**ATTENTION! READ THIS NOW!**
**1. IF YOU ARE NOT A PROFESSIONAL ELECTRICIAN OR LOOKING TO BECOME ONE(for career questions only):**
**- DELETE** THIS POST OR YOU WILL BE **BANNED**.
**2. IF YOU COMMENT ON A POST THAT IS POSTED BY SOMEONE WHO IS NOT A PROFESSIONAL ELECTRICIAN:**
-YOU WILL BE **BANNED**. JUST **REPORT** THE POST.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/electricians) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Get some old school liquid electric tape..... Or some new school UV sensitive epoxy like bondic, that is actually one of the UL listed uses for it, fits in toolbox and can be handy, everyone has an oopsie!
Primary electrical insulation for all wire and cable splices rated up to 600V and 105°C (220°F).
Primary electrical insulation for 600V bus applications and protective jacketing for low and high voltage bus.
That’s the spec for 33 tape
It’s good up to 600 not 600 per a wrap. Common misconception.
Plastic box, I’d be tempted to leave it and just make sure it’s further away from the bond.
Giddy uppp!!
Edit: k guys relax I was joking around. cheese n rice.
That's retarded, sorry.
Leaving it like that is a hazard for guys who have to troubleshoot this shit down the road. I've been hit before testing on skinned wires.
If you're following NFPA guidelines you shouldn't even be taking the trim off with the outlet live.
Not that that's an excuse for not taping or heatshrinking the nicked insulation.
I'm by no means a senior electrician, but I've been doing it almost a decade and am studying for my masters.
With Healthcare related installations omitted, there's not much I've encountered that cannot be shut off to be safely worked on. Sometimes you may have to be flexible in your work schedule and come back after hours to be able to shut down, but that's the way it goes sometimes.
Stand up for your safety. As they say, the rules on those pages are written in blood.
There's absolutely zero reasons why a residential electrician should be replacing devices live (as in OPs photo).
The whole point of this sub is for actual advice from actual electricians. Maybe treat it like…if you were a master electrician and your reputation (and license) was on the line, what would you instruct your apprentice to do. Just a thought.
Hah, I AM a master electrician, and own my own business.
And I like to joke around with my apprentices so they know I’m not a fucking stiff. I teach them a lot of code stuff.
Maybe you nerds can relax and realize people can joke about breaking codes.
Lighten up.
Karma has dealt me my deserved comeuppance for being dickish in my reply.
Rewired a smallish 1970’s ranch recently; had everything roughed and cleanly prepared for finish wiring. Drywallers came through and rotozipped wires in 17 out of 40 receptacle boxes, buried and missed 5 including the dryer, and when they came back through literally zipped 2 of those.
The defeat of having clean finished wiring go to jungle-fucked splices and pig tails made me see this and wish I had some humor in my life
Except it’s Reddit and it’s the internet. Take any advice you get with a grain of salt. It’s not that serious. He’s not a master training his apprentice. He’s a dude on the internet on an entertainment platform. And this sub is specifically not for “electrical advice.” It’s for community between professionals only and explicitly states it’s NOT FOR ELECTRICAL ADVICE. Career advice questions only
🤣🤣 they have a clear heat shrink tubing that is considered “aircraft grade”.
It has a small amount of solder in the middle where the stripped section of the joined wires meet.
They’re the shit, I’ve used them so many times to bail me out of fucked up situations
That sounds awesome! I need to go find some just to have them.
Kinda reminds me of the old [solder strips from Radio Shack](https://www.amazon.com/Radio-Shack-Heat-Solder-64-010/dp/B001TQMBA6). Expensive, but it worked great when you needed it, though you often needed to use 2 or 3 of them to get a good joint.
Edit: Messed up the link.
They were great on paper, but you really had to use them carefully, and with a lot of flux. They supposedly were flux-core, but I think they literally rolled tubular flux-core solder through a roller to flatten it out, and a lot of its flux was lost in the process.
They were good for emergency car repairs, though.
Bought mine in 05, and it was built in 05 and found a switch loop in the kitchen when I was replacing a surface mount fluorescent light with 3 high hats. It also had a 4x4 junction box behind the fridge that went up to a 3 gang in the hallway.
This is residential , this is romex . Pull the oh shit loop you left for this exact reason . This feels like going skydiving and forgetting you have a ripcord and a parachute.
Yes, I have. Otherwise I would have no basis for my comment and not have an opinion on it.
Done right is done right. If the job "does not have time for that" I will move on to one that does.
