This is the reason I love your channel. You specialize in carpentry but you still make sure to teach us about the other trades when you tackle your projects. Its much appreciated
I would put the external box LOWER than the internal box connected. If on the outside leak occurs, water will not dip following the wire connected DOWN into inside.
Another way to do this is to install a cut-in box for outdoor receptacle. This allows for room to find the NM cable being pushed up from the inside box. Doing this 34 years.
Good call, Ron! We seriously debated showing that for this video, but I decided to go with the approach that was faster and somewhat easier, simply to show that whole angle for the install. But I would like to show cut-in techniques in the future too. I like your channel!
I am glad to see you in my feed and I really appreciate the new facts that you explained in each step. { T shape = 20 amp, the way to curl a wire- the gauge on the outlet back} shivering black bell thumbs up!
You are an amazing instructor. You include all the important details that so many people don't know, including many people who think they know what they are doing, tradesman and me. I will be sending some of the friends that call me to fix their stuff to your videos ;)
Awesome video, more like this please! As a home DIYer, I do carpentry, electrical, plumbing, etc. Its great to see a step by step from a professional. So many great tips that will make my work so much easier. Btw, NuBlue looks like a very professional operation.
Great video with one issue. A cable connector is required where the wire enters the back of the box. That way the wire is secured from going back into the wll.
Nice step-by-step video installation. A 20 amp weather resistant (WR)receptacle would be preferable, not required, to use on the outside as it has heavy duty contacts as opposed to the standard regular 15 amp receptacle since you probably will be using heavy draw outdoor equipment on that receptacle. Also, I don't think the chase nipple is code approved as the Romex cable was not secured to the outdoor box except for the ground connection. To help the current homeowner and future users of this outlet, I would put one of those standard GFCI stickers on this receptacle to give them a "heads up" indicating that this receptacle is protected by an upstream GFCI as opposed to just a standard circuit breaker. This would be especially helpful to the homeowner or electrician when troubleshooting a receptacle problem knowing that a GFCI is also controlling this circuit/receptacle. I would have used "Duct Seal" to cover up the hole in the wall where the cable was coming in from and I would also cover the opening in the back of the metal outdoor receptacle box to keep water and insects out of the box as well as the interior wall of the garage. I absolutely agree with others that "back stabbing" a receptacle and/or switch is just lazy and waiting for an electrical problem years later down the road then they loose their internal spring tension. I really like the heavier duty commercial screw plate outlets (similar style to the GFCI) to avoid having to create a "Shepard's hook" in the wire to go around the receptacle screws that was used in the interior of the garage circuit. Also, new NEC code requirement requires the use of a "pigtail" on all the wires including the ground instead of using the 4 receptacle screws (2 in and 2 out) to carry the electrical current going through the receptacle and then going to the next receptacle and so on.
That is correct, GFCI devices use a screw plate clamping method to attach the wires. It is a very secure method of attaching wires. Back stabbing is when the device has holes in the back of the receptacle or switch that are spring loaded where you push in the stripped wires. Over time, the spring looses it tension and the wire connection become too loose and you have “make and break” electrical connection and the circuit finally opens and doesn’t work anymore.
As a not- naturally-gifted DIYer, I have always appreciated your videos, including this one! I’m curious, though, why I didn’t see a fetzer valve or 30-weight ball bearings on this installation? (😂 sorry, couldn’t resist, your tutorials are amazing)
Great information and demonstration! I need to redo a couple exterior receptacles and will look for those In-Use models. I hope they make a vertical version as I'm replacing vertical spring loaded covers. Thanks again!
Good for beginners to learn for sure. A fee things would have made that install above board. Doing electrical work daily we loosely put in screws take them out use the sealant in the hole around the screw head. This really makes thing more weatherproof. I saw that the box was just a nail on I would have cut rhe box and replaced it with a southwire smart box it would have made the romex install alot faster. Just a ossilating tool to cut the nails less sheetrock damage actually. Something I do but not code is I pigtail 2 or more wires to the recipticle so power isn't turned off to other outlets if there's an issue with that recipticle. The pigtail will outlive the recipticle many times over. I do alot of outlets and switches just some tips for people. If you pigtail everything even if that recipticle is burnt power will still flow to the others and you won't loose your entire outlet loop.
Appreciate all the detailed information, I had a similar outside outlet I needed to replace & I had to use extra romax wire because the original wires were too short. 👨🏿🔧
@The Honest Carpenter. Thanks Ethan for the video. I'm glad your job with the new outdoor receptacle was that easy. I'm sure there will be others where a new cable would need to be run since there's no existing outlet.
Thanks for an informative video. I'm curious as to why he used a philips to tighten the outlet screws rather than a Klein combo bit. The philips tends to cam out more easily.
Nice return to form. Also, congratulations on finding a new Home base. fwiw, I'm in custom kitchens now. Still there for whatever, just go to the opposite corner of the store.
Thank you for this interesting video, Ethan. I learned several things, including my need to replace my outdoor outlet covers on my house. I sure didn't do it properly. I enjoy all of your videos, but this one really hit close to home. Literally. Thank you again, Ethan, and I hope you have a super week! Be safe out there! 😀😀😀😀😀❤❤❤❤❤
Lots of good information in here. A couple of extras I do that I feel are important. 1) Foam insulation to seal the exterior penetration and the box on the inside. Not a ton just enough to seal air gaps. 2)Tape around the outlet to prevent the exposed grounds from accidentally making contact with the Hot and Neutral terminals. 3) 8”to 10” of wire in a box. As you don’t have a lot of room, especially if it is not an end of line outlet, use a lever style connector. They don’t hold as well as twist ons but they use up much less room.
