MAKING UP AN OUTLET BOX

A crimp tool may be used instead of a

wire nut for the ground.

If there will be two receptacles In a box,

make up two sets of pigtails.

lectricians call the last stage of rough wiring making up a box.

If you go the latter route, leave only one ground wire sticking out
of the crimp, which you'll wrap around the ground screw O .
Next, use a wire stripper to remove 1/2 in. of insulation from the

Here. you'll remove sheathing from cables inside the boxes,

group like wires, splice grounds, and-if the box is metal-attach
ground wires to a ground screw. At this point, many electricians

wire ends. Use wire connectors to splice all neutral wires together

simply splice all wire groups because it will save time later.

and all hot wires together O. As we recommended earlier, splice a

First use a cab le ripper

to remove the cable sheathing .

short pigtail to each wire group as well. Attaching neutral and hot

Leave a minimum of '/4 in. of sheathing inside the box and a maximum of 1 in. Electricians favor utllity knives to remove sheathing,

pigtails to the receptacle screw terminals ensures continuity power

even if a receptacle fails. If the box will contain two receptacles,

but nonpros are less likely to nick wire insulation with a ripper.

create two groups of pigtails

Once you've removed the sheathing, separate the insulated wires

O.

Accordion-fold the wire groups into the box and you're ready for
inspection. If necessary, install a mud ring to brin g the box open-

and bare ground wires .

There are several ways to splice grounds. You can use a twist-

ing flush to finish surfaces. The mud ring shou ld be installed before

on wire connector (Wire-Nut is one brand) and run a pigtail to the

you've repaired the plaster or drywall

ground screw. Or you can twist the bare wires and crimp them

198 1 MAKING UP AN OUTLET BOX

O.

O.

INSTALLING AC CABLE

o install AC cable, start by

marking the box heights onto

the studs and installing the metal

boxes flush to finish surfaces or
flush to the stud edges. Remove
the box knockouts you'll need. Then
drill the studs and run the AC cable
through each hole. Staple it every
41/2 ft. along the run and within
12 in. of each box.
Use a Rota-Split to cut through

a single coil of the cable 's metal

jacket. then slide off the severed
jacket section to expose the wires
inside. Use diagonal cutters to snip

off the kraft paper covering the

wires

O. Slide a plastic antishort

bushing between the wires and

the metal jacket

O. Next. wrap the

silver bonding wire around the outside of the jacket

O. Wrapping this

wire bonds the jacket and creates a

continuous ground path.
Slide a setscrew connector over
the end of the AC cable and tighten
the setscrew to the meta ! jacket

O.

The screw compresses the cable

jacket and the bonding wire, holding them fast and ensuring a continuous ground. Insert the threaded
end of the connector into a box
knockout. Then tighten the locknut
that secures the connector

O.

Attach a mud ring to the box to

bring it flush to finish surfaces,
which will be installed later, and
fold the wires into the box

O.

INSTALLING AC CABLE

I 203

MAKING TURNS WITH METAL CONDUIT

o change directions in a metal conduit

system, you can either bend the pipe or

install directional fittings such as offset adaptors, elbows, or Condulets. EMT pipe is rigid, but
its walls are thin enough to bend easily with a
conduit bender.
Pros bend conduit whenever possible. Bending pipe reduces the number of speCialty fittings
to buy and enables pipe to follow the contours
of surfaces and structural elements. It's not

necessary or desirable for conduit to follow

every last jog or bulge in a wall; the simpler you

Pull and simultaneously step on

one side of the bender.

Conduit benders can also create

multiple offset anqles.

can make an installation, the better it will look

and the faster it will progress.
To bend pipe, use a fe lt-tipped marker to
mark the beginning of the bend on the pipe.
Slide the pipe into the bender

O. Gently step

on one side of the bender and simultaneously

pull on the lever bar

O. The raised

marks on

the outer curve of the bender indicate the

angle you're creating in the pipe-typically,
15,22 1/2,30,45, or 60 degrees.
After bending the conduit-but before cutting it to final length-test-fit the piece to see if
it lines up with the connector on the box

or

to a coupling that joins two pipe sections. With

practice, you can also offset pipe

O. Offsetting

creates two bends in opposite directions so a

length of conduit can move from one plane
to another.
There are a couple of rules to keep in mind
as you bend conduit. First, there's a min imum
requirement bend-radius for conduit: lOx the
diameter. For 1/2-in.-diameter conduit. for
example, the minimum bend radius is 5 in.
Second , each turn makes it harder to pull

USING DIRECTIONAL FITTINGS

You can also use directional fittings
to make turns. A T-condulet enables
you to run wires in different directions and doubles as a pulling point
when fishing wire. To attach pipe
to a condulet, first screw a locknut
onto the threaded shaft of a male

adaptor. Turn the adaptor most

of the way into the Condutet hub
and turn the locknut clockwise
until it seats against the hub.
BacHightening the locknut in
this manner ensures grounding
continu ity.

Use a T-condulet as a pufflnq point

for fishinq wlres_ Here, wires from
the source diverqe in two directions.

To attach pipe to a condulet, use an

adapter and back-tiqhten the locknut
until it lodqes aqainst the hub.

wire. So between each pair of boxes, you can

have no more than 360 degrees of bends. In
practice, every fourth turn should be a pulling
point in which you can access and pull wire-in
other words, the fourth turn should be a pulling elbow, a condulet. or a junction box. There
is not enough room to splice wires in a pulling
elbow or in a condulet. Splice wires only in a
junction or outlet box.

206 1 MAKING TURNS WITH METAL CONDUIT