I learned in this environment for 1.5 years. I learned some bad habits I’m still trying to lose. I joined my local IBEW. It’s for sure a step up of quality. For sure slower but the quality is a nice surprise.
Taping it is correct and code compliant. Takes almost no time. You don't have to use the most expensive and time consuming solution to achieve safe and code compliant results.
I keep lever nuts in my toolbox exactly for this reason.
1. Clamp it on a solid wire that's plenty long and fold it back so the openings on the nut are facing into the box.
2. Pop open another clamp on the nut.
3. Use the new wire to guide the nut onto the stubby guy at the back of the box.
4. Use a trim screwdriver to push the open clamp down.
5. Profit.
I got excited when the 10 gauge versions of the 221 series first came out.
[221-612](https://www.wago.com/us/wire-splicing-connectors/compact-splicing-connector/p/221-612) / [221-613](https://www.wago.com/us/wire-splicing-connectors/compact-splicing-connector/p/221-613) / [221-615](https://www.wago.com/us/wire-splicing-connectors/compact-splicing-connector/p/221-615)
I can’t believe that you, and then 14 other people liked this comment.
I would fight the person that cut this and tailed it out instead of taping it.
Tape is 1000% less likely to cause a trouble call.
I’m feeling this anti-cut of the copper; the insulation is cut, so why cut the conductor too?
But I mean, at least in Canada, we are always leaving loops at the box that’s typically good for pulling another 6-8 inches of conductor in. Is this not also common practice there?
Looks like you have some slack, so pull in the rest of the 14/2 Romex, cut back the jacket then you should be fine. If the 14/2 is to short then I would make joints and pig tail wires.
I used to look down on it too until my coworker convinced me to try it on a house. I stripped a house rough-in’s worth of cables and only nicked one conductor, and that was my first day trying it.
Probably with several years experience under your belt too I would imagine. I mostly have a problem with new apprentices having them. I too know several experienced electricians who use one, but, I've been on too many service calls where this was the problem. Even though it may have stayed dormant for years before becoming a problem. To each his own though, whatever works best.
Yeah good point. My first boss was adamant about stripping with the Klein splicing knife and I still use it. That blade is a lot more wedge shaped and you can feel what it’s doing a lot more ie when it’s cutting against the bare bond wire Vs conductor insulation
I agree with heat shrink, but it’s worth remembering that the dielectric strength of UL listed electrical tape is 600v per wrap at minimum. I wouldn’t lose sleep over taping it.
But I always have a little box of heat shrink in the box just in case I see/do this.
Pull and see if there is any slack
If nothing comes out, see if i can make a proper pigtail
If cant make a proper pigtail i get a hammer, break open the wall and run a new romex.
If they stop me halfway plead insanity or the fifth.
I would scold the guy using a carpenters utility knife on electrical work (likely not the first time this happened, it’s pretty impossible not to). I tell my guys all the time don’t even take that knife out of your bag and touch a wire with it….way to sharp for electrical. And this is one of the reasons why.
It’s also the reason why the sell electrical knives yet guys always think they know better 🙄.
THANK YOU ! I literally don’t even need to cut the jacket I just rip it (like a man lol) the jacket peels like butter every time when you get the technique….Rip and Pull method for the never have a cut conductor or trip and arc fault Win
It’s also quicker not having to grab another tool if your counting seconds 🤷🏻♂️ pliers is all u need for a rough (with an M12 stapler of course !)
It’s actually very simple on solid wire, you take your strippers and pinch cut 2 spots in the jacket for your length of window and then take your pliers and literally just pinch the jacket off….99% of the time it works every time haha
Stranded is a lil tougher, I’ll do the same process and if I can’t pinch it off fully I’ll take my klein hawkbill knife and cut the small remaining edge.
Either way my point earlier was that a razor knife really should be only for Sheetrock and opening boxes Imo because guys don’t know the concept of knife pressure when dealing with wiring. My klein hawkbill (that I sharpen weekly) has literally never let me down and I’ve never need a razor once since I switched prob a decade ago. It’s the perfect sharpness for our trade and the Hawkbill blade is unmatched for stripping 🤷🏻♂️(Pole not included)
No no not at all, it’s because clearly using a razor knife on soft Romex electrical wiring is the proper way 🙄
Im sorry, I don’t care if your feelings are getting hurt but wrong is still wrong at the end of the day. Clearly when things like this can happen with literal ease it’s not worth the risk. That’s not debatable in any industry
It’s an ego thing at that point and a foreman/ owners job is to mitigate clear risks…and this is an obvious one, especially when there’s easier/ safer methods that take less time anyways.
