Adding An Electrical Outlet In The Middle Of A Run. Adding an outlet in the middle of the run requires you to have carpentry skills. A proper outlet location should be selected, and the carpentry work should be completed. The outlet can be installed in the middle of a circuit that preexists.
The outlet doesn’t need to be in the middle of the run, or so I thought. I needed an outlet in the middle of the run. It was for work, but the need made me want to add more outlets.
There were actually outlets before, so I just needed to add another outlet as other outlets were filled. Having an electrical diploma for fun can help, and it helped me. I added an outlet in the middle of a run without any problem. Adding an outlet was an easy task. The outlets can be added easily.
Adding An Electrical Outlet In The Middle Of A Run
Adding an electrical outlet or any outlet in the middle of the run can be useful. You can install the outlet and work with electrical appliances from the middle of the room. Though adding an outlet in the middle is different than adding it to the wall.
You need to have some carpentry skills for adding or installing the outlet in the center. You need to know the location at which the outlet should be installed, and at last, you can put another outlet in a place where you want in simple steps. Read more below!
Power
You need to have no power, as you are going to add another outlet. If you have power, then you will get current, and getting current can be dangerous, especially if you are going to touch the wires.
So to be safe, the power to the worse or the place where you are going to be adding the extra outlet should be turned off. Turn the main power board off for this.
You should test the circuit to which the outlet is going to be added so that you know if it is carrying any current or not. Use a tester to know if there is a current in it. Do not let the circuit you are working with have any power. Inform someone that you are going to be working with wires so that they do not turn the power on.
Equipment required
There are tools for adding another outlet as you are working with electricity. You can’t cut the wires with your teeth or attach them hastily. For this, you need specific equipment.
Adding an outlet is very simple, and the tools you need to add it are also the most common tools. To cut the worse and remove the coating of the wires you will attach to the outlet, you will need a wire stripper.
Then you will need a screwdriver as there are screws on the outlet that you need to loosen for attaching the ores to them. You will need pliers as well.
The plier you need for electrical circuits is a needle nose plier. You may need a utility knife to get things ready. Getting things ready in wiring means that you may need to cut the wires and remove their coating manually with a knife.
Material needed
The tool is not the only thing you need for adding an outlet. A replacement acceptable is needed so that you can add the new receptacle in place of the old one.
You may need to have an extra outlet, so you will need a good quality outlet that won’t melt that early. As you have a good outlet, you need a wire that can stand the power to the outlet. Wires can melt too.
In fact, melting wires are pretty common, so get good quality wires for your outlet. You will also need large wire nuts o that you can place the outlet and it doesn’t get out.
The outlet you bought should already have screws that will get in its fox place. You may need the old screws if you are missing any screws, so don’t throw the outlet you will replace until taking its screws.
Cutting the wires
Now we begin the addition of the outlet, and so the first thing in adding an outlet is cutting the wires to the outlet. The sheath head cable should be cut first, and it is present where you are going to install the outlet. The sheath head wire should be cut using the wire cutters that are mentioned in the materials.
Use a utility knife with sheathed wiring too. Cut it about 3inchnes on both sides. Make small cuts so the whole wire doesn’t get cut. On the black and white wire, you need to strip them about half an inch as well.
Opening the box
Bend the edges of the wire to form a loop. Do this on the striped edge of the insulated wire. Attach the copper ground white on both cords. Now use the flat-head screwdriver and pry two holes on the side of the electrical box.
You can make the holes on either side you select. Now you need to insert the wires inside the box and pull the wires inside as much as you can or pull the wires as much as the slack will let you pull. Move to the next.
Securing the box
Now you need to secure the box so that you can work further. Place the box on the wall and use wing screws on both sides or a single side and tighten them. Make sure the screws are snug.
The wing screws have wings that will spread outside the box with tightening to hold the box in place. Now the cut copper wires that are bare should be connected to their respective grounds.
Use wire nuts to hold them together. Make the nut firm by turning them. You can use your hand as there isn’t any power yet. Use needle-nose pliers to bend the edge of the wire in the pigtail.
On the duplex outlet or at its top, there is a green grounding post screw to which the pigtail you made should be attached. You can use the appropriate screwdriver and make sure the open end faces the right side.
Connecting other wires
The terminal screw is the place where you need to connect the Neutral wire, and the screw will be in silver color. Keep ensuring the right side is the place being faced by the open end loop.
And the other wire that is black should be connected to the brass screw. The black wire will be the hot wire. The open should still face to the right.
Installing the outlet
Check all the connections and see if the ground wires are loose or not. Place the duplex outlet into the respective box and tighten the bracket screw so the box. Use a screwdriver to tighten the bracket screws.
You don’t need to buy screws, as I mentioned above. The screws come with the outlet. Put one screw on top of the box and the other on the box’s bottom.
Place the cover on the box and tighten the outlet box cover as well. Do not tighten the screw too much, as the box can break with too much force. Plastic covers are mostly used. You can turn the power back and test the new outlet you installed. It will work.
The last word
Suppose you have a lack of outlet because there is only a single outlet or because the old outlet is not working. You can install a completely new outlet in the middle of the run.
The steps that can guide you in installing an outlet are above. Call a professional if you don’t like the steps. Thanks for reading!
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