07_Basic Electric

I am not an electrician, but appreciate those that taught me how to do this work.  Find a good electrician and keep his number in your address book for those occasions when the job is beyond your skills or patience, as I do. 

• Turn off the power at the panel box to whatever you are working on before you begin.  
• Use proper care and caution when working with tools for safety.

Tools and supplies

Tools: screw driver - utility knife - wire stripper
Supplies: wire (using a small piece here to demonstrate what will likely already be exiting a junction box in your wall) - outlet (right end up) or switch and faceplate (not shown)

Take a look at the back and sides and bring a magnifier for the tiny print stamped in the plastic.

Brass screws are for the Hot or Black wire.

Silver screws are for the Neutral or White wire.

Green screw is for the bare Ground wire.


Expose the wires

Strip the insulation off the outside by slitting it with the utility knife.
Open it up like a banana and cut away the 'peel'.  
Always be careful not to cut yourself.  

Strip the wires

Match the gauge wire to the proper location on the tool.  Working with 12 gauge wire here.  Clamp down to cut the insulation but not the wire revealing about 1/2 inch, and pull the cut end off the white wire.  Repeat with the black.

Connect

I use the end of the wire stripper to curve the end in preparation of wrapping it around the appropriate screw shaft.    

Wrap it around the screw (this takes a bit of practice), secure it tightly. 

Continue until all 3 wires are attached.

You might have noticed that there is a 'quick connect' option where you push a straight wire into a hole on the back.  This is notoriously a poor quality connection over time.  Avoid it or remember to include this option if you are troubleshooting a problem later on.

Complete 

Push all the wires into the junction box.  Screws at the top and bottom secure the device to the box.  Finish with a protective face plate (that come in 3 sizes to cover any wall damage around the junction box).  Turn the power back on and test. 

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Consider keeping a copy of the Home Improvement 123 book on your shelf for reference.  Clear and well documented.  It often helps me determine which projects I want to tackle myself or hire a professional.  $10 on Amazon.com