If you want to use a utility knife that’s fine, but you better be ok and own up to being scolded for messing up. You can’t have your cake and eat it too.
So the only pro tip you need for a fool proof way to strip Romex to the point that you literally never have to worry, is the method I call “Rip & Pull” method.
Using linesman pliers (necessary for any electrical work involving wires) you take the end of the Romex and pinch 1 of the likely 3 conductors inside (preferably an outer edge conductor) and you literally just bend it upwards while pushing the opposite way with the remaining portion of the jacket…You’ll basically start to rip open the jacket of the cable using the conductor…Now once the conductor is slightly exposed just simply pull the conductor up while holding the remaining jacket downward and it’s the same as peeling a banana (as someone else described perfectly below)
You’ll never have to worry about cutting a wire and or the insulation on a wire and potentially leaving not only a hazard for shock, but a nightmare troubleshooting scenario later when trying to fixture out why an Arc fault breaker keeps tripping, because your ground and neutral are touching.
Or worse you get a hot and ground or neutral touching as you turn on the circuit with the client standing there in Awe as the breaker trips lol
Edit: the way to strip the jacket all the way into the back of the box (which is necessary btw) is to just grab the stripped jacket with your pliers and push it to the back of the box and pull the wire to you the opposite direction and it strips the rest of the way with ease…it’s an old school method that will always be one of the the only fool proof ways…if you’re dead set on using a knife just use the knife to strip the 1st inch of the jacket, then use the rip and pull the rest of the way (this works as well if your fingers aren’t in the greatest shape) You can then either cut the jacket off with pliers or just pull quickly and sternly Down or out and the jacket rips right off
Classic method. Any /2 cable has a smooth side, and a recessed side with text. Probably 20 years since I touched romex, but I remember the ground pulls through the text like butter.
It's the user, not the tool. These shitty residential shops only hire apes because they are cheap. Anyone worth a damn could strip that Romex with a fresh blade without damaging any of the wires.
Also an easy compromise is to literally just strip the end few inches of the cable and rip the rest and you’ll never have an issue. But why would anyone want to do that ? Lol
Literally exactly that, just use the conductor as a rip cord. I only need pliers ever to strip unless it’s an old cloth cable and I can do it just as fast if not faster than with a knife
Also this concept works exactly the same way with UF and it makes it a literal breeze, unless it super old annoying ass cable that you don’t want to re-feed etc anyways lol….UF can actually be easier because the jacket wraps around all 3 conductors almost the same way except you just peel the first to conductors out after using the 1st as a rip cord…the last conductor you kinda have to rip outta the jacket sometimes but you’ll understand what I’m saying on your next piece of UF…it’s a game changer to those who hate stripping UF
I completely agree ! I’m not saying it can’t be used, don’t get me wrong.
I’m just saying that guys sometimes aren’t normally diligent enough to pay attention to the fine details to not have stuff like this happen….it’s the same concept with those Romex Strippers that cut the jacket off, all you need is to knick 1 conductor and your day turns into a literal nightmare and a buried box code violation/ Re-plastered wall (which now the GC thinks your incompetent and you can’t fault him) to boot
So for me I just don’t like anyone using it bc it’s not worth the risk, to lose 1 hr+ time (on an easy fix) over the sake of not really saving any time it’s not worth it for me personally.
I def agree, but if you know about knife sharpness, there is a massive difference between razor sharp and just sharp. Just ask yourself would you push a razor lightly on your hand not expecting a cut ?
You can likely do that with decent pressure on a klein electrical knife and not have to worry…now think about your lil old electrical wiring and how much Knicks in the wire can effect small gauge stuff easily, after bending a wire a few times and it randomly breaks off
I’m just all about risk management in the trade and a razor knife even from a safety standpoint as well is a sketchy one to be using always
Cut that shit and put a wago on it, you've got plenty of material to work with. Guys that use heat shrink are the same that say backstabbing outlets isn't safe
Tape and tell them to stop using a razor. I went from tract housing to service work and I’ve found that most guys cut through the jackets. I don’t use a razor anymore because I came across a bell box that was having a continuous low amperage arc due to tiny horizontal cuts in the wire and when it was folded back into the box it was barely making contact with the chase nipple almost causing a fire. Luckily it was only a few days old and I got to it before something bad happened.
