Chris Lewis wrote:
According to zxcvbob :

It's really difficult to shove all the #12 solid wires back into a
handybox when wiring a new 20A duplex outlet outlet and another cable
exits the box to feed the next outlet. And the main problem seems to be
the #12 wire to ground the box. I'm tempted to use #14 bare wire, since
the box *should* be grounded by the yoke of the installed outlet. But
even that would be a stiff solid wire going the wrong general direction
to bend easily.



What about using #12 green-insulated stranded wire? Can it be twisted
into the red wirenut with the other three #12 bare solid wires? Do I
need to crimp on a terminal lug, or just twist the strands into a little
loop and hook them under the green ground screw?


I believe you're supposed to use terminal lugs for stranded wire used as
house wire under simple screw terminators.

This is how I do this - fewer wirenuts.

Leave the ground wire on the feed cable _very_ long (like 8").

Run it direct to the closest box screw, half a turn, thence to the outlet
ground screw (leave an inch or more of slack), thence to a wirenut to the
ground of the downstream cable.

I do the same for the neutral (except for the box screw ;-)



Thanks. That helped tremendously. I just wired a box where I gave the
ground supply wire 3/4 turn around a ground screw as soon as it entered the
box and then wired the outlet as usual. The finished wires and device
shoved into the box much easier.

I'm gonna use a deep plastic box (about 20 in3) for the one outlet box that
will have three 12-2wg cables and a duplex receptacle all in one box, so
I can eliminate the pesky equipment ground to the box altogether.

I saw some 8" flexible ground pigtails at the store yesterday. They were
about 50 cents each so I didn't get any until I tried your trick first;
they had a fork connector crimped on one end and a ring connector with and
a captive ground screw on the other end of a green #12 stranded wire. I
might get a couple for my junkbox because they could be really handy sometimes.

Best regards,
Bob