominal voltage is 120v/240v...

 

[egdede]

Yeah, I see your point. I was translating the specific incident that learned me about shared neutral circuits to a general statement. Have edited my post to be accurate (I hope!).

I think I also learned why you don't throw switches to work on fixtures that time, or am mixing up the lessons I learned working on a then 50 year-old house 25 years ago!!!

Also, note I did not want call it a MWBC because people on the web sometimes think 'multi-wire' means 'romex'!!! That can lead to many side discussions.


In the end, we should use pigtails because fixture connection failures won't at best; disrupt downstream fixtures and, at worst (if on a shared neutral circuit); send 220v to downstream fixtures.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

Yeah, I see your point. I was translating the specific incident that learned me about shared neutral circuits to a general statement. Have edited my post to be accurate (I hope!).

I think I also learned why you don't throw switches to work on fixtures that time, or am mixing up the lessons I learned working on a then 50 year-old house 25 years ago!!!

Also, note I did not want call it a MWBC because people on the web sometimes think 'multi-wire' means 'romex'!!! That can lead to many side discussions.


In the end, we should use pigtails because fixture connection failures won't at best; disrupt downstream fixtures and, at worst (if on a shared neutral circuit); send 220v to downstream fixtures.

MWBC is the correct term for a circuit with a shared neutral. If people are confusing MWBC with NM-b wiring then they have no idea what theyre talking about. NM-b is a multi-conductor CABLE.