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An electrical device has been described as anything that uses electricity, but a device most commonly refers to "plugs" and "switches" though a "plug" or "plug end" is what you will find on the end of a cord that "plugs" into a wall receptacle, most commonly what the world calls a "duplex receptacle," that will accommodate 2 plugs; hence the term "duplex receptacle."

Photo: Rain got inside an exterior receptacle that did not have what we call a "bubble cover" or an "in use" cover. Homeowner dodged a fire here. Very lucky. A bubble cover allows you to plug in a cord and the cover will fully close to resist rain. A regular "flat" weather resistant cover, ( weather "proof" cover, ) is only weather resistant when it is closed. Not when the outlet is in use. Bzzzt.

There are basically 2 ways to connect a common device (switch or receptacle) to the BRANCH CIRCUIT WIRING that feeds that device. Those 2 ways are "PLUG / DEVICE SPLICING" and/or '"PIG-TAILING." Pig-Tailing is better. When you create a plug splice you are using the 4 terminals on the sides of the receptacle. One side is the neutral side which is usually, mostly or always on the left side of the receptacle as you look at the face of the receptacle and the other is the hot side which is usually, mostly or always on the right side. The neutral terminals "should be" silver or chrome colored and the hot side terminal screws "should be" of gold or brass color. If you got hold of a very old device or a device someone has changed the terminal screws on; all bets are off on the screw colors. Back now to Plug Splicing. Let's say you have an outlet box. An outlet is any opening in an electrical system that provides power from or access to that electrical system. Most commonly when we speak of outlets, we are talking about wall receptacles but this also includes switch and light outlet locations. Ok, back again to a plug splice - in a wall outlet you very commonly have '"wires coming in and wires going out." In residential construction, these CONDUCTORS are commonly in a cable called "ROMEX" which is what I call it's "street name," where it's TRADE NAME is "Non-Metallic Sheathed Cable" which we find in Article 334 of our National Electric Code or "NEC." The NEC comes in book or electronic form and is the basis for electrical installation methods and electrical safety arguably for the entire world. It is the guide that our AHJ's; the "Authority Having Jurisdiction" ( usually our local department of building and safety ) will use and follow as they inspect and hopefully approve our electrical construction and repair projects. Oh ya; the plug splice - you use the screw terminals to connect the wires coming in, to the wires going out. There; we finally got there. Sort of. Let's say a hot and a neutral wire will be coming into your outlet box and another hot and neutral wire will be going out. This is very common as power comes into an outlet to feed a receptacle and then the second set of wires or the other "run" will carry on down the road to feed other receptacles or a switch location. These wires ( CONDUCTORS ) may also be PULLED WIRE if they are inside conduit. The large share of residential wiring "mediums" are Romex. I believe Romex is a trademark name created by Rome Cable Corporation. Just think "Kleenex." If it's made by Scott Tissue Company, we still ask for a "Kleenex." SO ! You connect the 2 ( usually black ) wires to the 2 gold or 'hot side" terminals on the right side of the receptacle and you connect the two neutral ( usually white ) wires to the two silver or chrome terminals on the left side of the receptacle. What did you just do? You provided power to the receptacle and used the terminal screws to splice the wires together so you can send power to the next device which is usually the next wall receptacle in the line or branch. Plug spices are legal but they suck. Why? Because most people do not make solid connections when they wrap ( or poorly wrap, ) the wire around the terminal screw and you now have 4 potential fail points for your connections as opposed to PIG TAILING where you take the two hots and add a 3rd shorter piece of wire and connect those three wires under a wire nut; ( a mechanical connector. ) Do the same for the white or neutral conductors and NOW you just have one hot wire and one neutral wire to attach to the plug, so you only have two connection points on the receptacle to potentially fail but they won't fail if you do it correctly. Also: it's much easier to insert the device into the box with 2 less wires attached to it. Also; most modern devices provide for the "BACK WIRING" of 14 gauge sized solid wire. Back wiring allows you to "stab" the conductor into the back of the device so you don't have to wrap it around a terminal screw. Builders like this as it is quicker but I feel it is not necessarily better or even good. Yes; it is an approved method but why did the industry quit making devices that will accept the larger 12 gauge wire for back wiring? Says to me they felt that a back wire connection is not so great for the larger electrical loads of a 20 amp circuit which is where you will find 12 gauge wire. When you think about a "stab" connection; what is going on in there? I have never dissected a receptacle, but I will bet you a hamburger it is simply a metal tab that pinches against the conductor. Not much of connection with a low contact area if you ask me. If I ever use a stab connection it is for a very light load, like for a switch that runs one light or similar. An electrical load is a measure of how much current or power is being carried or used. For the same raeson I do not use "quick-wire" or stab wire connectors even though they are "listed." Every part you use in your electrical installation must be "listed." All of it. The wire, the devices, the conduit, the electrical connectors, the light fixtures and even the electrical tape must all be listed which essentially means it has been tested by an accredited testing laboratory and approved for use. Many people love stab connections but like Marv would say; "Thats why they make chocolate AND vanilla ice-cream. I prefer twist on wire connectors and there are several different flavors of those too. It comes down to what you are used to using and what you like to work with. There are many more details to making proper connections which I plan to present here later on but I have to go install some new exterior lighting now, Bye for now. Happy wiring!

