DIY Home Improvement Forum banner

Adding 2 outlets in the middle of a series of outlets - wiring question

3K views 7 replies 4 participants last post by  Evan55 
#1 · (Edited)
Hello, Im adding 2 outlets (both in the same stud bay) off existing outlets in my garage, one closer to the floor and one parallel to the existing outlets.

Here is a diagram to show my situation and where the new outlets are going in. (red is new outlet or wire, everything is hot)


outlets 2 and 3 are the outlets I am adding. my question revolves around the wiring.

Ive already snaked new wire from 1 down to 2 and from 2 up to 3, so that was the easy part. the question is how to handle the outgoing wire to the rest of the outlet series

so I see 2 options here


option 1 would require moving the outgoing wire from 1 to 3, and is difficult in this situation, but it seems 'right' to my eyes.

I wanted to know if option 2 is acceptable, which would be to keep the existing output wire to the rest of the series from 1 (instead of moving it to 3), and adding another output wire down to outlet 2 .
thus having 2 output wires from the same outlet.


I havent seen this before, so I wasnt sure if it was a good idea

thanks in advance!
 
See less See more
2
#2 · (Edited)
Option 2 will work electrically but it is possible that box #1 may be too small for all of the wires.

Three cables coming into the box is six hot or neutral wires ends, 6 points.
The receptacle itself, 2 points.
All the ground wires, 1 point.
All the clamps or fingers holding the cables on the box, 1 point.
Total of 10 points, 2 cubic inches per point for 14 gauge wires, 20 ci box needed.
(For 12 gauge wires 2-1/4 ci per point, 23 ci.)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Evan55
#7 ·
If you use a ruler or tape measure (and a barbecue stick to measure the depth) you can get a good enough figure for the size of the box.

If you don't mind, you can add rectangular extension rings on the outside of the box (and get longer screws to hold the receptacle on) to gain more interior space for an existing box.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Evan55
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top