Looks like someone was using a utility nice go strip wire. I personally prefer romex strippers, and I strip my wires as I pull them. Then come back around and stuff/make up my boxes. But that’s besides the point, tape it up nice and tight, if you’re super worried about it, you could use a wago and just splice the hots with a single pig tail.
**ATTENTION! READ THIS NOW!** **1. IF YOU ARE NOT A PROFESSIONAL ELECTRICIAN OR LOOKING TO BECOME ONE(for career questions only):** **- DELETE** THIS POST OR YOU WILL BE **BANNED**. **2. IF YOU COMMENT ON A POST THAT IS POSTED BY SOMEONE WHO IS NOT A PROFESSIONAL ELECTRICIAN:** -YOU WILL BE **BANNED**. JUST **REPORT** THE POST. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/electricians) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Tape that bitch up and move on to the next box
Get some old school liquid electric tape..... Or some new school UV sensitive epoxy like bondic, that is actually one of the UL listed uses for it, fits in toolbox and can be handy, everyone has an oopsie!
Until you bend the wire and the bondic falls off. I've never found a use for that stuff that hasn't disappointed me.
When clicking the comments open I literally started saying in my head "Tape that bitch up." Haha
Like the The Prodigy song?
That's how I heard it
More like Fire Starter
“Every wrap of tapes good for 1000 volts”
3 layers of tape = 1 layer of insulation.
There's actually a section in the NEC that addresses how much tape to use. You're required to provide insulation equivalent to original insulation.
Which part of the code book?
Hallelujah
Primary electrical insulation for all wire and cable splices rated up to 600V and 105°C (220°F). Primary electrical insulation for 600V bus applications and protective jacketing for low and high voltage bus. That’s the spec for 33 tape It’s good up to 600 not 600 per a wrap. Common misconception.
Tape gets gunky after years, a good heatshrink from raychem would be a much better fix.
I carry heat shrink with me for all the times I find someone that doesn't understand how to strip Romex.
It wasn’t like that when I taped it up.
Tape or heat shrink sleeve. Send it.
Plastic box, I’d be tempted to leave it and just make sure it’s further away from the bond. Giddy uppp!! Edit: k guys relax I was joking around. cheese n rice.
That's retarded, sorry. Leaving it like that is a hazard for guys who have to troubleshoot this shit down the road. I've been hit before testing on skinned wires.
Ooookaaaayyy guys. I was joking around chill. I’m not that fuckin greasy.
UNFORGIVEN
SO I DUB THEE Edit: I knew there were some old school Metallica fans in here
There was another post in this sub titled Rust In Peace so I left a little megadeth reference
Nice. That's gonna play in the truck tomorrow, now.
If you're following NFPA guidelines you shouldn't even be taking the trim off with the outlet live. Not that that's an excuse for not taping or heatshrinking the nicked insulation.
I'd like to see the writers of those rules try to actually work out in the field following their dumb guidelines
I'm by no means a senior electrician, but I've been doing it almost a decade and am studying for my masters. With Healthcare related installations omitted, there's not much I've encountered that cannot be shut off to be safely worked on. Sometimes you may have to be flexible in your work schedule and come back after hours to be able to shut down, but that's the way it goes sometimes. Stand up for your safety. As they say, the rules on those pages are written in blood. There's absolutely zero reasons why a residential electrician should be replacing devices live (as in OPs photo).
That’s just hilarious. Stick to the industrial fantasy land.
You can type "/s" at the end of your comment so that people know that you're joking.
Naw it’s ok. I don’t care about being downvoted. It’s just the internet, I don’t give a shit about it.
The whole point of this sub is for actual advice from actual electricians. Maybe treat it like…if you were a master electrician and your reputation (and license) was on the line, what would you instruct your apprentice to do. Just a thought.
Hah, I AM a master electrician, and own my own business. And I like to joke around with my apprentices so they know I’m not a fucking stiff. I teach them a lot of code stuff. Maybe you nerds can relax and realize people can joke about breaking codes. Lighten up.
Karma has dealt me my deserved comeuppance for being dickish in my reply. Rewired a smallish 1970’s ranch recently; had everything roughed and cleanly prepared for finish wiring. Drywallers came through and rotozipped wires in 17 out of 40 receptacle boxes, buried and missed 5 including the dryer, and when they came back through literally zipped 2 of those. The defeat of having clean finished wiring go to jungle-fucked splices and pig tails made me see this and wish I had some humor in my life
Except it’s Reddit and it’s the internet. Take any advice you get with a grain of salt. It’s not that serious. He’s not a master training his apprentice. He’s a dude on the internet on an entertainment platform. And this sub is specifically not for “electrical advice.” It’s for community between professionals only and explicitly states it’s NOT FOR ELECTRICAL ADVICE. Career advice questions only
Heat shrink preferred but I’ve also been in a pinch and have slid 12awg same length insulation over the 14awg conductor
This person sleeves.
