On Fri, 17 Mar 2006 13:37:45 -0500, BOB wrote:

Wires Too Short in Outlet Box, How to Extend Length ?

I have some 110 volt boxes which hold the Outlets and some are for
Light switches. The problem is when I go to replace the old outlet or
light switch the wires are so short that reconnecting a new outlet or
wire is impossible. The wires literally will not even allow me to get
to the screw without great effort.

So when I go to install the new outlet/light switch some of the wires
either broke.

This section of the house is about 50 years old and it appears these
are the oldest boxes.

Is there a good/safe way to EXTEND those 110 volt wires?
I tried using 12 gauge wires and using a wire nut to extend a piece
but this made it impossible to push all those wires back into the box.

So does anyone have a method to extend those wires?

Thanks,

Back when I worked as an electrician I came across this in buildings
built around WWII. Must have been due to copper shortage. Most
annoying! I would try insulated crimp butt splices. They would be a
bit smaller than wirenuts. The trick will be finding a crimper you
can fit into the box. Might have to grind off part of the tool.
Another possibility is search for other wire nuts. I've seen some
that were huge compared to others, even though they were all for use
on a similar quantity of #12 wires.

Steve Noll | The Used Equipment Dealer Directory:
| http://www.big-list.com