Dear Mr. Electrician: Why should I pigtail my electrical outlets?
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Answer: When you pigtail your electrical outlets it keeps the full electrical current of the circuit from passing through the electrical outlet. Although the outlet is rated for the full circuit current, keeping it off the outlet is better for the long term life of the outlet and can prevent other parts of the same circuit from being affected when a problem arises.
WHY PIGTAIL ELECTRICAL OUTLETS?
The above photo depicts a burned white wire which was a result of the screw terminal being loose. Because the outlet was not pigtailed the full current of the circuit was passing through this faulty electrical connection and causing heat and sparks to develop.
The loose connection also affected the receptacle outlets downstream of this outlet. If this outlet had been pigtailed, the downstream outlets would likely not have been affected by the loose screw terminal connection. Also, the loose screw terminal may not have generated as much heat if it was pigtailed because it would have carried only the load that was plugged into that one outlet.
The above receptacle outlet could no longer hold a plug tightly so I replaced it. In doing so I pigtailed the wires using the Ideal Industries compact mini wire connectors because the electrical box inside the wall was not very deep.
My article about grounding electrical outlets has some examples of grounding pigtails.
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