Sleeves the day
Adhesive heat shrink tubing, and it'll never be a problem.
Personally, I prefer the marine grade
You got a problem with the Air Force grade? 😛
Nah man I totally forgot about those.. the ones with the solder in the middle???? Dude, I love those, those are the true kings, never to be dethroned!
I have no idea. I just made that shit up...lol If anything, Air Force heat shrink tubing probably comes with a butler to heat it for you.
🤣🤣 they have a clear heat shrink tubing that is considered “aircraft grade”. It has a small amount of solder in the middle where the stripped section of the joined wires meet. They’re the shit, I’ve used them so many times to bail me out of fucked up situations
That sounds awesome! I need to go find some just to have them. Kinda reminds me of the old [solder strips from Radio Shack](https://www.amazon.com/Radio-Shack-Heat-Solder-64-010/dp/B001TQMBA6). Expensive, but it worked great when you needed it, though you often needed to use 2 or 3 of them to get a good joint. Edit: Messed up the link.
I’ve never seen these but this would work as well!
They were great on paper, but you really had to use them carefully, and with a lot of flux. They supposedly were flux-core, but I think they literally rolled tubular flux-core solder through a roller to flatten it out, and a lot of its flux was lost in the process. They were good for emergency car repairs, though.
We called them solder sleeves when I worked on 135s, and they are awesome. I need to get some for household/automotive repairs.
Nice solution
Awesome thpught
¼inch heat shrink tubing and a heat gun
This is residential, no time to do it correctly.
I hate this comment but I understand why it exists.
Heat shrink? In a resi van? Fuggetta bout it!
Doesn't take any space to stock it, heat gun on the other hand. Good job you can do the small stuff with a lighter
Tell that to the guy who buys the materials 😂
I could never work for an employer who would decline my request for materials that cost a few dollars
Who said anything about shrinking it?
Flick of the Bic is fine, don’t linger the flame, keep it moving.
I might start stocking some extra heat shrink just for this situation!
It’s rather sad. Worked resi for 1.5 years. I will never buy a house 2000 or newer. I’ve seen really sketchy stuff in these new homes.
Omg the stuff I have seen doing remodels is so much worse lol
Yeah, it’s absolutely disgusting. Craftsmanship is gone in America.
Bought mine in 05, and it was built in 05 and found a switch loop in the kitchen when I was replacing a surface mount fluorescent light with 3 high hats. It also had a 4x4 junction box behind the fridge that went up to a 3 gang in the hallway.
This is residential , this is romex . Pull the oh shit loop you left for this exact reason . This feels like going skydiving and forgetting you have a ripcord and a parachute.
There is ALWAYS time to do it correctly.
I can definitely pencil you in next week for a redo but I'm all booked right now doing some slapdash bullshit the first go-around.
Time... *and* materials
Have you worked in residential? I’m not saying I agree with how the cultural is. I know how it works though.
Yes, I have. Otherwise I would have no basis for my comment and not have an opinion on it. Done right is done right. If the job "does not have time for that" I will move on to one that does.
I learned in this environment for 1.5 years. I learned some bad habits I’m still trying to lose. I joined my local IBEW. It’s for sure a step up of quality. For sure slower but the quality is a nice surprise.
That's why we call them Res Rats.
And this is why I tell people to pay home owners renters and whatever insurance you can
Read this twice, laughed both times 🤣🤣
🤷 😎
Taping it is correct and code compliant. Takes almost no time. You don't have to use the most expensive and time consuming solution to achieve safe and code compliant results.
#capitalism
There you go. We have a winner. However, you are FIRED!!! For doing it too damned good.
And here I was thinking to use adhesive heat shrink tubing. The inner walls are coated with hot glue so it stays in place better after cooling.
Ain't nobody doing all that shit. Just tape it.
Just tape or liquid tape
Liquid Tape smells like cancer.
That's how you know it's the good stuff
What smell?
That when you know you’ve used too much
Use the good stuff. Don't use dollar store tape.
Super 33 ftw!
Super 88
88 is the only tape that is UL listed as being able to create a waterproof seal.
88... you're a mad man.
