yoke screws that come with Leviton outlets getting stripped

amakarevic

IMO, those are the biggest POS screws because they are too soft. i get them stripped 50% of the time, feels like, when i use them against metal handy boxes. does anyone know of harder screws that won't strip in this application.

Code05

You using a cordless drill by chance?

amakarevic

typically not. typically, i use a manual screwdriver. i find that flathead has a greater rate of success than phillips but still not completely.

stickboy1375

You must be doing something terribly wrong, because I've never had this issue.

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Julius793

Something seems very wrong. Just a tip is most of the yoke screws you can use a #1 square bit.

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amakarevic

maybe the little tongue on the box side where the hole is for attachment is at a slightly wrong angle coming from the factory or damaged in shipping. i've had that situation before. but even then, i think the screws should be more rigid, IMO, and not strip so easily. i think they strip more easily than the drywall screw, which is supposed to be the softest screw out there but the yoke screw is a lot harder to take out.

stickboy1375

I've found most metal boxes are not tapped correctly, so i've been forced to tap the holes first... :-/

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Code05

Could be just me, but I find that mostly in ceiling/light/octagonal boxes.

Do not have a clue why.

stickboy1375

Poor manufacturing is my guess, I buy steel city metal boxes, and they have been just brutal.... not sure if Raco is any better or worse...

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frenchelectrican

Raco ??

That pretty much hit and miss on that one as well all it depending on the manufacting progress they used and someone did not take a look closer with the thead setting.

Couple time I find them off kinker it was kinda pain in butt so I have to tap them out or use the selftapper 6-32 or 8-32 screws to clean it out.

Merci,
Marc

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AllanJ

The screws that came with the receptacles may be a little too skinny or the holes in the metal boxes may be a tad too big.

Then you might end up using the next larger size screw. It's a tad too big for the hole that was a tad too big for the previous screw. So you ream out the hole (use a tap, not a drill bit). Now everything is kosher except that if and when someone else replaces the receptacle, he has to remember to save the oversize screws.

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Speedy Petey

I find the hole threads ok, but if you are not 100% accurate they will cross thread VERY easily.

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Billy_Bob

Have you installed *many* outlets in the past into metal boxes and not had this problem in the past, but now are just starting to have this problem?

Or is this your first time installing outlets? If first time, maybe you are forcing the screws in at the wrong angle? Try being more gentle. Also you can get replacement screws at the hardware store.

If this is a new problem for an experienced person, I would call Leviton. If these are made in China, they could be "counterfeit" and made with inferior materials. Leviton would want to know about that.

Also with things made in China, they at first manufacture them with the proper materials, then later swap out parts with cheaper parts and do not tell the U.S. company they are doing this - they hide it from their inspectors. Leviton would want to know about that as well.

Here China built themselves a bridge - it collapsed!
http://world.time.com/2012/08/27/bri...truction-boom/

Judge orders distributor to stop selling counterfeit Leviton products...
http://ecmweb.com/contractor/judge-o...viton-products