My Specialty. I think. OK. Let's say trouble shooting is one of my favorite things to do and we tend to be good at what we like,,,maybe another illusion. I like to fish but don't always catch a fish so there goes that theory. In troubleshooting start with the simplest thing first. If you tell your doctor you have a headache, they most likely will not do immediate brain surgery. "Take two aspirin and call me in the morning." Is the breaker on? Is the switch on? Is it plugged in? Don't tear the house apart to find out the braeker was off or a switch was wired incorrectly. Common sense? Common sense is not very common. If something is not working and "it should be, meaning" I do detect power but not where I want it" and the power is not "getting over" to where it should be, I ask the client "Have you done any electrical or construction work recently? Maybe right before you lost power?" "No." "Have you hung any paintings or shelving; mounted a new TV dish on the roof; ( that may have penetrated a wire)?" "No."  So then I poke around a bit more and then ask sort of the same questions again......"Has anyone recently changed any receptacles, switches or hung a new light fixture...? Anything like that? Had a handy person here recently?" "No." I will give that a rest and then a bit later ask the third time and hear "OH. My husband installed a new ceiling fan upstairs last week." "Was that right about when the hall lights stopped working?" "I think it may have been." People are sometimes forgetful or embarrassed that they may have goofed up their do it yourself project. Point is, you may have to ask them a few times but be diplomatic and tactful; not pushy. Wires dont usually take themselves apart though I have seen poor connections made years earlier, that eventually failed over time since a bad connection causes heat; which can eventually burn up that connection ( or the entire house, ) and  there is vibration in all structures,  especially a building with heavy street traffic like in commercial structures / business districts but even homes have vibration and movement. YOUR CONNECTIONS ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN ELECTRICAL CONSTRUCTION. Yes; proper circuit sizing and the correct over-current protection are at the top of the list of what we do as electricians but if the connections are good, "The building could fall down around it and it will still work." - Frank Bernard Miller.

Parts Changers Versus Diagnosticians

When it comes to electrical trouble shooting, I like the car mechanic analogy. Almost any car mechanic can change a part but how many mechanics can figure out the problem was the 3rd gear relay sensor was not sending the proper voltage to the transmission modulator so the car though it was in gear and would not start? Anyone with a screwdriver can change the part but the trick, the skill, the art; is figuring out what is wrong and where the hiccup is. Not everyone can. More later

Never argue with or lie to an inspector. Never try to impress an inspector with what you think you know. I have been doing this for over 30 years and mostly what I have learned is simply a long laundry list of what I still don't know. When I was teaching, my students would teach me stuff so.....if you want to impress an inspector, impress them with the quality of your work and a tidy job-site and keep your pie hole shut. If they ask you to do something; do it; don't argue. Show respect. I feel it's fine to politely ask them why they want it done that way as they are usually happy to educate us. Case scenario: An inspector asks me to change a disconnect for an air conditioning compressor. I have installed a non-fusible one and the inspector wants a fusible one. My first reaction WILL be "Yes sir, we will take care of that" and then I will ask the inspector as to why; ( for my edification. ) Let's say I know in the codebook I can show him why a fusible one is not required; I will change it anyway. Why? 1) Respect 2) I have no interest in having a battle of wits with the inspector who probably forgot more about the code book than I will ever know and 3) It is important to have a good rapport with the inspector whom you may be dealing with time and time again and 4) IT'S ONE DISCONNECT. NOT 200 DISCONNECTS. If it's one disconnect, it will cost me very little in time or money to change. If it involved every disconnect for every apartment in a 200 unit apartment building......well that will be worth a further polite discussion with the inspector or their supervisor if necessary IF I AM CERTAIN I am correct but if I installed 200 XO's ( disconnects ) in an apartment building without verifying fusible or non-fusible guess who the idiot is?  On the same note when you bid a job. If I use one junction box that was a bit larger than it needed to be and the cost of that "J" box was one-dollar more that another less expensive box that would have worked fine; no big deal. It may not worth the time to wait til the next trip to the supply house or even the time it takes to walk out to the truck to save the dollar but if you are talking about 200 boxes for an apartment or office building well; do the math. Specific example: We were wiring a 21 unit apartment building and were told by our foreman to use a single gang metal handy box ( we were using reduced wall flexible metal conduit )  for the through-wall air conditioning outlet. I asked my boss why we were using these as metal handy boxes are small / have low wire capacity; they generally suck and whoever keeps ordering the ones with the one-inch knock-outs at home depot......I don't know. Whatever. Anyway, my foreman; Danny; "Poppa Smurf;  told me; "It's a dead end; there is only one conduit or cable coming into it so you don't need a lot of room for conductor fill and you dont need a plaster ring so they are one-dollar cheaper. One-dollar multiplied by 21 outlets equals $21. Ok; it's "only" 21 dollars but $21 plus $21 = $42 and so on and that is how a good electrical estimator will "circuit out" a job on the plan table. It's business and the nickels add up."