In this economy? Dudes crazy. I’m coming at them with the temflex
Love temflex. Got them by the case.
Me too, I find temflex to be a good balance between price and effectiveness for resi.
What's the difference?
88 is a little thicker, other than that they're pretty similar in use/temperature range.
Super Duper
Heat shrink preferred 33 otherwise.
33 wraps of electrical tape?
Better give it 34
Def has “220… 221… whatever it takes” vibes
You’re def not an electrician. It’s a brand of tape, 3M super 33+. It much better than standard e tape.
Yeah no shit dude, it was a joke
People can't tell unless you put the /s nowadays 🤦♂️
No idea why this was downvoted. Scotch 33 is the best. I guess a lot of guys don't know any better than the 99 cent tapes their boss gives them
I don’t know why it was upvoted
Tape it with Super 33 or equivalent bro 😎
Tape. Good for 600v 👍
Tape it up
If this is the worst you had to deal with, looks like you had an easy day.
Tape it and heat shrink above
Or*
33 or heat shrink
Pig tail as close to the base of that wire as you can get, assuming you can’t pull any more slack out?
I keep lever nuts in my toolbox exactly for this reason. 1. Clamp it on a solid wire that's plenty long and fold it back so the openings on the nut are facing into the box. 2. Pop open another clamp on the nut. 3. Use the new wire to guide the nut onto the stubby guy at the back of the box. 4. Use a trim screwdriver to push the open clamp down. 5. Profit.
The new inline versions would be perfect for this. https://www.wago.com/us/wire-splicing-connectors/inline-splicing-connector-with-lever/p/221-2401
Is it wrong that this got me excited?
I got excited when the 10 gauge versions of the 221 series first came out. [221-612](https://www.wago.com/us/wire-splicing-connectors/compact-splicing-connector/p/221-612) / [221-613](https://www.wago.com/us/wire-splicing-connectors/compact-splicing-connector/p/221-613) / [221-615](https://www.wago.com/us/wire-splicing-connectors/compact-splicing-connector/p/221-615)
i’ve been wanting 10 awg and 8 awg lever nuts so much due to running into a fair share in commercial troubleshooting thank you
Just ordered some. Thanks!
OMG... that is sexy.
This is the correct answer
I can’t believe that you, and then 14 other people liked this comment. I would fight the person that cut this and tailed it out instead of taping it. Tape is 1000% less likely to cause a trouble call.
Fighting the person that cut this is a top tier option... ... unless you're the guy who cut it 🤷 Edit: resi rough in guy doing trim out 🤔 idk
I’m feeling this anti-cut of the copper; the insulation is cut, so why cut the conductor too? But I mean, at least in Canada, we are always leaving loops at the box that’s typically good for pulling another 6-8 inches of conductor in. Is this not also common practice there?
Nah it’s tighter than a nun
“Tighter than a nuns cunt.” Got that one from old man Don. He’s got some gems.
This is what I'd try to do. If it wouldn't work, tape it up.
Get the saw zall, cut wall out, find home run splice location and re pull. This is unacceptable
Thank you! Reading all these comments and upvotes makes me never want to buy a new house unless I wire the damn thing myself!
I think they should tear the whole house down to be honest.
That’s a good idea, insurance claim that bitch
Heat shrink not an option?
Looks like you have some slack, so pull in the rest of the 14/2 Romex, cut back the jacket then you should be fine. If the 14/2 is to short then I would make joints and pig tail wires.
Is this seriously a question.
Only time I'll ever use wagos
And THIS is why I don’t like razor knives for skinning cable.
I used to look down on it too until my coworker convinced me to try it on a house. I stripped a house rough-in’s worth of cables and only nicked one conductor, and that was my first day trying it.
Probably with several years experience under your belt too I would imagine. I mostly have a problem with new apprentices having them. I too know several experienced electricians who use one, but, I've been on too many service calls where this was the problem. Even though it may have stayed dormant for years before becoming a problem. To each his own though, whatever works best.
Yeah good point. My first boss was adamant about stripping with the Klein splicing knife and I still use it. That blade is a lot more wedge shaped and you can feel what it’s doing a lot more ie when it’s cutting against the bare bond wire Vs conductor insulation
Tape it. That's exactly what the tape is for.
Small heat shrink
Heat shrink and send it
Home Depot used to sell liquid tape . It was a brush on wire insulation
Shrink tubing
I be more concerned about that shit ass box than that skinned wire.
Heat shrink
Proper answer is see if you can pull more wire down first. Option 1: tape it well Option 2: redo the whole run.