Did the chase nipple come with the box? You said you had to "add it" and its not clear when i look them up if they come with one. Also, i have the same setup as your application except the run has no gfci at the beginning. The end of the run is where i want to tie in. Can I just install a gfci in the outdoor box connented to the end of the run? Thanks in advance. Good video.
Great video. I'm curious, how come you didn't drill the hole from the inside out and then push the wire through the hole in the Box through the hole in the wall to the outside? Seems like it would have been easier but I bet you have a reason. Thanks
It's a code violation to modify an electrical box, so you can't drill a hole through it, although I understand the temptation. I would cut the box out, then drill when I could verify that there is no risk of damage to existing wiring and replace the box with a rework box that has internal screws to attach it to the stud. Trying to thread the cable into the small knockout like they did seems ridiculous to me, who knows how long that took? He did some damage to the drywall, although it's easily repaired, it adds more time to the job.
What are the additional steps to install the outdoor exterior outlet if there is not an existing circuit/outlet from inside that is in the desired location for the outdoor outlet to connect to?
@7:53: The ground wire has nothing to do with tripping a GFCI. A GFCI monitors differences in current between the hot and neutral. A fault trips the circuit interruptor; it doesn't redirect current to the EGC.
As an electrician, although this method is quick, it doesn't look the best, as the box sticks out a huge amount. We prefer to cut out an opening and install an electrical box inside the wall so that only the bubble cover is on the outside.
As you noted in the video: NEC Section 210.63 requires a 125-volt, single-phase, 15- or 20-ampere-rated service receptacle located within 25 feet of the following: Heating, air-conditioning, and refrigeration equipment (other than evaporative coolers for one- and two-family dwellings)
Screw head orientation isn't typically an aesthetic choice. While not a requirement, it was industry standard among electricians to make switched and switched receptacles by the orientation of the face plate screws. You look at a plate cover for a switch and you'll know that any outlet in the home with the same orientation will be switched and any outlet with the other will be unswitched. The most common is vertical for joined, unswitched outlets and horizontal to denote that the outlet has had the bridge broken out to run a switch on one and continuous on the other.
it was strange they didn't take out the blue box to some degree. it would have given them more space to find the romex cable and both sped them up and meant less damage in your wall
Personally, I really prefer to give each exterior outlet its own GFCI. It's common for outdoor circuits to trip in use (just doing their job), and you want the reset right there. Sending someone on a hunt around a crowded shop looking for the master one with the reset button is to be avoided. To have done this, though, you'd need to have supplied it with its own feed, and presumably the existing run of existing GFCI-protected outlets were all that were handy.
Do those receptacles in that room really need GFCI protection? I didn't see any rough in plumbing to indicate a planned water source. On the one GFCI, you could remove the load connections and pigtail or connect them to the Line side, or remove the GFCI and replace it with a regular receptacle. Then you could install a WR GFCI on the outside.
@@surferdude642 If it's a garage / workshop and not living space, I think they do need to be GFCI-protected. Check the code on that, but I think that was coded some years ago. The problem with doing the wiring as you say is that the outlet they are pigtailing from is itself fed by the load side of the GFCI far upstream. So there isn't an available "line" side to in the vicinity of the exterior outlet-everything nearby is GFCI-protected. You'd need to run a new branch, and at that point, I think it's better to give it its own GFCI right there in the exterior receptacle box where it's being used.
@@jamesburkhard Maybe I wasn't clear about the GFCI change. What I meant was to take that original GFCI in that garage and remove the Load wires from it and join them with the Line side. That way none of those receptacles downstream, including the new outdoor one would be protected. The GFCI would be a stand alone device. I'm assuming that the GFCI is the first receptacle from the sub panel in that circuit. Well, it looks like GFCI's are required, so my suggestion is moot.
At 7:53 you mentioned the ground wire. This is an equipment grounding conductor and has nothing to do with the ground rod(s). In the event of a ground fault, the current travels through the ground wire to the sub panel then along with the feeder wires to the main panel or first disconnect where it is bonded to the neutral wire which then takes the current back to the transformer and trips the breaker. The neutral and ground wires are separated in all sub panels. The grounding rods are part of the grounding electrode system and their purpose is to protect the building against lightning strikes. If your garage is detached from the house it should have it's own separate grounding rod from the sub panel. At 8:55, you could also twist the wires together, leaving the new one long and use a green wire nut made for this purpose and eliminate the need for a pigtail.
Wagos are handyman friendly, but most electricians skip them because wire nuts take less inventory and cost mush less per unit. - and good electricians all have an inherent resistance to anything that resembles a stab connection.
@@kenbrown2808 I can see the added cost as a factor, but I would bet that most trades people are just resistant to change, WAGOS have been a proven time saver and if one does not trust the lever from poping up you can use tape or there is another brand with a "snap" in place design that eliminates accidental lifting of the lever. It may seem like a "stab" connection but it isnt at all. Just my 2 cents
@@ericarachel55 I use them for applications where equipment has a short service life. but the Wago has a connection for every wire, whereas wire nuts are just one connection. they also have quite an arc if you do a hot connection, and they rot out in a corrosive environment.
@@ericarachel55 Not much of a time saver. In fact, if one takes the time to tape Wagos closed they are slower. It takes less than a minute to twist wires and thread on a wire nut. Basic 2 wire Wagos costs 3 times as much as wire nuts. That adds up when you use thousands of them.
Using the GFCI outlet trip as the protection is not advised. True that in this situation, the downstream outlet is indeed temporarily safe (as noted). But if the outlet being worked on IS the GFCI, there is still power in the box after tripping the GFCI, even though the tester shows no power at the receptacle. Tripping the breaker is a much more reliable way to safe the system. I suspect the electricians also tripped the breaker in this job.
