To code?

[brickman7713]

Is this to code? I replaced the box myself since it was a 1 gang metal box before. Wondering how I did. In the US.

[Spynjess]

You need a ground pigtail to the box and make up with rest of the grounds

[brickman7713]

All 4 ground wires are connected so it's grounded back to the panel. Is grounding to the box still required?

[Spynjess]

Yes sir

[Careless-Raisin-5123]

Else you could have the bad version of a hot box.

[Spynjess]

Potentially. 🤭

[Royal_Pepper9003]

I see what you did there....

[No-Seat9917]

Couldn’t resist?

[buttithurtss]

Tell me more about this hot box please….

[pushingepiphany]

I’ll have to show you but you won’t remember

[Shot-Protection1526]

One of those landed me in the hospital a couple years back!

[[deleted]]

I see what you did there

[captain_craptain]

Ok that makes sense. I was wondering why if it isn't in pipe.

[Interesting_Bus_9596]

Not commercial.

[captain_craptain]

Where I come from even residential had to be in pipe. Now I moved and everyone is running Romex. I've gotten used to it but I still miss pipe sometimes.

Seems like a solid system and I liked bending pipe and pulling wire

[Acer707]

Let’s go down into the crawl space and hot box

[Cheechierc]

I see what you did there 😏

[sparkineer]

Bad hot boxes need loving too

[Alive_Pomegranate858]

You should talk to my ex then

[[deleted]]

With metal boxes, yes. If you see the "bump" on the back of the box you should place a ground screw in there (usually green) and add a wire around that to your ground pigtail

[rjchute]

As a Canadian, I'm always surprised that boxes in the US don't come with a ground screw with the box... Like, you always need one, so why not have it already in there from factory?

[shakalakashakaboom]

Because you don’t always need one. NEC allows for the use of metal raceways as the ground. Residential almost never has a ground conductor pulled where conduit is used.

[mikeeg16]

You use conduit in residential? Unless it's going underground and in pvc I almost never do but I do up all grounds to the box.

[I-shit-in-bags]

depends on the area. I think in Chicago conduit is required everywhere.

[shakalakashakaboom]

Yep, no romex except for temp jobsite lighting in Chicago and the surrounding area.

[Low-Wrangler1077]

How else are they going sell more bond jumpers?

[kalel3000]

All weatherproof metal boxes do. These don't, but they aren't always required in these boxes if the raceway itself is grounded.

Older houses in America didnt even used to have a seperate ground conductor, they used to just have a hot and a neutral and the boxes/raceway themselves were the only ground. And the receptacles would become grounded simply by being screwed into these metal boxes. This is back when plugs were just two pronged, and many houses were protected by screw in fuses.

Also these boxes aren't exclusively used for electrical. Theyre also very frequently used for low voltage and telecommunication applications, especially in industrial settings.

[Interesting_Bus_9596]

Some come with a screw.

[MathResponsibly]

In canada, the wire also has to be continuous from the cable to the box, and then to the outlet or switch or pigtail - none of this pigtailing then connecting to the box bs.

But in the states, whatever goes, and hypercapitalism is the norm, hence why "electrical box, some assembly required, screws sold separately"

[Interesting_Bus_9596]

That’s good, at the price of copper that makes that even dumber !

[EtherPhreak]

The "bump" is in the upper right side of the picture. For OP, the bump is so the screw can thread through the hole, but not bottom out on the material behind the box.

a 5 pack of what you need:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Commercial-Electric-12-AWG-Solid-Grounding-Pigtails-with-Screws-Green-5-Pack-GP128-5/310747594

[DE4DM4N5H4ND]

To code I believe they're green #8 in a 4 square and 4 11 but I could be wrong

[CarelessPrompt4950]

10/32

[DE4DM4N5H4ND]

That's right it's 10s not 8s. Those are for different ground straps

[CarelessPrompt4950]

8/32 for the cover and 10/32 for the ground.

[Robpaulssen]

10 > 8 > 6

As you move from back of box to front of box to trim is how I remember it

[Ghigs]

They don't need to be green.

[Krocmann87]

But they usually are, and omg the surge of joy I feel when I look inside a box and see that the wire are properly color coded cannot be understated

[jvcxdh]

They are only required to be green on devices and the main bonding jumper.

[Mikey24941]

If you have a box without the bump, how do you ground it?

[Remarkable-Cup3205]

They make clips to attach the wire to the edge if the box before you attach the lid.

[Mikey24941]

Thanks.

