Replacing electrical outlets: which ones do I buy?

I need to replace the outlets in the house. Several of them don't hold plugs that well. I'm sure they're all original to the house (built 1999). I went to Lowe's and was surprised at how many options there are. These are just indoor outlets and a few GFIs. They have some that are less than $0.50 (when bought in packs of 10) and some that are about $3.00/each. Does more money mean better quality on stuff like this? I've got a total of 53 regular outlets and 6 GFIs.

I had 3 Leviton outlets in my tool chest that I used today, but still have many more to buy. I noticed that the ones I used had the option of either hooking the wire around the screw, sticking it in a hole in the back; both of which required the screw to be tightened. But they also had a "quick wire" hole which hold the wire in with a clamp of some sort; I didn't use this method. I back wired them and clamped them down.

I was leaning towards these:
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Eaton-20-Amp-125-Volt-White-Indoor-Duplex-Wall-Outlet/1112215

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Hubbell-X-...uplex-Wall-Tamper-Resistant-Outlet/1000275845

So...what do I choose? And why?

Thx guys!

 

Cooper or Leviton are the brands I use. Mostly Cooper, except...

Leviton has slim GFCIs that take up a lot less space in the box than do the Cooper ones, so those are what I usually use.

TR270 are the part number for the Cooper residential grade tamper resistant receptacles. I recommend them over the Leviton resi grade (can't remember that part number), they seem a bit more solid and the terminal screws are stronger (I've peeled threads out of the Leviton ones).

Haven't used the Hubbel line in a looooong time, they're now owned by Eaton IIRC. They used to be the cat's ass for commercial grade devices. Can't speak for what they've become now that they're shilling through Big Hardware.

And good on you for not using the stab locks. You'll save a lot of problems down the line by avoiding them like the plague.

 

Thx. So should I find an electrical supply place and buy there instead of a big box store? Was wondering if I’d get better quality, perhaps? I def don’t want to skimp on these.

 

They're the same between supply house and big box. Not sure where you'll find Cooper devices, Leviton is available at Home Depot. And, they sell their GFCIs in 3-packs.

 

I've always used Cooper; the last time I bought a set they were still made in the US. Don't know if that's true now.

I can walk into the local electric supply house (DESCO) and get slightly better prices than Lowes. I don't have a HomeDepot nearby.

 

Leviton, and Lutron stuff are what I use.

 

IMO the tamper resistant are a pita then you use them all the time, I regret ever using them every time I plug something into them. I use the regular ones in the shop and the TR in the house.

 

GFCI are required by code if there near a water source.
Nothing says you can't exceed those standards but many times it's not needed.
IF you figure out what is the outlet in the beginning of that circuit placing a GFCI there protects the remaining outlets.
Buy them in the 10 pack, you get a slight break on price.
Now is the time to decide if you want to put in some wireless outlets. Makes it easy to control lights etc.
I now install all outlets with the ground UP. Anything fails on the plug good chance it will slide off, with it down there is a chance of the item failing across the hot and neutral.
On how installed my preference is to have the wire around the sides, maximum contact of wire to outlet. You will also be able to see if the outlet is overheating. (signs of a possible bad breaker) (have you ever noticed a connector on the bike that is discolored from over current, or high current for long periods of time)

 

Early ones sure did suck. Polarized plugs would be foiled at every turn.

They're much improved. Much like sex, after the first time you get it in, the easier it gets.

Actually, GFCI protection is required in:

All kitchen countertop receptacles
All dishwasher receptacles
All exterior receptacles
All bathroom receptacles
All 120v laundry receptacles
All receptacles in unfinished space
All garage receptacles (including the overhead door opener)

True, but code only permits a maximum of six openings to be protected by a non-overcurrent protecting GFCI.

When they invent wireless outlets imma hafta find a new way of feeding my family!

 

Oh, and by code, any receptacle you replace needs to be arc fault protected as well. And arc fault receptacles don't meet code unless within six feet of the overcurrent device.

It's pretty fucking ridiculous.

 

Should have said wireless enabled to fully state it
https://www.lowes.com/pd/GE-Z-Wave-...rator-Wall-Tamper-Resistant-Outlet/1000217685

 

Code used to be within 6' of a water source or basin. They changed that I don't know how long ago to include all kitchen appliance receptacles. Six foot rule still applies in cases where the other provisions of the code don't cover it.