Thanks Ethan! A good practice is to mark the applicable breaker with a "DO NOT ENGAGE" label, in case someone closes it before the job is done. This is especially important when a circuit has outlets in different rooms. And I would never consider a circuit safe for work by tripping an upstream GFCI outlet.
Couldn’t you seal around the wire in the hole you drilled through the siding and weather barrier? I let professionals do my electrical work when we got new patio doors. They put most of the fixtures in upside down, including the WP covers and switches.👍
At 8:00 you say the bare ground wire trips the GFCI in the case of a ground fault. I don't think this is correct. It is not your main point, but just to be more correct, my understanding is that a GFCI will trip when the hot wire's current is different from the neutral wire current by a very small amount... implying there is current finding an alternate path to ground. The ground wire doesn't actually have anything to do with it.
Actually if you back up a few seconds before 8:00 he said that the ground wire will trip the breaker, not the GFCI receptacle. You made a good observation here because all the receptacles here are GFCI protected, so the GFCI which trips at approximately 5mA will trip before the circuit breaker which trips at 20 amps. The alternate path in this case is the ground wire.
Nice video. But I think getting the wire through the rear knockout was either very lucky, or very skilled (and that was with a big gap between the outlet and the drywall). Without any of those, I wonder how many of us would have gotten stopped right there. From the comments, I think using an oscillating saw to cut the nail off the new-work box, remove it, and replace it with an old-work (swing out ears) box - might have been an installation plan more likely to have success for most people.
You could put a piece of nylon rope in the drywall gap, pull it through the box with a hook shaped pick or even a shop vac. Tie and tape it to the nm sheathing, then pull it through with minimal screwdriver manipulation. The drywall got beat up a bit here.
Always use a green wire nut. The guy who built my house just twisted and snipped, and I had broken and intermittent grounds all over the place when I moved in.
It is a bit weird, but it is code compliant because either 15 or 20 amp receptacles are permitted on a 20 amp circuit. I would use 15 amp heavy duty industrial grade for the entire circuit, but 20 amp would also be acceptable and preferred by some.
I would never put a 20 amp outlet in a home unless specifically requested, even though I only use 20 amp circuits and 12g wire. I’ve literally never seen a device that requires one.
@@MoneyManHolmes Totally agree. I saw a Thermador range top that had a 20 amp plug. It required a dedicated circuit, so a 20 amp duplex receptacle would be a code violation.
Wouldnt it be easier to use a multitool to cut the nail on the plastric box and remove it completely? Pull new wire through and use a southwire smartbox or an old work box. Itll save you all that time fishing the wire in the winy hole and cost maybe $4 tops.
I’ve done this before and yes it can be faster, but not always. After cutting the nails, there will also be 2 large plastic ears that held the nails in place. You have to cut those off too. The old work box has slightly less capacity to accommodate slipping the wire back into the drywall at the same time as the box. If the original box has the wires stapled close, or if you have more than 2 cables running into it, I try to just preserve the original box to avoid frustration.
When Jimmy drilled through the exterior wall how did know that he wouldn't drill right through the Romex cable that may be running between the studs. It may be unlikely, but I wouldn't take the risk. I think a safer plan would be to remove that box and drill a pilot hole from the inside. Then you could replace the box with an old work box that screws to the stud and eliminate the task of having to guide the Romex cable into the small knockout.
@@TheHonestCarpenter If you measure current on hot and neutral and they are not the same you have a ground fault. There is no such thing as unused electricity.
In my opinion, its a demonstration, one of many in the narration, that the guy who did the narration in this video should never be allowed near any electrical wiring project. I'm glad that the actual work seems to have been done by a qualified electrician, yet even several parts of that work are suspect. The duplex device in the outside looks an awful lot like a 15 amp device, which s just WRONG in a 20 amp circuit. Where's the telltale T slot on the neutral prong slot to indicate that it is a 20 amp circuit? This is all supposedly done as new work, with newly purchased materials. Why not have the actual WR rated 20 amp duplex device? And that "chase nipple" even with the plastic insert to avoid friction tears in the Romex sheathing and the black / white internal conductors is also WRONG. A clamp is required.
that's actually a slow method. get a 3-5/8 carbide tooth holesaw, and cut in the middle of the lap of the siding and subsiding. then push the wire from inside and grab it from the outside. put in a round universal cut in box, and use an oversized cover.
As far as I knew, weather resistant outlets had stainless steel contacts inside the slots in the face so humidity wouldn't oxidize them and reduce conductivity.
I'm not sure stainless would help. I've sanded and wire-brushed enough rust off of stainless-steel pipes and valves to know that stainless steel... isn't stainless. It just slows it down.
@kennethmiller2333 there is stainless and there is stainless. High grade stainless holds up well. But there are some environments where corrosion is only half the problem.
@@kenbrown2808 The problem is that "high grade" is an amorphous term. It often deals with things like tensile strength and other mechanical properties. In this case, when dealing with chemical availability to attack, anything that's passing current is going to have a hard time against corrosive environments, especially with conditions that lead to galvanic corrosion. Now, to be fair, taking a bit of rain in Louisiana is quite different from being pierside in Norfolk, but the point remains. For corrosion resistance, I prefer things that passivate. However, those have a myriad of other problems in electrical-distribution uses (anyone remember aluminum wiring?).
At my work place some genius put two IP44 outlets outside. Then the female boss wondered why it did trip the braker everytime it rained. Didnt helped that those two outlets were connected to third one inside on one fuse. I really start to think that standards slipped very badly in all kind of trades.
@@TheHonestCarpenter First, electricity doesn't get "used up," in that way, so it makes not sense to say that there is used or unused electricity. Rather, current flows. Without a neutral, there is no path for current to flow. All of the metal's valence electrons are full and the electricity effectively "dead heads" (to use a fluid analogy). If you consider an electric load to be like a piston, one side (hot) must be at pressure. The other (neutral) must be at a lower pressure... for instance, vented to atmosphere. Otherwise there is no motion. From another perspective, the current flowing through the neutral IS the "used" electricity finding its way out of the system (or, in a closed electrical system, finding its way to the negative end of the battery or such) so that there's room for more electrons to follow behind. Source: Ten years of working in shipboard propulsion plants.