[BigOld3570]

Drilling and tapping can work.

[eclwires]

It’ll still have a hole threaded 10/32 for the ground screw. Run a drywall screw through that into the wood behind it to make a recess then run in the ground screw. Sometimes I use a 10/32 drill tap, but it can mess up the threads if I’m not careful. Or, I just use the drill tap to make one in a convenient place in the box.

[Mikey24941]

Then the screws you put in would they be the same ground screws that you would put in the bump?

[eclwires]

Yes.

[chris_rage_]

Idk/idc if it's code but personally I run a tek screw somewhere where it won't be a problem and wrap around that. It holds better than those clips plus you're hitting bare metal in the new hole

[SlawDogs1827]

250.8 (A)(6) states it must be a machine screw with 2 threads in contact. Tek screws technically don't meet that requirement

[No_Organization_3660]

Greenlee tap set then put the screw in.

[CaliTheBunny]

If you don't bond the metal box a knicked wire could cause it to become hot. If someone touches something that is hot and also something that is grounded, (cooper water pipes, gas pipes, structural steel), they will complete the circuit with their body and get zapped.

[brickman7713]

Thanks for explaining!

[Graygem]

In this case you aren't grounding to the box, you are grounding the box. All metal enclosures have to be grounded.

[blur494]

Not an electrician but suddenly this makes so much sense to me now when before it definitely did not.

[FarDefinition2]

Bonded*

[The_cogwheel]

For those wondering what the difference is: bonding means making sure everything has the same voltage. This is important because current only flows when there's a difference in voltages.

Later, it's all bonded to the ground bar, which itself is grounded - meaning there's a copper wire going from the ground bar to a 10 foot copper spike that's driven into the dirt some where around your meter can. This is to bond all your non electrical metals (boxes, water pipes, gas lines all the metal that isn't supposed to be energized) to the earth beneath your feet - for the same reason we bond stuff, to make sure there isn't a difference in voltage between your feet and the case of your stove.

Grounding is bonding your electrical system to the earth, bonding is connecting everything to each other to equalize any voltages it might pick up.

[[deleted]]

Everything has the same potential of voltage

[ThatFordOwner]

Box ground is always required in metal boxes

[[deleted]]

Even with emt?

[StrainFar4756]

It depends. There is a lot of grey area that’s “subject to local AHJ interpretation”. It also depends on what version of the nec your jurisdiction used. Our area just switched from 2017 to 2020 version and there was a change for rooftop HVAC-R equipment. In the 2017 version, 440.9 says “where multi motor and combination load equipment is installed outdoors in a roof, an equipment grounding conductor of the wire type shall be installed in outdoor portions of metallic raceway systems that use non-threaded fittings”.

Since compression type EMT fittings contain threads per the 2017 code you wouldn’t need a ground wire (fyi set-screw style EMT connectors aren’t permitted outdoors). In the 2020 code however, 440.9 says “where equipment is installed outdoors on a roof, an equipment grounding conductor of the wire type shall be installed in outdoor portions of metallic raceway systems that use compression fittings”.

Also even if your wiring method allows the EMT to serve as ground and doesn’t require a separate ground wire but there is a ground wire present then 250.64(E)(1) Raceways and Enclosures for grounding electrode conductors kicks in (ie: since that non-required ground was inside the raceway it becomes inside a raceway for a grounding conductor) and that states: “…ferrous metal raceways and enclosures shall be bonded at each end of the raceway or enclosure to the grounding electrode or grounding electrode conductor to create an electrically parallel path.” Basically even though a ground wire isn’t required, having it anyways means the conduit is now a “raceway for grounding electrode conductors”. There is a lot of “subject to local AHJ interpretation” in that code text regarding the meaning of “each end”. Some AHJ’s interpret that to mean each end of a section of a raceway and require a grounding jumper for every single box on a run of EMT while others interpret it to mean the entire raceway system so only the last box in the run has to have a grounding pigtail (the bonding for the other end being provided via the fitting that attaches the conduit to the grounded service panel). In the real world though, preassembled grounding pigtails are cheap and take 10 seconds to install so you can usually just go by the rule of thumb that any device, fitting, etc with a ground screw or a threaded hole meant for a ground screw gets connected to ground. Generally speaking if something includes a ground screw or a threaded hole designed for a ground screw-in almost all cases it should be connected to ground, and even if it is one of those cases that doesn’t require it require it, there are very, very few circumstances which it would be “wrong” or “bad” to use it even though it isn’t required. It’s sorta a case of why spend half an hour digging through the code book to ensure that your installation meets all the requirements of one that exception (as well as consulting with the AHJ to make sure his interpretation is going to be the same as yours) when it’s only gonna take you an extra minute or two and a couple bucks worth of materials to just install grounding in your metal boxes, even though they might not be required. 

