The first thing you want to do when learning how to change an electrical outlet is to turn off the circuit. Then you want to remove the finished cover from the receptacle.
Start to unscrew the receptacle from the outlet box. Then, pull the outlet out. Check the wiring.
Just make sure that you check the wiring before you disconnect the outlet.
When installing the new receptacle outlets always use a pigtail connection. as opposed to using the terminals on the device to go in and out of the receptacle when learning how to change an electrical outlet.
This wiring method is not recommended because over time these screw terminals start to melt internally from the heat of the current-carrying capacity feeding the other receptacle outlets on that circuit.
And if one of these receptacles fails the rest of the receptacles on that circuit will also fail.
Also if you backstab them, this is even worse because these connections are loose and your wires will start to ark inside the outlet box. This can become a fire hazard.
Installing an Electrical Outlet With Pigtailing
This is by far the best way to install a receptacle outlet. Many may disagree because it is time-consuming. Safety is worth your time.
The first thing to do is splice the incoming and outgoing feeds together.
Then cut 2-6 to 8 inches long tails one black and one white. Connect the black tail to the hot side of the receptacle. And connect the whitetail to the neutral side of the receptacle.
Then splice these tails to the power line that we spliced together in the first step. Now you have a pigtailed receptacle. What this will do now is if all of your receptacles outlets are pigtailed and one of them fails, the other receptacles on that circuit will continue to function.
So you should check all of your receptacles outlets to make sure that they are all pigtailed. I hope all these tips will help you with how to change an electrical outlet.
Joseph@UpGrade Electric