@@kennethmiller2333 Ahh, I gotcha. But what about the portion of electricity that actually gets used through the outlet? I was always led to understand that the electricity flowing back after usage is sort of enervated, and needs to get "recharged" at the power source. Or, is it ever possible that, like, 100% of the juice flowing through that line gets used? What goes back then? Just current with less charge?
@@TheHonestCarpenter That portion of the electricity is what flows back through the neutral. It's easiest to first picture a simple circuit. One end of a battery wired to a resistor, wired to the other end. Current flows from the positive end (yes, negatively-charged electrons flowing from the positive end of the battery... That's what happens when two conventions for the same thing develop independently - honestly, we should just all decide that electrons are positive and protons are negative - it's an arbitrary assignment anyways), through the load, and back to the negative end. In large-scale distributions, there is no "negative end" of the battery. So current flows from the positive end of the generator, through the load, and into the neutral leg, which leads back to the distribution line's neutral side. The important thing to remember is that electricity must be in motion to do anything. That is, current must flow. Everything from heating up light bulbs until they glow to turning a motor is caused by current flowing, not merely by presence of electricity. You're on the right track with current with less charge. However, what drops is the voltage. Consider that kind of like pressure. Every load causes a voltage drop, which is why wiring them in series is a bad idea. If the first load in the line is at 110V, the second may only be at 80V, which may not be enough to effectively power it. So what happens when it flows through a battery or leaves the generator is the voltage is brought back up to the reference voltage so that it can be "pumped" through the system again.
Don't use the backstab holes on the back of the outlet. Some outlets allow you to back wire into clamps on the screw terminals. Those are my preferred connections. Completely solid and don't require making hooks.
I fear that someone is inevitably going to watch this and do the little trick with the GFCI and then pull that receptacle and get electrocuted. Please just turn off the breaker, or remove the fuse.
This is the reason I love your channel. You specialize in carpentry but you still make sure to teach us about the other trades when you tackle your projects. Its much appreciated
Your partnership with Nublue team really expands the informational value of your channel, Ethan. I learn so much from you. Thanks!
Thank you, Heck! I was super excited to work with them. Can’t wait to make more videos on these topics! 🙂
Hmm...
A whiff of the brown nose awards herein, if I may make so bold.
I like that you go through this step by step. Thanks.
Thanks Gene! Glad we could document this one start to finish. 😄
I would put the external box LOWER than the internal box connected. If on the outside leak occurs, water will not dip following the wire connected DOWN into inside.
Another way to do this is to install a cut-in box for outdoor receptacle. This allows for room to find the NM cable being pushed up from the inside box. Doing this 34 years.
Good call, Ron! We seriously debated showing that for this video, but I decided to go with the approach that was faster and somewhat easier, simply to show that whole angle for the install. But I would like to show cut-in techniques in the future too. I like your channel!
@@TheHonestCarpenter it takes me about half a man hour to set a receptacle with a cut in box.
That was really interesting, Ethan. Nublu sounds like a great partnership. Your workshop is getting close to full setup. 👏🏼👍
Thanks, Mom!
I am glad to see you in my feed and I really appreciate the new facts that you explained in each step. { T shape = 20 amp, the way to curl a wire- the gauge on the outlet back}
shivering black bell thumbs up!
Love your videos. Great audio. Don't know what you're doing, but so clear and easy to listen to and understand!!!
You are an amazing instructor. You include all the important details that so many people don't know, including many people who think they know what they are doing, tradesman and me. I will be sending some of the friends that call me to fix their stuff to your videos ;)
I am so glad you are back with great videos on TH-cam. This video was exactly what I needed on my end. Thank you .
Awesome video, more like this please! As a home DIYer, I do carpentry, electrical, plumbing, etc. Its great to see a step by step from a professional. So many great tips that will make my work so much easier.
Btw, NuBlue looks like a very professional operation.
Thank you, Red Snake! We’ll have more stuff soon. 😁
I am an EE and I can say that this is very well explained, great job 😊
Thank you, riba!! 🙏😄
Great video with one issue. A cable connector is required where the wire enters the back of the box. That way the wire is secured from going back into the wll.
Mini-split for the garage IS VERY SMART! That is my #1 recommendation for anyone who spends a significant amount of time in the garage.
This was very interesting to watch and easy to understand. Keep up the great work on your channel!
Thanks so much! 😄
Nice step-by-step video installation. A 20 amp weather resistant (WR)receptacle would be preferable, not required, to use on the outside as it has heavy duty contacts as opposed to the standard regular 15 amp receptacle since you probably will be using heavy draw outdoor equipment on that receptacle. Also, I don't think the chase nipple is code approved as the Romex cable was not secured to the outdoor box except for the ground connection. To help the current homeowner and future users of this outlet, I would put one of those standard GFCI stickers on this receptacle to give them a "heads up" indicating that this receptacle is protected by an upstream GFCI as opposed to just a standard circuit breaker. This would be especially helpful to the homeowner or electrician when troubleshooting a receptacle problem knowing that a GFCI is also controlling this circuit/receptacle. I would have used "Duct Seal" to cover up the hole in the wall where the cable was coming in from and I would also cover the opening in the back of the metal outdoor receptacle box to keep water and insects out of the box as well as the interior wall of the garage. I absolutely agree with others that "back stabbing" a receptacle and/or switch is just lazy and waiting for an electrical problem years later down the road then they loose their internal spring tension. I really like the heavier duty commercial screw plate outlets (similar style to the GFCI) to avoid having to create a "Shepard's hook" in the wire to go around the receptacle screws that was used in the interior of the garage circuit. Also, new NEC code requirement requires the use of a "pigtail" on all the wires including the ground instead of using the 4 receptacle screws (2 in and 2 out) to carry the electrical current going through the receptacle and then going to the next receptacle and so on.
which NEC code?