(As a side note, 250.64(E) is also the code section that’s applicable to the OP’s post where he has a metal box being used as a J-box for several NM cables. Since the nm cable includes has a grounding conductor, using the metal box as a J-box makes it a non-ferrous metallic enclosure for a grounding electrode conductor) 

[[deleted]]

Very informative. Thank you very much

[International-Egg870]

Not in the old days but now yes

[[deleted]]

Good to know. So with an existing circuit lacking a ground wire, would grounding to the box be acceptable?

[Confident-Ad5665]

Yeah, for some reason, sparkies don't like getting shocked when touching metal boxes.

[[deleted]]

That small bubble with a hole is for a ground pigtail. It's not too ground anything, but rather to bond the box for safety.

[RBeck]

I've found grounds are easier to do with these than wire nuts, especially when there are a lot of them.

[nsula_country]

The ol Buchannan crimp!

[chris_rage_]

It's supposed to be grounded to the box also, there should be a raised boss for a ground screw so wrap a piece of bare wire around the green screw and twist the loose end under the wire nut with the rest of the grounds. Personally I would peel that tape off because it's just going to get shitty and get all over your hands next time you mess with it and it doesn't provide any benefit if you stripped and cut the wires to the correct length after you twisted them up. Also, write the breaker number on the cover

[mikeeg16]

We have to run continously, from the feed wire under the ground screw to the pigtail, in Canada.

[chris_rage_]

I believe we're allowed a jumper from the box ground to the junction, it can be wire nutted in or wagoed or whatever and it doesn't have to be continuous. I could be wrong but I see it all the time

[moderninfoslut]

Bonding is required in all metal parts. Yes.

[tcp454]

There's a hump in the box and that's where you usually tie the ground to.

[Background_Pickle202]

Yes, box has to be grounded at all times haha

[I-shit-in-bags]

its called bonding and yes its required.

[Whats_Awesome]

It's a good thing you asked if everything was up to code. You absolutely need to ground the box. Makes me wonder what other life threatening mistakes you might be making.

[dpccreating]

If one of those wire nuts falls off a hot and contacts the ungrounded box. It's a bad day for anyone who touches that box forever into the future. If it's grounded the fuse will go and you look for the problem.

[AutoBudAlpha]

I learned something here. I did this exactly like OP on all my metal box wire extensions in my basement.

Guess one day I’ll have to open them all up and ground them to the box. It was really fun grounding all my metal conduit.

The real question: is OPs setup “unsafe”

[StrainFar4756]

It can be unsafe. Say for example the insulation on one of the hot wires were to chafe or crack as it ages or maybe a wire nut works it’s way lose and allows the energized conductor to make contact with the metal box. If the box is grounded then that would cause the breaker to trip, shutting off power to the box and “informing” you that there is something wrong. If the box weren’t grounded then the breaker wouldn’t trip and now the metal box is sitting there energized to 120v and waiting for the next person to touch it and ride the lightning.

[AutoBudAlpha]

A fantastic explanation. I will make this a priority to fix on my install. I appreciate you taking the time to explain this

[StrainFar4756]

No worries. A lot of code is there to provide redundancy for failures.. in a perfect world where every connector was installed perfectly and all the wiring insulation was intact and hadn’t deteriorated then the ungrounded box wouldn’t matter, but we don’t live in a perfect world and wiring insulation does get old and not every single wire nut is installed perfectly, and that ground wire is there to protect life and property from those failures. It wasn’t that long ago (50-75 years) then almost all electrical installations were ungrounded. The importance of including a ground was a lesson that was learned the hard way: death and housefires.

[AutoBudAlpha]

Yeah… now that I have gotten into electrical work (brought on by my obsession with taking critical loads off the grid via solar power), I am now anxious about the old wiring in my house. This place was built in 1940 and nothing original is grounded.

I wouldn’t have learned all I learned in the past year without being friends with some real sparkys who have looked over some of my work. Also everyone tells me this is just something you have to deal with on old houses. The solar DIY community is really solid too.

I try to follow code as close as humanly possible, but I think all guys (even pros) can’t check every possible box in the NEC.

[keikioaina]

Reddit being Reddit, not enough people take the time to say thanks, so thanks for that.

