[nysepete]

Hey all -- been a while -- happy new year to all!

So I want to take out that old ratty outlet and replace it with the new one in the photos.

Circuit breaker is off.

But instead of 3 Wires [Hot, Neutral, Ground] There are 2 extras I am not sure about.

The instructions say that the receptacle holes in the back are for extra wires [see pic] so my guess is that is where to stick the other 2. You can see the writing on the last pic - kinda got cut off.

As far as I know -- this is just a plain old outlet with 2 plugs in it and nothing else.

What do you guys think?

Thanks in advance.

 

[lenaitch]

Hey all -- been a while -- happy new year to all!

So I want to take out that old ratty outlet and replace it with the new one in the photos.

Circuit breaker is off.

But instead of 3 Wires [Hot, Neutral, Ground] There are 2 extras I am not sure about.

The instructions say that the receptacle holes in the back are for extra wires [see pic] so my guess is that is where to stick the other 2. You can see the writing on the last pic - kinda got cut off.

As far as I know -- this is just a plain old outlet with 2 plugs in it and nothing else.

What do you guys think?

Thanks in advance.

I will make the assumption that by "plain old outlet" you mean the old one, because the new one is an outlet with 2 USB ports. I've not seen one like that but it seems there is only one terminal for each of the hot (black) and neutral (white). You don't show a pic of the back of the new one but if there are 'push in holes' I would avoid using them as would most folks here on the site. They are called back-stab connections are a common source of problems down the road. My preference is to find a short piece of both a white and black conductor and a couple of wirenuts and make what is called a pigtail; the blacks and whites along with their respective pigtail are connected in a wirenut and the pigtail goes to the outlet terminal (follow the directions - the screws are different colours for a reason).

 

[clineco]

Do what lenaitch says

 

[joed]

That unit looks like it is a back wired device. You put the wire into the hole and tighten the screw to clamp it in place. If that is true you don't need the pigtail. You can put one wire in each hole and clamp them in with the screw.

 

[RAL238]

You don't show a pic of the back of the new one but if there are 'push in holes' I would avoid using them as would most folks here on the site. They are called back-stab connections are a common source of problems down the road.

The USB outlet doesn't have back stab holes, but rather has side wire terminals that secure the 2 wires with the single screw on each side.



You can wire it with pigtails as @lenaitch suggests, but it will be fine if you insert the two wires into each pair of side wire holes and tighten down the screws.



Because of the large size of the USB receptacle, it will take up a lot of space in the junction box. It will be easier to fit everything back into the box if you use the side wire terminals rather than adding the extra volume of the wire nuts and pigtails.

 

[nysepete]

Awesome -- I think I have it covered.
I can include more pics -- but actually I just hooked one of the same new outlets to a different socket and it only had the 3 wires -- all attached with the traditional screw method.
But there are ALSO pin holes in the back.
I'm gonna see what looks like the best option in the morning.
Will update you all with my results.

 

[nysepete]

In case you are curious -- this is the link to almost the same product

https://www.topgreener.com/TU2152A-W

 

[lenaitch]

That unit looks like it is a back wired device. You put the wire into the hole and tighten the screw to clamp it in place. If that is true you don't need the pigtail. You can put one wire in each hole and clamp them in with the screw.

Ah, better eyes than I. Much simpler and takes up less box space.


OP - follow the instructions; you don't just stick the wires in the holes.

 

[nysepete]

It worked! Well -- I put 1 of each on the screws -- and 1 of each in the back - hit the breaker - voila!

Thanks for the help all -- and boost of confidence!

Happy New Year All!

 

[huesmann]

How hard was it to stuff everything back in the box?

 

[jbfan]

It worked! Well -- I put 1 of each on the screws -- and 1 of each in the back - hit the breaker - voila!

Thanks for the help all -- and boost of confidence!

Happy New Year All!

Post a picture. You should not have a hole to put the wire into.

Both wires should fit into the holes and then the screw should be tightened.

 

[nysepete]

Already closed it all up -- the box was fairly large so was rather simple to push in.
I'll draw a little pic and show you what it looked like.
My daughter turned 10 today and the USB outlets were part of her bedroom makeover - she was over the moon.