That wasn't a back-stab. They're clamped.
That is correct, GFCI devices use a screw plate clamping method to attach the wires. It is a very secure method of attaching wires. Back stabbing is when the device has holes in the back of the receptacle or switch that are spring loaded where you push in the stripped wires. Over time, the spring looses it tension and the wire connection become too loose and you have “make and break” electrical connection and the circuit finally opens and doesn’t work anymore.
@@billhandymanbill2775 What prompted you to mention back-stabbing in your OP?
Detailed and very clear. Really appreciate this video!
First of all nice job/video. We use 1/2” service entrance fitting in the rear of the box. We feel it’s more water resistant.
As a not- naturally-gifted DIYer, I have always appreciated your videos, including this one! I’m curious, though, why I didn’t see a fetzer valve or 30-weight ball bearings on this installation? (😂 sorry, couldn’t resist, your tutorials are amazing)
It's all ball bearings nowadays.
Why thank you! I just neglected to mention them. 😂
Great information and demonstration! I need to redo a couple exterior receptacles and will look for those In-Use models. I hope they make a vertical version as I'm replacing vertical spring loaded covers. Thanks again!
Thank you for explaining everything and for the safety warnings.
Ethan, I thank you for your video and business friends
Thank you, Art!
Good for beginners to learn for sure. A fee things would have made that install above board. Doing electrical work daily we loosely put in screws take them out use the sealant in the hole around the screw head. This really makes thing more weatherproof. I saw that the box was just a nail on I would have cut rhe box and replaced it with a southwire smart box it would have made the romex install alot faster. Just a ossilating tool to cut the nails less sheetrock damage actually. Something I do but not code is I pigtail 2 or more wires to the recipticle so power isn't turned off to other outlets if there's an issue with that recipticle. The pigtail will outlive the recipticle many times over. I do alot of outlets and switches just some tips for people. If you pigtail everything even if that recipticle is burnt power will still flow to the others and you won't loose your entire outlet loop.
The white wire (Neutral) is a current carrying conductor. The ground, ideally does not carry current except in the event of a circuit fault.
Good call, Mike!
Ethan … Ideal also makes premade pigtails in white, black and green …. Great video 🇺🇸👊🏼👊🏼✌🏼
Thank you, Fred! Great tip. 😁
@@TheHonestCarpenter
You’re welcome
I believe do it yourself or can buy them at Home Depot I get them from my electrical supplier
This is a very well done video. Enjoyable and informative.
😄😄
Appreciate all the detailed information, I had a similar outside outlet I needed to replace & I had to use extra romax wire because the original wires were too short. 👨🏿🔧
Thank you, W! Always good to have to some 12 and 14 Romex around. 😁
@The Honest Carpenter. Thanks Ethan for the video. I'm glad your job with the new outdoor receptacle was that easy. I'm sure there will be others where a new cable would need to be run since there's no existing outlet.
Nicely done video that covered everything you need to know.
Thank you, Michael! I thought going with the most thorough approach was best here. :)
Thanks for an informative video. I'm curious as to why he used a philips to tighten the outlet screws rather than a Klein combo bit. The philips tends to cam out more easily.
Thanks Rick! Not too sure…might have just been what he had at hand at the moment.
@@TheHonestCarpenterShould be using a #1 Robertson bit or an ecx.
This is phenomenal. Can’t wait for more vids brother!
Nice return to form. Also, congratulations on finding a new Home base.
fwiw, I'm in custom kitchens now. Still there for whatever, just go to the opposite corner of the store.
Can’t wait to see the finished shop.
Electrical Wiring 1.0.1 Thank you!
Thanks for watching, Richard!
Its a fkd up installed. Large blade ( neutral). Goes on top if side installation
Would a service entrance connector used on the back of the box not hold that 12/2 in place better?
THANKS ETHAN 👍
Thank you, Budget!
Thank you for this interesting video, Ethan. I learned several things, including my need to replace my outdoor outlet covers on my house. I sure didn't do it properly. I enjoy all of your videos, but this one really hit close to home. Literally. Thank you again, Ethan, and I hope you have a super week! Be safe out there! 😀😀😀😀😀❤❤❤❤❤
Thank you, Gary! I’m very glad the video was helpful. 😄
@@TheHonestCarpenter 👍👍
Does that gang box include the chase nipple? I see in the product description that the other plugs are included. Thanks.
Thank you for the detail on the installation of new exterior electrical box...KUTGW
How about a quick video on how to repair the chewed up drywall and screw pop around the inside outlet cover
Lots of good information in here. A couple of extras I do that I feel are important.
1) Foam insulation to seal the exterior penetration and the box on the inside. Not a ton just enough to seal air gaps.
2)Tape around the outlet to prevent the exposed grounds from accidentally making contact with the Hot and Neutral terminals.
3) 8”to 10” of wire in a box. As you don’t have a lot of room, especially if it is not an end of line outlet, use a lever style connector. They don’t hold as well as twist ons but they use up much less room.
Thank you for the extra tips, Juan!
Did the chase nipple come with the box? You said you had to "add it" and its not clear when i look them up if they come with one. Also, i have the same setup as your application except the run has no gfci at the beginning. The end of the run is where i want to tie in. Can I just install a gfci in the outdoor box connented to the end of the run? Thanks in advance. Good video.
Could you have used a pigtail for the ground? Also, a 20 amp outlet out side since the whole circuit is 20 amp?