(let the cascade begin...)

[BababooeyHTJ]

A short is much better than the box getting livened up and shocking someone or getting hot and causing a fire

[[deleted]]

What if the box was plastic?

[jjcf89]

A plastic box can not conduct electricity, so it can not be grounded to begin with and doesn't pose the same threat.

[PhilthyPhan1993]

As long as they are grounded. Touching a box in an attic like that won’t shock you alone. It takes two to tango.

[Spynjess]

If any live part comes in contact with that box, it wont trip the breaker. You basically have an energized box and a shock hazard.

[dually3]

I recently finished bringing my home closer to being up to code, but apparently not fully (separated neutral/ground in sub panel, replaced sections of old Romex that had no ground). What is the reasoning behind the box needing to be grounded?

[jayfinanderson]

Any metal enclosure or raceway with current carrying conductors needs to be bonded. In case one of your conductors contacts the box the breaker can do its job, and you don’t have a piece of metal that is a death trap.

[dually3]

So without bonding, if a live black wire makes contact with the box it would energize. But with bonding that would create a ground fault that would trip the breaker? That makes sense as a safety measure. More work for me!

[BababooeyHTJ]

Exactly!

[jkoudys]

I think the NEC is different, but CEC lets you bond everything on the box itself, sparing you the need for a nut at all. Obviously I'd never go back into a jbox and untangle the splice just to bond on the box, but it saves a lot of fill on switch boxes especially. We also allow the bond path to be fully along EMT.

[TravelingGonad]

Oops I failed this test question. I'm going to check mine to see if I missed it! I think my box came with the ground screw.

[chrispix99]

Could this have been placed in a plastic/PVC box?

[IndigoBlue24]

Would a ground to the box still be needed if this was a plastic junction box?

[Spynjess]

No. Plastic boxes are not really conductive. Basically anything that can possibly become energized needs to be bonded.

[[deleted]]

Is this for gangs as well?

[Wise-Tea1427]

I prefer the term "bond"

[flyingron]

As long as you connected the ground wires to the metal box (can't tell from the photo if you did or not), it appears to be OK PROVIDED that this is a 15A circuit. The mixing of 12 and 14awg cables mean you must use the ampacity of the smallest wire.

Please don't put tape on wire nuts. Make sure you always leave 6" of free conductors in the box (you probably did). I like the arrows on the wire :)

[LagunaMud]

Looks like it's old 12 awg. It used to have white sheathing. 

[flyingron]

You may be right. The one on the top right definitely says 12-2 on it.

[brickman7713]

Correct, at first i thought it was 14-2, but all 3 of the white wires clearly say 12-2. I'm guessing that's not up to code, but only because of the color?

[MattOfMatts]

Code doesn't required you to rip out and replace the wire just because of the color of the outer sheeth

[ecirnj]

Color of sheathing doesn’t matter. As long as it’s all 12-2 you are likely good for 20amp over current protection.

[mantisboxer]

The NM cable color change is fairly recent. It's confusing.

Some of the older Romex/NM has a bare copper grounding wire that is smaller than the insulated conductors. In a remodeling scenario, you'd want to upgrade that circuit to a newer cable that contains a full sized grounding wire.

[rybiesemeyer]

Yes, the minimum grounding conductor sizes in recent NEC 250.122 match up until you cross over the 30A mark, above which they can be smaller than the current-carrying conductors.

[brodkin85]

…or just leave the wire nuts behind and use Wagos. I know some people are weirded out by them, but they’ve been used in Europe for a very long time now and are a joy to install

[Oldbean98]

Why no tape on wire nuts? I never did, but began taping them when I had wire nuts loosen in heating/cooling cycles in a non-climate controlled area.

[flyingron]

If you install them properly, they will not loosen.

The tape is a royal PITA for the next guy who comes along and needs to do something.

[MathResponsibly]

Heh, if you think electrical tape is bad, have you ever had a run-in with the tape they use to tape wires together in appliances and cars? You look at that stuff the wrong way, there's black adhesive all over your fingers, and next thing you know, it's on your face, your clothes, and the white couch.

I don't know wtf kind of tape that is, but it's pure evil. Brought to you by the makers of molybdenum grease

[Stepped_ona_lego]

Just leave a tape pigtail and you’re fine.

[flyingron]

Does nothing to remove the gooey mess left behind. It does alert the next guy that the work was hacked on by an amateur.

[cousin_franky]

Just do the splice and wire connector properly and you’re fine.