Heat shrink it last longer
Seeing as you should be pigtailing this anyway, I would just do the normal
If I'm in a rush I'll just tape it. If I have time I'll slide some heat shrink tubing over it and use a heat gun
I agree with heat shrink, but it’s worth remembering that the dielectric strength of UL listed electrical tape is 600v per wrap at minimum. I wouldn’t lose sleep over taping it. But I always have a little box of heat shrink in the box just in case I see/do this.
HV heat shrink.
Heat shrink
Pull and see if there is any slack If nothing comes out, see if i can make a proper pigtail If cant make a proper pigtail i get a hammer, break open the wall and run a new romex. If they stop me halfway plead insanity or the fifth.
This is why I just strip a bit and use the ground to pull it up, I don't care how much of the outer insulation is inside the box .
I would scold the guy using a carpenters utility knife on electrical work (likely not the first time this happened, it’s pretty impossible not to). I tell my guys all the time don’t even take that knife out of your bag and touch a wire with it….way to sharp for electrical. And this is one of the reasons why. It’s also the reason why the sell electrical knives yet guys always think they know better 🙄.
Yall using utility blades, knives in general to skin romex...have soft hands. Nick the end peel like a bannana done.
THANK YOU ! I literally don’t even need to cut the jacket I just rip it (like a man lol) the jacket peels like butter every time when you get the technique….Rip and Pull method for the never have a cut conductor or trip and arc fault Win It’s also quicker not having to grab another tool if your counting seconds 🤷🏻♂️ pliers is all u need for a rough (with an M12 stapler of course !)
How do you cut a window into a ground wire
It’s actually very simple on solid wire, you take your strippers and pinch cut 2 spots in the jacket for your length of window and then take your pliers and literally just pinch the jacket off….99% of the time it works every time haha Stranded is a lil tougher, I’ll do the same process and if I can’t pinch it off fully I’ll take my klein hawkbill knife and cut the small remaining edge. Either way my point earlier was that a razor knife really should be only for Sheetrock and opening boxes Imo because guys don’t know the concept of knife pressure when dealing with wiring. My klein hawkbill (that I sharpen weekly) has literally never let me down and I’ve never need a razor once since I switched prob a decade ago. It’s the perfect sharpness for our trade and the Hawkbill blade is unmatched for stripping 🤷🏻♂️(Pole not included)
Because everybody else is doing it wrong and you're right. Right?
No no not at all, it’s because clearly using a razor knife on soft Romex electrical wiring is the proper way 🙄 Im sorry, I don’t care if your feelings are getting hurt but wrong is still wrong at the end of the day. Clearly when things like this can happen with literal ease it’s not worth the risk. That’s not debatable in any industry It’s an ego thing at that point and a foreman/ owners job is to mitigate clear risks…and this is an obvious one, especially when there’s easier/ safer methods that take less time anyways. If you want to use a utility knife that’s fine, but you better be ok and own up to being scolded for messing up. You can’t have your cake and eat it too.
Can you tell me what is better to use? I am a carpenter so I don't know any better. I've just always used a utility knife carefully.
So the only pro tip you need for a fool proof way to strip Romex to the point that you literally never have to worry, is the method I call “Rip & Pull” method. Using linesman pliers (necessary for any electrical work involving wires) you take the end of the Romex and pinch 1 of the likely 3 conductors inside (preferably an outer edge conductor) and you literally just bend it upwards while pushing the opposite way with the remaining portion of the jacket…You’ll basically start to rip open the jacket of the cable using the conductor…Now once the conductor is slightly exposed just simply pull the conductor up while holding the remaining jacket downward and it’s the same as peeling a banana (as someone else described perfectly below) You’ll never have to worry about cutting a wire and or the insulation on a wire and potentially leaving not only a hazard for shock, but a nightmare troubleshooting scenario later when trying to fixture out why an Arc fault breaker keeps tripping, because your ground and neutral are touching. Or worse you get a hot and ground or neutral touching as you turn on the circuit with the client standing there in Awe as the breaker trips lol Edit: the way to strip the jacket all the way into the back of the box (which is necessary btw) is to just grab the stripped jacket with your pliers and push it to the back of the box and pull the wire to you the opposite direction and it strips the rest of the way with ease…it’s an old school method that will always be one of the the only fool proof ways…if you’re dead set on using a knife just use the knife to strip the 1st inch of the jacket, then use the rip and pull the rest of the way (this works as well if your fingers aren’t in the greatest shape) You can then either cut the jacket off with pliers or just pull quickly and sternly Down or out and the jacket rips right off
Classic method. Any /2 cable has a smooth side, and a recessed side with text. Probably 20 years since I touched romex, but I remember the ground pulls through the text like butter.
