How To Connect Two Different Size Wires

Tin You lot Use A Junction Box To Extend Wiring? (Find Out At present!)

can you use a junction box to extend wiring

There are many reasons for homeowners to want more accessible wiring. To do this, electrical work is needed, which often brings upward the question "can you use a junction box to extend the wiring?"

You can use a junction box to extend wiring. Get-go, turn off your power at the main breaker. Next, cut openings and fit the wires through the box. In one case the wires are connected, fit the box back in identify. Patch up whatever remaining holes and turn the power back on.

Maybe you desire add-ons for more appliances, or maybe you want to extend wires further to put more outlets. Whatsoever your reasoning, allow's take a look at how you lot tin employ a junction box to extend wiring.

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What Exactly Is An Electrical Junction Box?

To understand what y'all can and cannot practice in extending wiring, let'south embrace the meaning of an electric junction box.

An electrical junction box is the master source of the wiring organisation. It's available in metal or plastic. Known equally the control box or distribution middle, it is the meetup source where power comes from the breaker and is then dispersed. Multiple cables are hooked up and stored within the electrical junction box.

If at that place is no box, and so in that location are no switches, outlets, or data hookup areas in any room.

Why Should I Use a Junction Box?

Subsequently the wires encounter in the junction box, the power is then re-routed to each circuit. If a line isn't long enough, then one can be added.

The alternative to a junction box is to splice wires together. Splicing wires unremarkably doesn't meet building safety codes. This is because sometimes, the wires tin can't be spliced with a safe enough length, which is another reason to extend wires.

Safely Working with Junction Boxes

The main affair to recollect is the electrical junction boxes have to exist put in a safe place. The best places to put them are in attics, inside drop ceilings, basements, behind the paneling, or drywall. Information technology should be where there is no foot traffic or in danger of getting bumped.

The new building regulations code Role P should be read and understood before doing whatever electrical piece of work. If the homeowner did the electrical job, they should inspect the work and accept a professional double-check it.

What is the Purpose of a Junction Box?

Electric junction boxes connect additional sockets to add lighting points, circuits, and extend circuits. Its goal is to become power from one indicate to another and also for repairing wires. For a damaged wire, cut and splice them together, and so use the box to reconnect the wire.

A junction box can join the wires or safely run a spur from an electrical circuit. It is recommended to use a junction box when connecting two or more than wires. Anyone involved in electrics and wiring knows their value and uses the boxes ofttimes.

The box serves as a protector from whatsoever exposed live wires equally it bundles up to three to five sets. It besides prevents the wires from touching, which can also be dangerous. Installing a junction box ensures the wires aren't bumped or touched past human hands.

How To Wire Junction Boxes

The following steps explicate how to wire a junction box. To add extensions, follow the same procedures. If the box is to get behind the wall, and then cut the appropriate amount of space to install everything. The procedure is the same no matter the type of junction box or rating you install.

Step 1: Turn Off the Power

Earlier touching whatever wire, turn off all the ability at the main billow. Check the wires with a tester to be sure there are no live wires.

Step 2: Create a Spur

Spurs are for adding additional lights, sockets, or outlets in different areas of the home. Lucifer all of the color wires together by putting them in the terminals and connecting them. The straight ends will come up from the main cables, while the side ones will spur the additions.

In order to reveal the core of the cable, strip them of the minimal amount necessary. The wires are every bit follows:

Hot wires are scarlet or brown.
Neutral wires are black or blue.
Earth or ground wires are yellowish or light-green.

Footstep iii: Secure the Base of operations

There will be open holes to spiral the base to the wall. Once the wires are in place, the base goes showtime; then, the cover will screw on top.

Step four: Put Everything Back Together

If the box is on the wall, you are washed and can plow the power back on. If the box is behind the wall, put the pieces of forest you cut out back in place. It will take some woods putty, sanding, and paint or stain to brand it await natural.

Junction Box Sizing

Getting the right size junction box is vital to cable management. The boxes unremarkably come in sizes of two and a one-half inches to three and a one-half inches in depth. On boilerplate, a pocket-size box may hold up to 3 wires, while the deeper box will concur up to 5 different sized wires.

The existing wiring needs to get tied in somewhere if different components will go in a room. A junction box will allow an like shooting fish in a barrel gear up past connecting to the primary breaker. If the components are uniform with the excursion billow, the box prevents excess wires from going back to the source.

Explaining The Different Types Of Junction Boxes

At that place is a range of different types of junction boxes. The 2 main differences that are critical to note when purchasing are the rating and terminals.

Junction boxes as well come in different styles indicated by each manufacturer. Though the moldings and the final layouts are unlike, the essentials are all the same.

Amp Ratings Of A Junction Box

Each junction box is rated by amps to protect you, the circuit, and the junction box. It is disquisitional to accept the box with the proper amp ratings. For case, a radial circuit needs a 30 amp box, while a lightning excursion needs a 20 amp box.

The current of the excursion must friction match the amp rating on the box. You lot may apply a college rating box for a lower-rated circuit, only never the other fashion. If y'all do, it may cause a meltdown or a habitation electrical fire.

Terminals And Wiring For Junction Boxes

Junction boxes come with options for multiple terminals, ranging anywhere from 3 to six terminals. For toll reasons, it is best to choose the only i that is suitable for your needs. When connecting the wires, each end of the wires will fit on each stop of the same terminal to connect.

The Types Of Terminals

After connecting the wire within the last, screw the concluding clockwise as each copper end of the wires volition secure. There are three different types of terminals that connect the copper ends of the wires. They are as follows:

Single Spiral Concluding.Each concluding has a screw in a place where each end of the cable passes through to connect. Standard junction boxes are the ones these terminals are generally found. A flathead screwdriver turns the screw, and both wires connect securely. Each box has a different size opening for different size cables.
Bussbar Screw Terminals.Each cable is inserted into its designated hole and screwed downwards. It is not like the single spiral, as both ends need to be securely screwed tight to hold. Every wire must fit the holes accordingly, or it will not stay in place.
Maintenance Costless/ Easy Connect Terminals.Like the Busbar, each cable has its pigsty inside the concluding. Levers secure the wires, or it is a button-fit. Each terminal is limited on how many cores are connected, which is between two and eight.

Square Or Round Junction Boxes?

Round junction boxes are standard with receiving lower electric current cables, while foursquare boxes are for higher currents. There is neither better nor worse betwixt the ii, merely keeping the compatibility is critical. The maintenance-gratuitous junction boxes are a common household product and are rectangular.

The maintenance-free junction boxes seemed to have replaced most of the round boxes. Consumers and electricians adopt these over round boxes. Wiring maintenance-free boxes saves 75 percent of the wiring time compared to the others.

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Summary

You can utilise a junction box to extend wiring. In fact, it'south the preferred method. The alternative—splicing—has its limitations and is ordinarily unsafe and not upwards to code. When using a junction box to extend wiring, make certain you accept proper rubber precautions. Look for the correct box size with the proper corporeality of amps and terminals. Don't exist agape to call an electrician if you feel this kind of work is out of your league!

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