Anatomy of an Electrical Outlet: When should you replace a receptacle?
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- čas přidán 28. 06. 2020
- Anatomy of an electrical Outlet
Anatomy of a wall socket
anatomy of a receptacle
When should you replace your electrical outlets? Can you simply just leave it alone and not use it - will it be ok?
What does the inside of a 15 AMP electrical receptacle look like. Today James Adams cracks open a typical receptacle plug and we take a peek inside with the face off. James teaches us how they are typically worn out and the causes. What components are plastic and just how little metal is associated with the average wall socket.
These outlets are cheap at your local Home Depot. $2.95 each on average. When a receptacle is not working it needs to be replaced. If you ignore the outlet it's still a problem and needs to be replaced.
We will be peeling off that face cover and getting inside the guts of an electrical outlet. We will be revealing all the plastic parts that most people never see. As you will see inside this video that each plug socket have two pairs of metal strips that are designed to bend and flex, but return to shape when the pressure on them is released. Each pair of strips is connected to one of your electrical lines. These metal strips get worn down over time.
Warning: Before you do any electrical installs, please turn off the power at the breaker box.
If you would like us to take care of all your electrical installs and you live in the greater McKinney TX area ABR Electric would love to help you out. 214-690-1941
or visit on our website and fill out an easy to use form.
abrelectric.com
• Why are my outdoor out...
Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Nice video James! love this electrician company
I like the 15a spec grade receptacles. I don’t care what brand they are, but I prefer Legrand to Eaton, and I prefer Eaton to Leviton. Eaton is the easiest to get in my area, because we live near Lowe’s. We also have a Home Depot nearby, but slightly farther, but it isn’t worth it as you can see by my rankings.
My house was remodeled in 2002, 3 years before my grandparents house was built in 2005. We had mostly Leviton installed, and they had Cooper. (Same as today’s Eaton.) since our outlets were installed only 3 years apart from each other, they should really be worn out almost the same amount. However, the Leviton devices we have left look horrible, and don’t really grip the plugs well, and the toggle switches have a ton of dust in that little notch that the Leviton ones have. The Eaton ones at my grandparents’ house still look, and function, like new! Both were equipped with the cheapest of cheap residential grade outlets and switches, and as our Leviton devices, especially the switches as they start to arc, I’m replacing them with the Eaton 15a spec grade ones.
I agree: the quality of the devices is important. Many times that detail is at the mercy of budget. It's a long term investment 👌
Question. Just installed two new outlets and initially used the quick wire feature. They weren’t working properly so I removed them using the release feature (connections were loose. quite an effort to get them out). I then reinstalled using the screw terminals and the outlets are working just fine. Is this ok or should I replace the outlets entirely.
You don't need to replace them. As a matter practice, I would use the screw terminals as being more dependable.
@@abrelectric thanks so much!!
I read that some receptacles are self-grounded and some are not. But isn't every receptacle constructed with the potential for self-grounding by virtue of the yoke of the receptacle connected to the ground socket holes?
If the box is metal and bonded, and the yoke is tight to the box without the plastic screw retainer to impede bonding.
@@abrelectric Right. BTW, great video! When you separated the yoke from the chassis a light-bulb (or CFL) went off in my head!
@@stevenbernstein1978 😂
I don't know if you answer questions but I'll ask just in case or if someone else would want to answer.
I am an older lady who has replaced receptacles, switches, and lights but that's the extent of my knowledge.
If the bottom of three receptacles suddenly stop working in a living room area with only the top half of the receptacles working, the other 5 are fun but I know they're not on all the same breaker. Would you know if that's a wiring problem? That's probably a stupid question because you would need to see it to diagnose it.
But could they be on the same circuit where it shorted out the bottom of the receptacle because they are connected preventing the current from being completed?
That may not be the correct wording so I hope that you understand what I'm trying to say. Thank you very much. ❤️ From West Virginia-
Are any of these plugs controlled by a switch? It was common years ago to have 'half hot' plugs: one half controlled by a switch for lamps, the other half constant for clocks, etc. If that's the case, the small jumper between the side terminals will be removed.
That's all I got today :) Good hunting!
@@abrelectric yes sir, the top part of the receptacle is controlled by a switch but that part works.
The bottom three that stopped working might have been caused by a heater being used but I don't know that for sure. I thought it was only one receptacle until I began checking others. I was worried that the wiring would need replaced. This happened quite a few years ago while I was staying with my mother after her stroke. Since then, I have lost the use of my left hand while taking care of my mother so wiring is difficult for me now. But I know it'd be very difficult to diagnose without removing the receptacle and replacing it with a new one.
You know, when you get older it's always something. 😏
@@Higherup1018 sounds like a loose connection at the point where your constant power begins, whether at the switch or another plug
@@abrelectric thank you so much for the information. I bet I have done something to pull it loose. Much love from West by God Virginia