Excellent teaching tool!!
Good thorough video. Personally I would have started working from the outside in, and connecting to the inside outlet would be last.
Now the location of the GFCI outlet in my garage makes sense. ;-)
Closest to the panel! 😄
Great video. I'm curious, how come you didn't drill the hole from the inside out and then push the wire through the hole in the Box through the hole in the wall to the outside? Seems like it would have been easier but I bet you have a reason. Thanks
It's a code violation to modify an electrical box, so you can't drill a hole through it, although I understand the temptation. I would cut the box out, then drill when I could verify that there is no risk of damage to existing wiring and replace the box with a rework box that has internal screws to attach it to the stud. Trying to thread the cable into the small knockout like they did seems ridiculous to me, who knows how long that took? He did some damage to the drywall, although it's easily repaired, it adds more time to the job.
7:43 In my experience builders use the bare minimum for box sizing, so adding any additional wires violates box fill code. Fun times.
So you basically taped
In to the inside outlet?
What are the additional steps to install the outdoor exterior outlet if there is not an existing circuit/outlet from inside that is in the desired location for the outdoor outlet to connect to?
Since it is going outside can you use Wago connectors? Or are they only for inside work?
Approved for outside. The code requires the box to be sealed with a gasket and/or caulk.
@7:53: The ground wire has nothing to do with tripping a GFCI. A GFCI monitors differences in current between the hot and neutral. A fault trips the circuit interruptor; it doesn't redirect current to the EGC.
As an electrician, although this method is quick, it doesn't look the best, as the box sticks out a huge amount. We prefer to cut out an opening and install an electrical box inside the wall so that only the bubble cover is on the outside.
As you noted in the video:
NEC Section 210.63 requires a 125-volt, single-phase, 15- or 20-ampere-rated service receptacle located within 25 feet of the following: Heating, air-conditioning, and refrigeration equipment (other than evaporative coolers for one- and two-family dwellings)
So very interesting, thank you!
Screw head orientation isn't typically an aesthetic choice. While not a requirement, it was industry standard among electricians to make switched and switched receptacles by the orientation of the face plate screws. You look at a plate cover for a switch and you'll know that any outlet in the home with the same orientation will be switched and any outlet with the other will be unswitched.
The most common is vertical for joined, unswitched outlets and horizontal to denote that the outlet has had the bridge broken out to run a switch on one and continuous on the other.
it was strange they didn't take out the blue box to some degree. it would have given them more space to find the romex cable and both sped them up and meant less damage in your wall
Personally, I really prefer to give each exterior outlet its own GFCI. It's common for outdoor circuits to trip in use (just doing their job), and you want the reset right there. Sending someone on a hunt around a crowded shop looking for the master one with the reset button is to be avoided.
To have done this, though, you'd need to have supplied it with its own feed, and presumably the existing run of existing GFCI-protected outlets were all that were handy.
Do those receptacles in that room really need GFCI protection? I didn't see any rough in plumbing to indicate a planned water source. On the one GFCI, you could remove the load connections and pigtail or connect them to the Line side, or remove the GFCI and replace it with a regular receptacle. Then you could install a WR GFCI on the outside.
@@surferdude642 If it's a garage / workshop and not living space, I think they do need to be GFCI-protected. Check the code on that, but I think that was coded some years ago.
The problem with doing the wiring as you say is that the outlet they are pigtailing from is itself fed by the load side of the GFCI far upstream. So there isn't an available "line" side to in the vicinity of the exterior outlet-everything nearby is GFCI-protected. You'd need to run a new branch, and at that point, I think it's better to give it its own GFCI right there in the exterior receptacle box where it's being used.
@@jamesburkhard Maybe I wasn't clear about the GFCI change. What I meant was to take that original GFCI in that garage and remove the Load wires from it and join them with the Line side. That way none of those receptacles downstream, including the new outdoor one would be protected. The GFCI would be a stand alone device. I'm assuming that the GFCI is the first receptacle from the sub panel in that circuit.
Well, it looks like GFCI's are required, so my suggestion is moot.
At 7:53 you mentioned the ground wire. This is an equipment grounding conductor and has nothing to do with the ground rod(s). In the event of a ground fault, the current travels through the ground wire to the sub panel then along with the feeder wires to the main panel or first disconnect where it is bonded to the neutral wire which then takes the current back to the transformer and trips the breaker. The neutral and ground wires are separated in all sub panels. The grounding rods are part of the grounding electrode system and their purpose is to protect the building against lightning strikes. If your garage is detached from the house it should have it's own separate grounding rod from the sub panel.
At 8:55, you could also twist the wires together, leaving the new one long and use a green wire nut made for this purpose and eliminate the need for a pigtail.
how about using WAGO's on the pigtails? what does your electrician think of them?
I think he prefers these twist nuts, Erica! Just a good connection that’s also easily reversible.
Wagos are handyman friendly, but most electricians skip them because wire nuts take less inventory and cost mush less per unit. - and good electricians all have an inherent resistance to anything that resembles a stab connection.
@@kenbrown2808 I can see the added cost as a factor, but I would bet that most trades people are just resistant to change, WAGOS have been a proven time saver and if one does not trust the lever from poping up you can use tape or there is another brand with a "snap" in place design that eliminates accidental lifting of the lever. It may seem like a "stab" connection but it isnt at all. Just my 2 cents
@@ericarachel55 I use them for applications where equipment has a short service life. but the Wago has a connection for every wire, whereas wire nuts are just one connection. they also have quite an arc if you do a hot connection, and they rot out in a corrosive environment.
@@ericarachel55 Not much of a time saver. In fact, if one takes the time to tape Wagos closed they are slower. It takes less than a minute to twist wires and thread on a wire nut. Basic 2 wire Wagos costs 3 times as much as wire nuts. That adds up when you use thousands of them.
