I have made quite a bit of money from back-stabbing devices.

 

I made quite a bit of money troubleshooting problems caused by backstabbing devices. I was taught that that was the lazy way to terminate devices and that the piss-poor connection always caused problems.

Mark

 

Are the new ones as unreliable? And shouldn't these old homes that are wired like this be rewired correctly, or at least put arc faults in place?

 

I rewired all of them the right way.

Back-stabbed is a complaint way..right or wrong is a matter of opinion.

Are the new ones as unreliable? And shouldn't these old homes that are wired like this be rewired correctly, or at least put arc faults in place?

Who is going to pay for their home/business/office building/airport/etc.. to be rewired every 3 years to meet the latest edition of the NEC?

 

Who is going to pay for their home/business/office building/airport/etc.. to be rewired every 3 years to meet the latest edition of the NEC?

I don't know, but I sure as hell wish someone would....:laughing:

 

They are the worst idea i have ever seen. They are seldom as reliable as a side wired device.

 

Should they be banned?

 

Back stab receps quite often have problems overtime , just a faster way of doing things , not much cheaper though

 

CEltic, what i'm getting at is that 90% of the time, the back stab receptacle seems to be the source of the circuit's problem. I'm just curious as to how safe this method is, and whether or not they have updated new devices to fix the issue. As for replacing the receptacle and wiring it "correctly" (correctly meaning its less likely to fail, and i'm not too lazy to take the extra 10 seconds and bend the wire) I feel as though it would be preventative maintenance.

 

CEltic, what i'm getting at is that 90% of the time, the back stab receptacle seems to be the source of the circuit's problem.

90% of what you have seen is back stabbed related...others will say they see an equal percentage of failure among side wired devices.

When you side wire, how sure are you that you have achieved the proper torque rating ?
Do you use a torque screw driver?

..or just your trusty 10-in-1?

I'm just curious as to how safe this method is, and whether or not they have updated new devices to fix the issue.

The back stabbing method is safe :thumbsup:
If it wasn't ~ why would all those devices have those built-in profit centers :thumbup:

80% - 90% of device failure can be directly attributed to installation error on the installers part.
The other 10% - 20% is attributed to Mother Nature and Home Owners.

As for replacing the receptacle and wiring it "correctly" (correctly meaning its less likely to fail, and i'm not too lazy to take the extra 10 seconds and bend the wire) I feel as though it would be preventative maintenance.

If by correctly, you mean using a torque screw driver, that has been properly calibrated...kudos to you!
In the meantime, I'll back stab the device as it is also a compliant installation.

 

So did the guy who backstabbed, or else you wouldn't see the holes to put in stabs in the back of the devices if it was the "wrong way".. After saying all that , I don't backstab hardly ever unless there is some compelling reason that requires I do it. I also have fixed an uncountable amount of outlets that were wired around the terminals that melted or worse. So if you really want to know the "right" way to wire a receptacle, maybe we should say "don't wire any of them at all, they may fail one day...".

 

. I rewired all of them the right way.quote]

Oh Boy . . . you are just trying to get some of this folks going aren't you?:laughing::laughing::laughing:

 

I used to love stabbing 12 wire kitchens pre 95'. We used to get the receptacles with no side screws and 8 backports. Still keeping Ecs busy with service calls to this date.

 

I typically don`t backstab receps. but when rewiring flourescent lights I do typically use Ideal in-sure push in connectors. I never had a problem with them. As far as receps. go I do like levington prefered grade.

 

The Future is here!

The future is here!

P&S PLUGTAIL™ Receptacles
​

​

:thumbup:

All you #12 NM jockeys should love that :laughing:

 

The future is here!

P&S PLUGTAIL™ Receptacles
​

​

:thumbup:

All you #12 NM jockeys should love that :laughing:

TR? not interested.

 

That would be great when used with wingos

 

wtf is a wingo:whistling2:

 

Had 2 calls today that were backstab failures. I think it is more of a poor install than anything, but I do not trust the installation of any kind of stab connection. I see more than 90% of the power loss calls attribute to backstabbed plugs. I think the main reason is because most contractors use this type so this is what will fail more. If everyone use the screw type then we would see more of those. I think number of failures would drop but I doubt by a huge number since laziness and careless goes with any installation. I myself trust pigtails and only trust one set to plugs and use the screws.

 

So...are you one of the non-lazy types that carry a properly calibrated torque screw driver around with you.....or not?

 

.....

 

Really....?:blink::blink::laughing::laughing:

 

I would never back wire. But I would use those pigtail rec with Wingos. Wait isn't that the same thing?

 

Wingos. ??:laughing::laughing::laughing:

 

I can see a bored HO Thinking this is great because she could change the colors of the rec just by unplugging them and putting red and green one on for Christmas. How about ghost and pumpkins for Halloween. Pokemon rec gotta catch them all. Kids could trade them like card. Hell I think I'm on to something damn I need to hurry and patented it.

 

I can see a bored HO Thinking this is great because she could change the colors of the rec just by unplugging them and putting red and green one on for Christmas. How about ghost and pumpkins for Halloween. Pokemon rec gotta catch them all.

That would be hysterical!
:thumbup:

 

Here is Wingo

 

That's it wago's don't they use the same idea to compress the wire as a backwire rec.

 

Yes ...same principal.

 

Here is Wingo

That would work too

 

Earlier this week, I finished a house, and back stabbed everything that I legally could. Did it, and im glad.

 

You forgot to follow your posting up with :brows:

 

Not sure what this adds to any of this just found it and I can figure out why you would hide a toothbrush

 

anyone use one? I want one now! Any ups and dowsn to certain brand/models?

 

Hi guys! I'm new to the forum and have 10 years experience. 50/50 comm/res. I have a person opinion about backstabbing switches and receps. It's been my experience that most times, especially during new construction, the number one reason a breaker trips after installing devices for the first time is due to the ground wire touching a neutral or hot wire that was backstabbed. Inevitably when someone backstabs a device they almost always strip the wire too much. When the device is pushed into the box the wires bend exposing even more bare wire. If care isn't used to ensure that the ground wire is pushed way back and away from the device it will short out. There is much less chance of that happening when you pigtail and put wires around the screws because they are on the side of the device. Then there is the other issue of trying to get the backstabbed wires out of devices. It's much easier to unscrew a wire than it is to try to push something into that hole to release a backstabbed wire. I think backstabbing is simply a time-saving practice and most things that save time are usually not the best. It's just my opinion.

 

......... Inevitably when someone backstabs a device they almost always strip the wire too much. .........

Which is not the backstab's problem.

.........If care isn't used to ensure that the ground wire is pushed way back and away from the device it will short out .........

Besides, those great big humongous screws on the side are a bigger target for the bare ground than a bit of exposed copper.

 

What does pigtailing got to do with backstabbing? They are two separate issues. You can still pigtail AND backstab.

With all the backstab failures in and out of devices pigtailing wil eliminate the amount of failures if electricians still decide to backstab.

 

How will pigtailing help make a backstab a better connection? :001_huh:

 

In my experience I've had to fix way more backstabbing issues than screw. A screw makes a more solid connection than backstabbing hands down. Too many times I've seen where a backstabbed wire wasn't pushed in far enough and came out. As long as the screw is tight that can never happen putting it under a screw. According to a major company in Syracuse, NY, the main purpose of backstabbing is an acceptable way to add additional wires to a device but they recommended using the screws first and the rear connections as "overflow." But, like I said, it's easier (to me) to remove a device using screws than to get the wires out of the back side. I guess it's a personal preference. I really have never liked it.