8" from where the wire exits the raceway or sheath.
If its in the back of the box and the box is 2" then only 6" out
front.
If you are using 12-2 then you need to strip the sheath off where its
entering the box as soon as you can and not have to deal with all the
sheaths on the cable.




On 6 Oct 2006 16:48:25 -0700, "jimbob" wrote:

One thing I see in print a lot is that many codes require 8 inches of
workable wire to extend beyond the face of the electrical box when you
install a switch or outlet. This seems to be a lot and is difficult to
work with especially if you are using 12/2 wiring in a standard size
box. It's a little better with a deeper box, but still seems
excessive.

I was wondering whether current codes require that you actually stuff 8
inches of wire into boxes or whether this is what you leave at the
rough in inspection stage to be trimmed to fit when switches are
actually installed. I am doing some of my own work, but I have had
work done here by a real electrician and he is not stuffing in 8 inches
of wire.

Any thoughts?

Thanks.