NOTE: If I can show in the code book that the fusible disconnect was not required; a building department can make the codes more strict but not less strict than the NEC so "Sorry pardner; that's how we do it in this town." Good time to advise you when you work in a jurisdiction you have never worked in, ask questions; don't figure they do it the same as you do in your home town, I have seen this to be a tripping hazard.

Back our inspector chat. 

Building A Rapport

You may have heard stories when an inspector knows a builder's work, they will sign "the card" without even looking at the work or getting out of the car. They trust you. Why? Because over time; on one or different jobs; they have become familiar with your high standards that you have consistently shown in your installations and you have shown them you WILL DO something WHEN YOU SAY YOU WILL; and again; they know the quality of your work. If a contractor is one of those that puts out work that is "good enough" and just follows the code book; which is fine; that's all the law says you have to do; the minimum; that's what the NEC is; the minimum installation requirements for electrical installations.....well; odds are you will never build the respect from the building department or other contractors you work with and around. Great work stands out and the people that know; they know. Every trade on that job from the plumber to the roofer has seen enough stuff built to know what trash looks like and what clean work looks like. The NEC states in Article 110.12  - Mechanical Execution of Work - "Electrical equipment shall be installed in a neat and workmanlike manner." Inspectors should write more corrections based on this article as I have seen some real junk out there; it passed the code book minimum requirements, but it was shamefully executed. it's up to the person installing it; they have pride in turning out an outstanding install or they don't. Pet peeve of mine as you can maybe read between the lines. Don't get me started. Lie to an inspector? About anything? You're toast. Inspectors talk to other inspectors. You're toast. More Later. Sleepy time.

Integrity, You have it or you don't. I have done two jobs in Los Angeles where the 2 residential clients were told by a large Los Angeles electrical contractor (that shall remain nameless as it rhymes with shameless,) the problem was they needed new main electrical panels for $10,000. The most expensive service change I have ever done was $2850.00 and that is a normal price for a new main. I did one of the above jobs for $230.00. It had a bad conductor on the sub-feed to the condominium's breaker panel so I pulled out the bad underground conductor and pulled in a new one. Done. The other job was a was a ground fault and an open neutral which did take me 10 hours to find and repair. That bill was about $900. There are thieves and whores out there and I hate them. I have been a police volunteer since 2010 and I am a consumer watch dog. I have other stories like this. A homeowner should get three bids from 3 licensed contractors and I feel I have even seen people get scammed by 3 different builders who I feel were working in cahoots with each other because the 3 bids the elderly fixed income lady received, were all sky high. I feel it was a setup and she got screwed. "It there is any doubt; there is no doubt." Robert Dinero - From the film "Ronin." Trust no one. Sorry. It's a jungle out there and the god of many people is money, no matter how they get it and they sleep fine at night. Rot in hell. My dad would say 'I hope they spend it on medicine." WOAH! Thats harsh dad!" There is enough money out there to be made honestly but dad also said someone always has to put a kink in it and what pissed him off most was them thinking they are smarter that everyone else. My dad didn't raise any thieves but I do have one brother in the car business and another that is an attorney, so he got close. If you charge someone for a Lobster, give them a lobster not a hamburger and don't tell them they need a lobster when they really don't or sell them a lobster and charge them for 5 of them. Just show us some respect; save us all some time and simply hold a gun to their heads. But I'm not bitter. More later.

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