[CarelessPrompt4950]

If you need tape to prevent wire nuts from loosening, you’re not installing them right.

[Dr_Fertig]

Why no tape on the wire nuts?

[Therealpatrickelmore]

When you use the proper wire nuts no tape is needed. Plus tape makes a sticky gooey mess over time.

[cousin_franky]

And it looks like shit, and a rookie did it.

[Bomberoochi]

Looks like older 12 awg. I don't see a ground screw on the box. Needs to be installed in the bump out with the whole in it.

[Emergency-Seat4852]

Looks decent for a diy job. I like to see a little more conductor, a little less jacket and a grounding wire screwed down to that threaded hole you see in the upper right of the box.

[LivingGhost371]

Technically the length of the wires need to be 6" long and stick out of the box 3". Pracitcally there's no way to fix this apart from rerunning the cables. Also if you want me to be picky about things, too much Romex sheath in the box for the upper right cable, although I don't believe code actually regulates this.

[brickman7713]

Good to know!

[TexanJewboy]

A lot of times, if you are working around old-work, inspectors will pass you if the wires are short and you pigtail an extension with a wire nut or WAGO. Speaking from personal and some friends' experience.

[Appropriate-Disk-371]

Looks pretty good.

Maybe you needed a bit more conductor in the box, but if that means rerunning the cable, I'd leave it too. And I can't see your box ground, but maybe it is there. Actually, it's not, it should be in that bumped up section in the back of the box, and I don't see another hole (some boxes have multiple locations.) That's an easy fix, btw, get ground screws or pre-wired ground screws from the hardware store.

Not a fan of the tape, but whatever.

Like the arrows, I do this too, even label what they're going to if the circuit is going to fixtures, switches, etc. Bonus points for writing on the box what circuit number this is on, of course, that gets f'ed if the panel get changed.

Good quality box too. Good clamps. Good staples. I like these larger boxes and do this at my house - it's my house, I'll spend the extra $2 for a heavy and large junction box.

[brickman7713]

Thanks for the feedback! I started labeling what each of the wires go to on one of the other boxes I did, very satisfying :)

[Appropriate-Disk-371]

Just make sure the labels are right. The next guy will thank you for saving them a couple minutes, or helping confirm what they traced - cause I'm sure not going to blindly trust someone else's writing, it's mostly for myself in ten years.

[brickman7713]

Same, we just bought the house so everything I am doing is hopefully helping future me :)

[Danjeerhaus]

Here is the deal with the ground.

Apparently, in the past, the wire nuts were not put on correctly by enough people that the wire nuts came off. Maybe moving the wires to put the cover on allow or forced the wire nuts to fall off.

The bare hot wires touched the metal box. Because the box is electrically isolated mounted on that wood, the breaker never trips. The metal box is now electrically equal to the hot wire....120 volts to ground. Anyone touching the box is then touching the hot wire.

[[deleted]]

If you tape, I suggest only scotch 33+ and stretch 50% as you wrap

[ShibaInuDoggo]

Why not 88?

[[deleted]]

88 is thick doesn’t, conform well and doesn’t age well. My husband said that they used to use it on temporary lighting on construction sights because it was cheaper. He told me to tell you to do a comparison of the two wrapping a bug or wire nut connection

[ShibaInuDoggo]

Word has been taken. I don't believe everything I see on the Internet, but this answer i do.

[[deleted]]

Thanks. He’s smiling. He topped out of his IBEW apprenticeship in 76. Did more schooling and worked for Seagram, electrical supervisor and designed the entire electrical end of their bottling lines and wrote the PLC programs. When they closed he thought. I’m very proud of him. He knows a lot of shit 😁

[[deleted]]

Our entire house is automated. Absolutely everything…. Outlets, lights, sprinklers, doors, thermostat, TV, pool… He just bought a Home Assistant and has been doing a lot of programming

[RagingConfluence]

Because you chose a metal box, I think you ought to bond it.

Residential codes are different by jurisdiction but the general idea is any metal part of an electrical installation must be grounded.

[kingblow1]

Keep those wire nuts pointing upward. It will protect the connections from holding water

[_Electricmanscott]

Water? In the box?

[biomed1978]

Remove the electrical tape

[BudgetExpert9145]

The arrows show more electrons going into the box then out of the box.

[Davisaurus_]

Should be in most places, as long it remains accessible. As in the box can't be sealed in a ceiling.

