Plastic boxes?

[projectorguru]

HI All! I am almost complete on installing my electrical circuits for the basement. Anyway, I used the plastic boxes. I am used to metal boxes more, but the plastic was so cheap I went with them. Anyway, they have a plastic opening that I thought you just punch out the one side so it would hold the wire. this is not the case, I'd punch out one side, and while feeding the 12/2 wire in the other side would break, so there is nothing to hold the wire in place now. Is there some type of fitting to hol the wire? I am not drywalling yet, but I need it to hold.

Thanx

[480sparky]

No fitting is needed. Most 2-gang & larger boxes, as well as round boxes, have internal mechanisms for the purpose, but some 1-gang (Such as the blue Carlons) don't have or need an additional clamp. Just staple the cables as close as you can (within 12" of the box to be to code) and that's all you need to do.

[projectorguru]

Thanx sparky, I was mainly worried about insulation or dust/debris gettin in there, I really wasn't lookin forward to goin back and pullin them out and tryin to fix!!!

[480sparky]

You'll get a million times more dust & debris from the front of the box than from the romex KOs. Blown insualtion, drywall dust & mud, paint, sawdust... all seem to migrate into electrical boxes.

You can prevent a lot of it if you use 2" masking tape from the top to bottom and cover the box. This works well unless you're going to use a zip-router to cut the drywall. Like this:



But I've never concerned myself with it much, except for drywall mud. The above boxes were taped by the homeowner or insulator. It's all going to be covered up anyway in the end, and it's not like you're eating or performing surgery in there.

Boxes like this are typical, so don't worry about it:

[ked]

If no cable clamps are used, the requirement is to staple 8 " or less from the box. Also some AHJs allow only one cable per box opening. I like the tape idea!

[480sparky]

8" much be a local amendment. NEC 334.30 requires support within 12".

The tape in the photo only worked for the blown insulation. Drywallers usually cut it out with their roto-zips when they cut the wallboard.

[jwelectric]

8" much be a local amendment. NEC 334.30 requires support within 12".

314.17 Conductors Entering Boxes, Conduit Bodies, or Fittings.
(C) Nonmetallic Boxes and Conduit Bodies.

Exception: Where nonmetallic-sheathed cable or multiconductor Type UF cable is used with single gang boxes not larger than a nominal size 57 mm × 100 mm (2 ¼ in. × 4 in.) mounted in walls or ceilings, and where the cable is fastened within 200 mm (8 in.) of the box measured along the sheath and where the sheath extends through a cable knockout not less than 6 mm (¼ in.), securing the cable to the box shall not be required. Multiple cable entries shall be permitted in a single cable knockout opening.

I do believe that 8" will work and multilpe cables is allowed in one opening