There's no limit on the number of receptacles you can have on a circuit (residential). Rule of thumb we've used forever is fourteen openings per fifteen amp residential circuit. Gets you two bedrooms per circuit. With LED lighting you can stretch that further on lighting only circuits (I tend to separate lighting from receptacles outside of bedrooms anyways).

 

Would love to kick the nuts OF ALL WHO think that works.
I have lights and seems half of the outlets every room on one circuit.

Would like to have lights on one circuit, max 6 rooms and ONE ROOM outlet per breaker. Period, unless it exceeds a reasonable load calculation.
Hair dyer blows the breaker the lights don't go out.
Kitchen toaster takes out the breaker my bedroom doesn't go out.

WTF do I know.

 

Are you building development/spec or custom?

Saving two or three $40 arc fault breakers per unit on a 200 unit development is real money.

Maxing out your downstream protection from a single GFCI in an unfinished space over 200 units is real money.

I don't do developer work for just that reason. I design out for future needs, not immediate price. Lost a lot of bids on a lot of custom work because I won't half ass things.

Last I heard, developers were paying around $15-$18 an opening. A fucking GFCI costs me $13-$15. So I'm supposed to supply the circuit, the wire, the breaker, the box, and the labor, for less than materials cost? The only way you can break even on jobs like that is to use the cheapest of the cheapest devices, and compromise best practices to lessen material and labor costs. I won't do it. It's bad enough explaining to people in their 5 yr old $600k homes that the devices are garbage and that's why switches stopped working, that the receptacles are all stab locked and that's why half the receptacles in the family room stopped working, and that they can't put their freezer in the basement because the only circuit down there is already at capacity.

 

All I know about this stuff is if I ever build a new house I will have an active part in the layout of the electrical system and the electrician will make more $ off of me. Whoever wired the home I am in should get kicked in the forehead with a steel toed boot. I know it was for cost savings but having a GFCI in the 1/2 bath at the front of the house protecting the exterior outlets at the back of the house? You have no idea what is connected to what until the breaker goes. In my world I would like to see 1 breaker per room with a shit ton of extra capacity on every circuit. That way when I tested new tire warmers in the living room I wouldn't shut down a bunch of other stuff when the breaker popped... Building too strong or having extra capacity will never cause you issues. If a few thousand in wire and breakers puts the cost out of reach for you then you cant really afford that new house.

 

I hear you, and understand everything your saying.
In an apartment the renters are screwed.
In my 100k or 600k home what would the total extra costs be divide by square feet.
Let's see, PITA issues down the road. If you can't do your own wiring pay to get the simple stuff fixed or in my case i'm fucked. Rip out the entire houses wiring and start over.
The drywall alone would be a PITA.
The code in the 60's sucked and the drunks putting it in was even worse.

Right now I'm dealing with a new director of operations, this will be the third project.
He's cut out a dozen suggest safeguards.
Last project one thing blew up, a million of research gone and the finger pointing was amazing. Came down to a 20k option left out to save money, total options left out on that project about 200k. Now we are putting them all in at a cost of 600k since we have to run new conduit and pull wires that could have been down with the same run if we upsized the conduit the first time.

 

I love you, Craig.

 

Strangely enough, most contractors like doing work for me. Conversations are fairly straight forward. I don't 1/2 ass shit, do research before I talk to anyone so I know what and about what it will cost, tell them exactly what I want and unless the cost is way out of line don't bitch about the price. That being said, if anything looks cobbed together or shitty they will be redoing it.

 

Yup. Lots of stupid in the world. Picked up my latest commercial customer because their former in-house electrician opened his own shop, came back to put a big switchgear in and pipe in a bunch of machines, and not only did he not document a fucking thing, he ran his conduit in such a way that any new conduit runs will need to be installed by gymnasts. In the middle of pulling 800A out for a new panelboard and a couple of machines. Had to move a 200A feeder to a machine to make room for the new conduit runs, nothing labeled, phases not marked, rotation not noted...and a 12/4SO cord coming out of the load side of the disconnect (double-lugged) to a grinder. Oh, and there's a panelboard 3' from the disconnect they could have pulled power from for the grinder. SMMFH.

 

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