How does Chris know where the interior wall starts on the outside ?
Nice step by step video. I thought code requires the wires to be torqued to a spec.
Thank you! Not that I know of, but I’ll run it by Chris…
Made tight. Good luck getting electricians to use a torque wrench on every outlet.
Using the GFCI outlet trip as the protection is not advised. True that in this situation, the downstream outlet is indeed temporarily safe (as noted).
But if the outlet being worked on IS the GFCI, there is still power in the box after tripping the GFCI, even though the tester shows no power at the receptacle. Tripping the breaker is a much more reliable way to safe the system. I suspect the electricians also tripped the breaker in this job.
Thanks Ethan!
A good practice is to mark the applicable breaker with a "DO NOT ENGAGE" label, in case someone closes it before the job is done. This is especially important when a circuit has outlets in different rooms.
And I would never consider a circuit safe for work by tripping an upstream GFCI outlet.
Couldn’t you seal around the wire in the hole you drilled through the siding and weather barrier? I let professionals do my electrical work when we got new patio doors. They put most of the fixtures in upside down, including the WP covers and switches.👍
At 8:00 you say the bare ground wire trips the GFCI in the case of a ground fault. I don't think this is correct. It is not your main point, but just to be more correct, my understanding is that a GFCI will trip when the hot wire's current is different from the neutral wire current by a very small amount... implying there is current finding an alternate path to ground. The ground wire doesn't actually have anything to do with it.
Actually if you back up a few seconds before 8:00 he said that the ground wire will trip the breaker, not the GFCI receptacle. You made a good observation here because all the receptacles here are GFCI protected, so the GFCI which trips at approximately 5mA will trip before the circuit breaker which trips at 20 amps. The alternate path in this case is the ground wire.
Nice video. But I think getting the wire through the rear knockout was either very lucky, or very skilled (and that was with a big gap between the outlet and the drywall). Without any of those, I wonder how many of us would have gotten stopped right there.
From the comments, I think using an oscillating saw to cut the nail off the new-work box, remove it, and replace it with an old-work (swing out ears) box - might have been an installation plan more likely to have success for most people.
You could put a piece of nylon rope in the drywall gap, pull it through the box with a hook shaped pick or even a shop vac. Tie and tape it to the nm sheathing, then pull it through with minimal screwdriver manipulation. The drywall got beat up a bit here.
Not an electrician, but at 6:49 it looks like you knocked out the tabs that are supposed to prevent wire pullout. My gut says that might some code.
21:12 I see the electricians didn’t sweep up after their work. 😂
Interesting very different from the UK
I don't usually put a pigtail on ground. Just twist the 2 or more together and cut off the ones you dont need and use what you do.
And then you use a green wire nut or a crimping ferrule, right? You still need to secure the joint.
@@surferdude642I don't usually. I twist them together 1" to 1 1/2" and that's plenty secure. It passes inspection.
Always use a green wire nut. The guy who built my house just twisted and snipped, and I had broken and intermittent grounds all over the place when I moved in.
Nice fishing
Why do you have a 15 amp gfci feeding a 20 amp outlet feeding a 15 amp outside outlet?
It is a bit weird, but it is code compliant because either 15 or 20 amp receptacles are permitted on a 20 amp circuit. I would use 15 amp heavy duty industrial grade for the entire circuit, but 20 amp would also be acceptable and preferred by some.
I would never put a 20 amp outlet in a home unless specifically requested, even though I only use 20 amp circuits and 12g wire. I’ve literally never seen a device that requires one.
@@MoneyManHolmes Totally agree. I saw a Thermador range top that had a 20 amp plug. It required a dedicated circuit, so a 20 amp duplex receptacle would be a code violation.
Good video
Wouldnt it be easier to use a multitool to cut the nail on the plastric box and remove it completely? Pull new wire through and use a southwire smartbox or an old work box. Itll save you all that time fishing the wire in the winy hole and cost maybe $4 tops.
I’ve done this before and yes it can be faster, but not always. After cutting the nails, there will also be 2 large plastic ears that held the nails in place. You have to cut those off too. The old work box has slightly less capacity to accommodate slipping the wire back into the drywall at the same time as the box. If the original box has the wires stapled close, or if you have more than 2 cables running into it, I try to just preserve the original box to avoid frustration.
Twist-cap vs Wago or similar....opinion?
We’ll have to do a video on this! I want the NuBlue guys to sound off on it personally 🙂
What box is this? You linked everything but it
Just for those hooked up. Had to use a different brand, but same box. Couldn’t find that centaur from my usual supplier.
When Jimmy drilled through the exterior wall how did know that he wouldn't drill right through the Romex cable that may be running between the studs. It may be unlikely, but I wouldn't take the risk. I think a safer plan would be to remove that box and drill a pilot hole from the inside. Then you could replace the box with an old work box that screws to the stud and eliminate the task of having to guide the Romex cable into the small knockout.
What is “unused electricity”?
It’s like leftover food 🥩 🥦
@@TheHonestCarpenter If you measure current on hot and neutral and they are not the same you have a ground fault. There is no such thing as unused electricity.
In my opinion, its a demonstration, one of many in the narration, that the guy who did the narration in this video should never be allowed near any electrical wiring project.
I'm glad that the actual work seems to have been done by a qualified electrician, yet even several parts of that work are suspect.
The duplex device in the outside looks an awful lot like a 15 amp device, which s just WRONG in a 20 amp circuit. Where's the telltale T slot on the neutral prong slot to indicate that it is a 20 amp circuit? This is all supposedly done as new work, with newly purchased materials. Why not have the actual WR rated 20 amp duplex device?
