Adding new receptacle and switch

I've seen that method used for hot, neutral, and grounds in a multi-gang box. It is neater and cleaner than multiple pigtails, and does not violate any code that I am aware of.

Chad, you have way too much free time trolling forums looking for fights. As the original poster I would ask JW to ban you from this post, as you bring NOTHING but a crappy attitude and a narrow minded point of view. I am officially requesting for you to get lost, go away. Nobody here wants to hear your comments. The fact that you keep coming back shows your intent is to just fuel the fire.

As for you putting words in my mouth, I have done a lot of electrical in all the homes I have owned. My current home is 5 years old and I have spent most of my time fixing the builders electrical work. Neutrals that have come loose, ground wires not grounding anything, GFCI wired incorrect or missing, wrong gauge wire, all passed inspection! I also do extensive wiring for home automation systems.

Chad, since you came here this post took a left turn to hell.

My original question was # of ways/options to wire a receptacle and switch, which I have installed many of but not in the same box. Now to add to the mix, this is a home automation switch, which is a completely different animal. Then add to the mix doing it with AS FEW wire nuts as possible.

It's amazing how you just jump to the conclusion that everyone BUT YOU is a novice. I have seen many receptacles PROFESSIONALLY wired using long grounds wrapped around a terminal, wiring using the 'quick connect' instead of terminals, I have also seen 2 wires on a terminal, yet when I ask about that you just assume I don't know how to connect a wire to a screw! There is a HUGE difference between "best practices" and "code". One is a industry suggestion and the other is a mandate, you don't seem to know the difference. I think we can all assume that your extensive wiring you talk about was un-permitted, since you know more than your department of building & safety.

I think we can also assume things are done different in CA, than MI and that there are a lot of bad PROFESSIONAL electricians out there, just as there are bad doctors and bad car salesmen.

I would like to end this thread by saying that my original intent was "a second set of eyes" as to what I needed to accomplish. As you can see my my drawings, I can think of a half-a dozen ways to wire, all will also work. But I only need ONE to move forward. All these posts and I never got my questions answered, what a waste. Good luck JW, you really have your hands full playing baby-sitter to some very tiny minded people.

Hackney plumbing said:

I have a question. Are you guys using one long ground wire to connect all the switches for light fixtures for example in a multiple gang box?

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Yes .

Chad Schloss said:

you have deleted posts because they didn't fit into your protocol for what you wanted to have in the threads. i chose to say silent on the matter when others voiced their side of it. this is not the first time you have heard this from people. your rule with deleting as to what you see fit (even if there is nothing wrong with it) is out of hand, which is why i brought it up in the first place. selective deletion is not cool.

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My dear friend I have never deleted anything unless it was vulgar or a method that was unsafe.

I do not rule, I moderate. There is a difference between the two.

Having been using discussion forums for many years I have learned that when someone gets contradicted in a discussion by someone that is a moderator the first thing that happens is that person starts with the finger pointing toward the moderator as being the ruler of the forum.

To insult someone that uses a different method than the one that you use with no founded basis to show how their method is inferior is what is wrong. The method of one long conductor to hit multi-devices is one that has been used for more years than you are old.

jwelectric said:

Yes .

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I think thats a good way to do it....saves space in the box. I've seen it before and I like it.

Chad Schloss said:

again, jw, that was not my point. he/SHE does not know where to connect 3 wires to a switch. i could care less if the wires are coming off the switch or if it had an extra red wire that controlled the load. I just hooked up 4 similar switches made by Leviton. Not hard to do, especially when the needed hookups are in the same darn box. All i said was pigtail it. i understand it will work if you have one long wire, but you will need to connect to the others in the box, you already are going to have a nut connecting those, just do it the simplest way. I have no clue why those wires could not fit nicely in a 2 gang box. they were worried about everything under the sun, yet claimed they understood what they were doing. we both know that is not the case.
I actually think i got you and another mod confused about the deletion thing. i went back and looked and i'm pretty positive that it wasn't you, so i am sorry about that.

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I disagree with the comment that he does not know what he is doing. His drawing shows that he has a full understanding of the wiring of the devices. His question had to do with how to splice into the existing cable. He like others wasn’t sure of having two junction boxes so close together in order to make the splice. I have done this more time than I can count.

Once the cable is cut it is too short to make up in one box. By installing another box close by he can get enough cable to make the joints cleanly although two boxes 12 to 18 inches apart doesn’t look pretty.

Step back and take a breather and then read the thread again and I think you will get a different outlook at what is being discussed.

One of his 'problems' is the type of devices he is using...they are much bigger in volume than typical ones, so unless he could use larger volume boxes, he'd have problems stuffing them in there. He may be close or even exceeding the fill volume if he can't stuff it in there. While daisy-chaining the leads from one to the other is a perfectly acceptable (and often faster and smaller) means of wiring the things, if you ever need to do more work in the box to say replace one, you may have to remove all of them to have enough freedom to get the whole thing back working...this is where the pigtails can make it easier - not faster to initally install, but down the road. Now, how often do you need to get back in there? Maybe never, so is it a problem? Probably not. Just preferences. Production work, having to make a dollar, would probably dictate the fastest, acceptable way, and that's not pigtails.

Topics get locked, at least when they get off topic or we start to have some fun. This pi%^^&*g match seems a fine candidate.

Chad Schloss said:

then what did you mean when you posted his picture up and said this "This tells me a lot about the orig. poster" ?

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What I meant was if you can draw it you can wire it. He displayed knowledge with his picture.

Yes I called you back. If you haven't learned yet I am just like a pig, I love rolling in the mud

I think I've deleted some posts.

Terry said:

I think I've deleted some posts.

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did he come whining to you? awww. another person with selective deletion. gotta love it.

Chad Schloss said:

did he come whining to you? awww. another person with selective deletion. gotta love it.

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I would think that comment would be like walking on thin ice. Terry owns this site and he can delete any thread or post his heart desires so please walk softly.

When are you two guys going to get a divorce? LOL just kidding.

I think I've deleted some posts.

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Yeah, you deleted a very nice spicy one of mine lately. Can we have a "cousins" forum, to replace Ian's?

Ballvalve, you do push the limits sometimes. I laugh, and then delete. This is a family forum. We get women and children reading this stuff.

And to the other guy, it's a DIY forum. We all started out somewhere. It's not fair to mock people for their lack of experience.
I remember asking very dumb question in my teens about working on cars. I was patiently given enough information to get my tasks done. Soon I was rebuilding engines with a how-to automotive book. You gotta start somewhere.

That was back when cars had points and a condenser.

That was back when you could see your shoes through the engine compartment.

I dont think you get too many kids here, and the women I know can take about anything. But I wasnt a bit surprised about it. The problem is the truly disturbed things that one can access on the internet in a moment. Took me 15 years to get close to figuring some of that out- by novel and magazine. Now, a 8 year old left home alone can see things never imagined in the earths history, and would had the participants placed deep in a cellar for a lifetime. In that case cousins were a LOT safer for society.

Since we are inside a pretty conservative forum, I suspect all of this to go away soon. Although it is a rather electrifying issue. Maybe move it to Ians "almost anything goes"