The 50 cent Jap Wrap doesn't last, the 3 dollar per roll 3M tape lasts
a very long time.

Of course the foreman acts like he is giving you a kidney when he
gives you a roll.


On Wed, 19 Aug 2009 22:42:06 -0400, "Andrew M. Saucci, Jr."
wrote:

In my experience, electrical tape loses its stickiness long before
any other component in an electrical installation would otherwise fail or
need to be replaced. I don't have lots of faith in electrical tape for any
long-term role of importance and try to avoid using it for anything other
than holding a cable onto a snake.

"Nate Nagel" wrote in message
...
just wrap a turn of electrical tape around the recep in a tight box

nate

Andrew M. Saucci, Jr. wrote:
One advantage of a backstabbed connection is that if the end of
the conductor is carefully trimmed, none of the conductor is actually
exposed inside the box. That can reduce the chance of a short, especially
in a metal box or where a bare grounding conductor is present. This would
be a particular advantage if screw terminals were not present at all
(uncommon these days).

Screw terminals can be dangerous too if they are over tightened
or under tightened, or if the conductor is poorly trimmed.

"David Nebenzahl" wrote in message
.com...
I'm here to say that the conventional wisdom that one gets here--that
"backstabbed" wiring is bad, evil, and always leads to failure--may not
be correct.

[To the perplexed, "backstabbed" means that instead of using screw
terminals to connect wires to devices such as outlets and switches, the
stripped (solid) wire is pushed into a connector that grabs the wire
inside the device. Very commonly used "in the field".]

The opinion one reads here most often is that this is an inferior wiring
method that must always be suspected when there are electrical problems,
that it should be avoided and that it should be corrected if found.

I'm not sure that's correct.

First of all, it is an approved, UL/CSA tested, and, most importantly,
code-approved (US building code) wiring method. If it was as all-fired
bad as folks here claim, why would it still be allowed? After all, the
building codes tend to err on the side of caution.

My own experience, as limited as it might be, has not shown backstabbed
connections to be the source of any trouble. I recently worked on a
house built in the 1960s in which all devices were backstabbed. I was
called to add a circuit, not to correct any problems. There was no
current problem with any device that I could see, nor was there any
history of any such problems.

I'd like to see some more evidence for the badness of backstabbed
connections. Everything I read here is either based on anecdotal
evidence, or just speculation and personal preference.

I will say that I personally don't like backstabbed connections; as
tempting as they are (a lot faster than
stripping/bending/screwing/crimping using screw connections), I prefer
the "old-school" method. But I do think they've gotten an unfairly bad
rap. Furthermore, I refrain from automatically correcting them
(replacing backstabbed connections with screwed ones) when I see them,
on the theory of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it", and I suggest this
to others. Especially newbies and DIYers; I think it's bad advice to
automatically suspect backstabbed connections as the source of a fault,
and to imply that they should all be ripped out and redone.

Let the brawling commence.


--
Found--the gene that causes belief in genetic determinism





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