Electrical outlet question
 

The previous owners of my home painted over the outlets. I have replaced the first outlet without any problems. The painted outlet was the average residential type with one slight difference. The neutral and hot wires were attached via 2 holes in the back of the outlet. Not to the connectors on each side. No problem. I hooked these up to the appropriated connectors on the new outlet. Now the second outlet is of the same type. However, instead of having 1 hot wire and 1 neutral coming in the back it has: 2 hot and 2 neutral in the back. Plus, 1 hot and 1 neutral attached to the side. The side hot and neutral are attached diagnoly from each other. The neutral is on the bottom screw and the hot is on the top screw. That makes 6 wires plus the ground. Why so many? How can I convert this to a standard 2 hot, 2 neutral, and one ground outlet? Or should I just go out and purchase a different outlet with the holes in the back and the connectors on the side?

Thanks

What you've encountered is commonly called a duplex with 'backstab' connectors. Switch devices also offer this connection option. Although simple to install, they afford a small area of actual metal contact for transfer of current, and can overheat, which is why no professional I know uses them. In essence, the device is being used as a junction, hence the six wires. Personally, I'd vote to have them banned in a heartbeat.

To solve your immediate problem, remove the wires from the rear of the receptacle, and install Ideal Term-a-Nut® connectors http://www.idealindustries.com/wt/Tw...Connectors.nsf duplicating the connections present on the device.

You may not find them in a big box store, but any electrical supply house worth their salt will have them.

Just to make sure I'm understanding this correctly, I use the fork connectors to attach all 6 of the wires to the 2 hot and 2 neutral connections? Thus, having on one each of the hot and neutral an extra connection?

Not quite. The three hot/black conductors are twisted together with the nut, leaving the forked connector for attachment to the gold screw on one side of the duplex. The three neutral/white conductors are twisted together with another connector which will land on the silver screw of the duplex. You may also do the same with the grounding conductor to simplify installation.

That makes sense. Thanks for the help.

Kazoo is correct.

Where I live, you can use an outletl box as a junction box provided it is deeper than usual.

Without pulling out my electrical code, the Ontario code states that a standard 2.5" deep box is allowed 5 conductors total (ie. 5 No. 14 wires (not including grounds)

The reason is heat transfer. The number of wires allowed inside the box is a function of the volume of the box.

If you want to go to 6 conductors, you need to use a deeper box (which has a larger volume), like a 3" box.

Again, this is the Ontario code.

One other thing you have to watch is that it is not a split outlet.

Is the outlet in the kitchen by any chance?????

Since you say there are 3 neutrals and 3 hots, it is unlikely it is a split, but check to make sure anyway. Stranger things have happened.

Make sure that the small copper tab between the two screws on the side of the outlet have not been clipped. Kitchen outlets are often "split circuits" in order to allow 15 amps to the bottom plug and another 15 amps to the top plug (using a different circuit than the lower recepiticle on the opposite phase so as not to over load the neutral)

http://www.askthebuilder.com/452_Bew..._Repairs.shtml

It's a bedroom outlet. It is also not a split. Just being used as a junction box. I went and picked up the term-a-nut connectors and already made the change. Everything is working great.