One Line Not Getting Power

[Greenman]

It's very common, and still done today. I had no idea it wasn't legal and have never once had an inspector ask about it.

 

[sdifox]

It's very common, and still done today. I had no idea it wasn't legal and have never once had an inspector ask about it.

NEC 300.13B multi wire circuit needs pigtail. It's about the continuity of neutral, so maybe that was done right so inspector doesn't raise a fuzz.

https://www.jlconline.com/how-to/electrical/electrical-pigtails_o

 

[Greenman]

NEC 300.13B multi wire circuit needs pigtail. It's about the continuity of neutral, so maybe that was done right so inspector doesn't raise a fuzz.

https://www.jlconline.com/how-to/electrical/electrical-pigtails_o

300.13 refers to multiwire circuits where you have two hots on a shared neutral. In that case the neutral can't pass through the device. In the case of two wire circuits the devise can be used as a connector as there is no risk of a dropped neutral forcing 220V through a down stream device.
That's the way I read.

 

[sdifox]

300.13 refers to multiwire circuits where you have two hots on a shared neutral. In that case the neutral can't pass through the device. In the case of two wire circuits the devise can be used as a connector as there is no risk of a dropped neutral forcing 220V through a down stream device.
That's the way I read.

In another example, section 250.148b in the code states: “The arrangement of grounding connections (the bare ground wires) shall be such that the disconnection or removal of a receptacle, luminaire, or other device fed from the box does not interfere with or interrupt the grounding continuity.”

I am going by that link, I am not an electrician.

 

[Greenman]

In another example, section 250.148b in the code states: “The arrangement of grounding connections (the bare ground wires) shall be such that the disconnection or removal of a receptacle, luminaire, or other device fed from the box does not interfere with or interrupt the grounding continuity.”

I am going by that link, I am not an electrician.

That's a different issue. Grounds are a safety device and the system design is such that a failed device can't break the circuit. Under normal conditions the ground wire will never carry current.

 

[sdifox]

That's a different issue. Grounds are a safety device and the system design is such that a failed device can't break the circuit. Under normal conditions the ground wire will never carry current.

Isn't that what pigtailng is for? Ensuring cicuit is not broken for downstream sockets and switches?

 

[herm0016]

I am an electrician.

eh? that means the original installation was not up to code. You are supposed to pigtail each outlet to prevent the problem of one bad outlet taking out the chain.

not true. its only on Multiwire branch circuits that you must pigtail for the reasons greenman stated. we do mostly commercial and industrial and run into MWBC a lot.

Grounds are always pigtailed, there is no provision for 2 ground connections on a receptacle. double lugging is not allowed unless the thing is UL listed for it. plus the code section in 250 mentioned above. you can dais chain though, and we often do, bare ground starts at the metal box, hits both recepts in a quad and then gets wire nutted to the ground from the branch circ.

pigtailing or not is not the cause of an outlet going bad. back stab connections, loose connections, etc. are. depending on the install we will pigtail or not. all our 20 amp stuff gets pigtailed in industrial, and we do or don't depending on the box size, the outlet type and how many wires are in a box in other use cases. is it "better" sure, but totally unnecessary in most situations. a wire weather pigtail or not improperly fastened is a hazard.


yes, get that FPE stuff out of your house ASAP. 2400 is not too bad a price for that work. we would charge more.

 

[Greenman]

Isn't that what pigtailng is for? Ensuring cicuit is not broken for downstream sockets and switches?

That's correct, but it only matters on the ground. If you back stab an outlet and it fails you lose power down stream, not a big deal. If the ground fails and devices down stream aren't protected it can be big deal.

 

[Red Squirrel]

MWBC are different from just a standard string of outlets, you definitely do want to pigtail those. But a standard run of the mill normal 2 wire circuit, pretty sure it's code to just daisy chain. Since there are 2 hots in a MWBC you are already using both screws on one side of the outlet so you don't really have a way to daisy chain even if you wanted to. At least not without doing sketchy stuff like double jumpering or back stabbing. So pig tailing is way to do it properly.

Personally when I run a MWBC it is a dedicated outlet, so nothing else will branch off it.