snowburnt wrote:
I was replacing some receptacles in my kitchen (20 Amp circuit). I
pulled out the existing receptacles and found that they had 7 wires
going into them, 3 white 3 black and 1 ground. the receptacle had 2
screw terminals per side, and the extra 2 wires were in the back,
pushed in.

I was going to try to duplicate this but the new receptacles only
accept 14 gauge in the back and the old ones accept 12 or 14...the
wires seem to be 12. so I can't duplicate with these decor plugs.

should I try to find receptacles with the 12 cu wires or could I put
two wires per screw, or connect two of them with a connector?

thanks

As has been said you can 'pigtail' all the wires but if you find that
there is not enough room or you just want to duplicate what you have
then one option would be to get the 'back feed' type outlets. These have
holes on the back (8 total) where you put the wires in the holes and
then tighten the screws on the side. These type are more expensive about
$3.00 each. They work with 12ga or 14ga wires.
Kevin