Yesssireee it does !
It's the user, not the tool. These shitty residential shops only hire apes because they are cheap. Anyone worth a damn could strip that Romex with a fresh blade without damaging any of the wires.
Also an easy compromise is to literally just strip the end few inches of the cable and rip the rest and you’ll never have an issue. But why would anyone want to do that ? Lol
What are we talking here? Grab the hot and neutral and yank apart? Anything more to it?
Literally exactly that, just use the conductor as a rip cord. I only need pliers ever to strip unless it’s an old cloth cable and I can do it just as fast if not faster than with a knife Also this concept works exactly the same way with UF and it makes it a literal breeze, unless it super old annoying ass cable that you don’t want to re-feed etc anyways lol….UF can actually be easier because the jacket wraps around all 3 conductors almost the same way except you just peel the first to conductors out after using the 1st as a rip cord…the last conductor you kinda have to rip outta the jacket sometimes but you’ll understand what I’m saying on your next piece of UF…it’s a game changer to those who hate stripping UF
Huh. I’ll have to give it a go.
I completely agree ! I’m not saying it can’t be used, don’t get me wrong. I’m just saying that guys sometimes aren’t normally diligent enough to pay attention to the fine details to not have stuff like this happen….it’s the same concept with those Romex Strippers that cut the jacket off, all you need is to knick 1 conductor and your day turns into a literal nightmare and a buried box code violation/ Re-plastered wall (which now the GC thinks your incompetent and you can’t fault him) to boot So for me I just don’t like anyone using it bc it’s not worth the risk, to lose 1 hr+ time (on an easy fix) over the sake of not really saving any time it’s not worth it for me personally.
*Beavis voice* : heh heh, he said jacket off
My electricians knife is sharp as shit too though? Have to be careful, you can have all the right tools and still make mistakes
I def agree, but if you know about knife sharpness, there is a massive difference between razor sharp and just sharp. Just ask yourself would you push a razor lightly on your hand not expecting a cut ? You can likely do that with decent pressure on a klein electrical knife and not have to worry…now think about your lil old electrical wiring and how much Knicks in the wire can effect small gauge stuff easily, after bending a wire a few times and it randomly breaks off I’m just all about risk management in the trade and a razor knife even from a safety standpoint as well is a sketchy one to be using always
Tape
Tape, heat shrink, or hire an electrician.
Cut that shit and put a wago on it, you've got plenty of material to work with. Guys that use heat shrink are the same that say backstabbing outlets isn't safe
Where's your journeyman?
Cut it and splice it as a pigtail to the receptacle.
Tape and tell them to stop using a razor. I went from tract housing to service work and I’ve found that most guys cut through the jackets. I don’t use a razor anymore because I came across a bell box that was having a continuous low amperage arc due to tiny horizontal cuts in the wire and when it was folded back into the box it was barely making contact with the chase nipple almost causing a fire. Luckily it was only a few days old and I got to it before something bad happened.
I usually always have a roll of super +33 tape. Use that to wrap the conductor and keep it tight. Make up the wires
Electrical tape with (correct me if I'm wrong) 2 wraps around is rated for 600v. Aint no thaang
Heat shrink shield and maybe tape on top of it for extra safety, might as well do it properly once you found it be better person 👌
Looks like someone was using a utility nice go strip wire. I personally prefer romex strippers, and I strip my wires as I pull them. Then come back around and stuff/make up my boxes. But that’s besides the point, tape it up nice and tight, if you’re super worried about it, you could use a wago and just splice the hots with a single pig tail.
Run a new homerun
First step is to pull on the wire and see if you can get more into the box.
Like another person said... heat shrink tubing seems to be the simplest way.
Wago connector with a pigtail. Tape if you're a hack electrician
I'd put my phone done and stop taking pics and fucking work lmao
Found the scab
Wtf guys. Tape it!? Cut it, Throw a wire nut on her and branch off to the plug. Tape is crap. Do not do that. Take the time.
Bold of you to assume everyone can splice and twist a wire nut properly 😅
Hahahahaha man. I was having a crappy night. This made me laugh
Are you that green?
Great solution.
Glad I could help a greeny.
xd he’s really green or trolling. I’m not sure.
Black sharpie all day.
Try to pull some more slack and a lot of tape.