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Thread: Preferred electrical receptacle devices??

  1. #46
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    Amen. Avoid the push-in style with the internal spring contacts. The new ones with a straight-in clamped with a screw are great and easy.

    My Dad was hired as an expert when a housing development had a rash of FIRES. Push-in spring-contact devices were the cause.

    The push-in spring-contacts are higher resistance than screw terminals. Higher resistance gets hotter when current flows through it. Heat weakens the spring's force, increasing resistance, and it cascades from there. RESULT: intermittent connections, heat, scorched contacts (often invisible inside device), and fire. Damage is hopefully contained within the box, but not always.

  2. #47
    I don't think push ins are allowed on anything larger than 14 ga.

  3. #48
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bruce Wrenn View Post
    I don't think push ins are allowed on anything larger than 14 ga.
    The devices many of us have recommended are not "push ins" with the spring loaded gripper. Rather, they are modern back-wired (straight stripped) which are secured with the same screws that historically one would wrap wires around. The screws tighten a clamp very security on the wires in lieu of doing the wrap. And yes, the method works nicely with larger wire gage, too.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  4. #49
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    When we moved into this house 15 years ago wife wanted the decora switches. I bought a tray of 12 lighted 3 way switches from ebay. The 3-way were cheaper and I needed one 3 way switch. They make a nice target at night and let you cross a room with no lights on if you know which side of the door the switch is on. Where I have multiple switches in one box only one is lighted. That switch controls the indoor light for that room.
    Bil lD

  5. #50
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    If you charge small devices like cell phones and tablets you may want to add a few strategically placed outlets that have USB outlet built in. It eliminates the need for the brick chargers. Just about every major manufacturer makes them. Like Jim, I really like the Leviton products with the "preferred" outlet covers.

  6. #51
    Quote Originally Posted by John Goodin View Post
    If you charge small devices like cell phones and tablets you may want to add a few strategically placed outlets that have USB outlet built in. It eliminates the need for the brick chargers. Just about every major manufacturer makes them. Like Jim, I really like the Leviton products with the "preferred" outlet covers.
    The benefit of the “power bricks” is that they’re easier to yank out of the wall when they fail or go on fire.

    I don’t trust the in-wall thingies, they strike me as a gimmick, or an employment subsidy for electricians. :^)

  7. #52
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    Quote Originally Posted by Doug Dawson View Post
    The benefit of the “power bricks” is that they’re easier to yank out of the wall when they fail or go on fire.

    I don’t trust the in-wall thingies, they strike me as a gimmick, or an employment subsidy for electricians. :^)
    Additionally, you can upgrade power as devices change. My in-laws had some integrated USB outlets... 5 watts which is what most phone's used back then. Now it is insufficient.
    Comments made here are my own and, according to my children, do not reflect the opinions of any other person... anywhere, anytime.

  8. #53
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    Renters will have to bring their own charging devices, except of in the garage we'll have car chargers.

  9. #54
    Quote Originally Posted by Tom M King View Post
    Renters will have to bring their own charging devices, except of in the garage we'll have car chargers.
    The best thing to put in the garage is a NEMA 14-50 outlet (240 volts, 50 amps). Most electric vehicles can plug into that. Some have external charging devices that plug into that. Tesla has an external device for the Model 3 that only charges at 32 amps. The Model S will charge at 40 amps. They will not draw the full 50 amps - I think the max is 80 to 85% or so - the restriction is code.

    I think most cars have the charging port on the left side of the car so you might take that into account when you locate the outlet.

    I'd let the renter supply the charger and only provide the outlet.

    Mike

    [Incidentally, if I remember correctly, ground goes up on the NEMA 14-50.]
    Last edited by Mike Henderson; 11-25-2020 at 1:18 PM.
    Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.

  10. #55
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    And the winner for receptacles is: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I'll see if I can buy boxes of them cheaper from a supplier.

    I had ordered so many different kinds that I don't even remember the other brands, and models, but don't think I missed many. They'll all get used somewhere, but this particular one is a standout. You can use the straight sidewire clamps, that are very similar to the Levitron ones. The big winner is the TP things. It's hard to stick a bent paper clip in one, but the resistance is not irratating for a regular three prong plug like some of the others.

    It's also nice that it's made out of good enough materials to work in damp locations.

    I also bought a variety of various lighted, single pole switches. I haven't had a chance to install any of them yet, but in hand, the winner is a Pass & Seymour, but I haven't seen the light of any of them yet. I'll post the results whenever I get around to installing them, but the to-do list is LONG.

  11. #56
    Quote Originally Posted by Tom M King View Post
    And the winner for receptacles is: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I'll see if I can buy boxes of them cheaper from a supplier.

    I had ordered so many different kinds that I don't even remember the other brands, and models, but don't think I missed many. They'll all get used somewhere, but this particular one is a standout. You can use the straight sidewire clamps, that are very similar to the Levitron ones. The big winner is the TP things. It's hard to stick a bent paper clip in one, but the resistance is not irratating for a regular three prong plug like some of the others.

    It's also nice that it's made out of good enough materials to work in damp locations..
    Those are the Eaton Arrow Harts. Aren’t they great? I can buy a box of ten of them (online) from Home Depot for 45 bucks. (Try to ask for them in the store and they look at you like you have two heads.)

    A good product should be rewarded, and these don’t get enough.
    Last edited by Doug Dawson; 12-03-2020 at 3:25 AM.

  12. #57
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    Those look like a very nice product, Tom!
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  13. #58
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    Quote Originally Posted by Andrew Seemann View Post
    Push in terminals are horrible, but the backwire outlets where you put a (stripped) straight wire in a hole in the back and tighten the screw to clamp the wire are great. You will never want to use outlets where you have to make fish hooks again.
    Andrew, I used a bunch of those type of back wire outlets in my last shop. After almost twenty years, we moved from Kansas to DC area and I returned my shop to just an unfinished basement. I bet the wire was loose half of those ‘stab’ connections. I saw a lot of evidence of arcing. It’s a wonder that I didn’t burn the house down. In my current shop, I still backwire but with a screw clamp.

  14. #59
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    This thread is a good opportunity for me to remind people that many problems with childproof outlets isn’t the outlet. It’s the plug. My daughter was having terrible trouble plugging in her computer to my new childproof outlets. Upon investigation, I found the problem. The good people that made the plug tapered the blades so they would go into a traditional outlet. In doing so, they raised a burr turning the plug blade into a tiny chisel. The shutter on a tamper proof outlet must slide aside when the plug is driven in. That burr prevented the shutter sliding. When I rounded the leading edge of the plug blades, the problem went away.

  15. #60
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bruce Wrenn View Post
    I don't think push ins are allowed on anything larger than 14 ga.
    makes sense. The little hole in back are 14 ga size. I’ve never seen bigger.

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