And that "chase nipple" even with the plastic insert to avoid friction tears in the Romex sheathing and the black / white internal conductors is also WRONG. A clamp is required.
that's actually a slow method. get a 3-5/8 carbide tooth holesaw, and cut in the middle of the lap of the siding and subsiding. then push the wire from inside and grab it from the outside. put in a round universal cut in box, and use an oversized cover.
As far as I knew, weather resistant outlets had stainless steel contacts inside the slots in the face so humidity wouldn't oxidize them and reduce conductivity.
That makes sense, Robert! Definitely want to avoid corrosion in there.
yes, NEC now requires all outdoor receptacles to be corrosion resistant models.
I'm not sure stainless would help. I've sanded and wire-brushed enough rust off of stainless-steel pipes and valves to know that stainless steel... isn't stainless. It just slows it down.
@kennethmiller2333 there is stainless and there is stainless. High grade stainless holds up well. But there are some environments where corrosion is only half the problem.
@@kenbrown2808 The problem is that "high grade" is an amorphous term. It often deals with things like tensile strength and other mechanical properties. In this case, when dealing with chemical availability to attack, anything that's passing current is going to have a hard time against corrosive environments, especially with conditions that lead to galvanic corrosion.
Now, to be fair, taking a bit of rain in Louisiana is quite different from being pierside in Norfolk, but the point remains.
For corrosion resistance, I prefer things that passivate. However, those have a myriad of other problems in electrical-distribution uses (anyone remember aluminum wiring?).
At my work place some genius put two IP44 outlets outside. Then the female boss wondered why it did trip the braker everytime it rained. Didnt helped that those two outlets were connected to third one inside on one fuse.
I really start to think that standards slipped very badly in all kind of trades.
do you still live in the Greensboro area?
Yep
@@TheHonestCarpenter nice! i live here too, so it's good to learn from someone like you who knows the local specific codes and regulations
Great step by step installation.
That is good information. Electrical work is nothing to play with
why would you not use a fishtape?
Goodness, watching him get that wire through the box holes brought back many infuriating memories.
Takes some finesse 😅
Your ground rod is not proper, is that one of the other projects they're going to tackle?
This is a project I keep wanting to do and it’s an easy one. I guess I’m just lazy. 😂
👍😆
I find that on the rare occasion I do my own electrical wiring, I actually speak the process out loud to make sure I don’t miss anything.
That’s not a bad method, monkey! 😆
Unused electricity? That's... a unique way of saying it.
Elaborate, Kenneth…
@@TheHonestCarpenter First, electricity doesn't get "used up," in that way, so it makes not sense to say that there is used or unused electricity. Rather, current flows. Without a neutral, there is no path for current to flow. All of the metal's valence electrons are full and the electricity effectively "dead heads" (to use a fluid analogy). If you consider an electric load to be like a piston, one side (hot) must be at pressure. The other (neutral) must be at a lower pressure... for instance, vented to atmosphere. Otherwise there is no motion.
From another perspective, the current flowing through the neutral IS the "used" electricity finding its way out of the system (or, in a closed electrical system, finding its way to the negative end of the battery or such) so that there's room for more electrons to follow behind.
Source: Ten years of working in shipboard propulsion plants.
@@kennethmiller2333 Ahh, I gotcha. But what about the portion of electricity that actually gets used through the outlet? I was always led to understand that the electricity flowing back after usage is sort of enervated, and needs to get "recharged" at the power source. Or, is it ever possible that, like, 100% of the juice flowing through that line gets used? What goes back then? Just current with less charge?
@@TheHonestCarpenter That portion of the electricity is what flows back through the neutral.
It's easiest to first picture a simple circuit. One end of a battery wired to a resistor, wired to the other end. Current flows from the positive end (yes, negatively-charged electrons flowing from the positive end of the battery... That's what happens when two conventions for the same thing develop independently - honestly, we should just all decide that electrons are positive and protons are negative - it's an arbitrary assignment anyways), through the load, and back to the negative end.
In large-scale distributions, there is no "negative end" of the battery. So current flows from the positive end of the generator, through the load, and into the neutral leg, which leads back to the distribution line's neutral side.
The important thing to remember is that electricity must be in motion to do anything. That is, current must flow. Everything from heating up light bulbs until they glow to turning a motor is caused by current flowing, not merely by presence of electricity.
You're on the right track with current with less charge. However, what drops is the voltage. Consider that kind of like pressure. Every load causes a voltage drop, which is why wiring them in series is a bad idea. If the first load in the line is at 110V, the second may only be at 80V, which may not be enough to effectively power it. So what happens when it flows through a battery or leaves the generator is the voltage is brought back up to the reference voltage so that it can be "pumped" through the system again.
My man is sweating everything he has in him lol
I cut out the part where I mention that it’s 95 degrees out and we’re all dying. Plus huge mosquitoes everywhere! 😅😅
A chase nipple is not a proper connector for any cable assembly.
ok
19:03 Can’t. Not. See. 🐜
How did you see that?? I didn’t even see them when we were there 😅
We’ve had ant problems before, so part of my brain is always keeping an eye out whenever it detects a parge coat or foundation line 🤷♂️
🏡🏡
I thought “backstabbing “ was a no no
It’s not backstabbing. That’s a screw clamp terminal. You have to enter the clamp through that hole.
Don't use the backstab holes on the back of the outlet. Some outlets allow you to back wire into clamps on the screw terminals. Those are my preferred connections. Completely solid and don't require making hooks.
@@sociopathmercenary good to know thanks
🏗🏗🏗
The US method of installing electrical work is so different compared to EU methods! (we really have a better system, sorry brothers)
Could you briefly elaborate? Would love to hear some key differences
I fear that someone is inevitably going to watch this and do the little trick with the GFCI and then pull that receptacle and get electrocuted.
Please just turn off the breaker, or remove the fuse.