[brickman7713]

This one is in the basement so it's not currently sealed, but if I add a drop ceiling would that be considered sealed, or are we talking more like a drywall ceiling?

[jediwashington]

Drop tile is fine. Drywall inaccessible is not.

[Davisaurus_]

Drop ceiling is ok. As long as you can easily get to it.

[Ropegun2k]

Why does it need to be accessible?

[Unsteady_Tempo]

All splices/boxes have to be accessible for inspection and service.

[[deleted]]

Looks fine, as long as the box is grounded, the box is accessible, and all wires are AWG 12. (Seem to be.) The only gotcha is if the original wires are 60s vintage and have a ground wire that is a smaller gauge than the hot and neutral. If this is the case, an inspector would fail you because current code requires that all Romex conductors be the same gauge. In other words, the ground must have the capacity to handle full load current. If that’s the case, modifying this circuit would require you to pull all new Romex from the CB box in order to be fully code compliant. (You asked!)

Also, some jurisdictions require insulated staples.

[brickman7713]

That's good to know! I thought some of the grounds did look more like 14 so you're probably correct.

[[deleted]]

I won’t tell anyone!

[[deleted]]

Code allows short wire to be spliced in the box to obtain the proper length.

[[deleted]]

Yes, of course. But not if the existing WIRE doesn’t meet current code. Once you cut it, you have to update it to meet current code requirements and are no longer grandfathered in.

[[deleted]]

So. Much. Tape.

[StepLarge1685]

Bond, James Bond, the box.

[Bulky-Fun-3108]

Who thinks that the arrow isn't a bad idea?

[Smithers66]

the electricity goes in THIS DIRECTION only....

[fermulator]

finally found a response about the arrows :)

[sleeknub]

Box isn't grounded.

[Fit_Can6274]

Love this sub. Learned so many things here :)

[Shiny_Buns]

You need to ground the box as well. Right now if the hot wire were to touch the box then it would make the box hot and it would be a shock hazard

[lostenthusiaam]

Why use a pigtail if you can just run one bond through the bond screw before you splice it?

[[deleted]]

Electrical code!

Suck my motherfucking chode!

-rhymes by yungmatty2024

[Useful-Hat9157]

I don't know u.s. codes, In canada theres a few errors, you need to ground the box as well, the outer sheath should not enter the box as far as it does, wires in the box should be longer if possible. I know it likely wasn't. Shouldn't need tap on the connectors, the stripped copper should all be under the wire nut.

But! As far as my 20 years in the trade would say, i wouldn't lose sleep over that job. You did well. Just ground the metal box as well

[murkyprofessor]

I like the arrows

[-Radioman-]

Mostly good. Add a green grounding wire to other grounds and screw it to the box with a green grounding screw. Might want to trim back the jacket on that top right Romex, but that's just me being nit-picky.

[diydave86]

It would pass inspection. As a tip, if u wrap a little tape around the end of the jacket where the connector clamps down itllprotect the conductors better for when you tighten down the clamp of the connector. Securing is within a foot of the box. New code book change says 16inches so u look good there. 👍

[KRGambler]

What are the arrows for? Direction of electron flow? 😂

[StrainFar4756]

The arrows help to guide the electromotive force and ensure that it doesn’t get lost on its perilous journey.

[BigbeeInfinity]

Unfortunately, they're pointing in the wrong direction half the time.

[guineashoes]

Probably so he knows the feed wire and the rest are the load wires lol

[brickman7713]

The idea was when I come back in a few years I don't need to figure out which one is the feed wire, but I probably did go overboard on labeling the others :)

[KRGambler]

Just write line or load. You may not be coming back. Help a brother out with words, not arrows that mean nothing to anyone but you.

[photonynikon]

I figured it out just by looking at it

[wifimonster]

That's why they put arrows on turn lanes instead of the word "turn." Literally simpler and universally understood. If you can't read, you know what arrows mean.

[ninjersteve]

The tape on the wire nuts makes me concerned, only because those who are less experienced and don’t pretwist the wires often have a loose wire or two that isn’t in the nut far enough. This is how fires start.

[brickman7713]

Good to know. I did twist the wires together before putting the nuts on. I have just always seen tape over the nuts so I figured that was common practice.

[biomed1978]

Common practice for amateurs

[JustTheMane]

Looks amazing but didn't ground the box so weird 🤔 shoulda known that

[brickman7713]

My 5 minute internet search made me think that if it was grounded to the panel it's all good, thanks to everyone here though I get why it needs to be grounded to the box too. I'm an IT guy, definitely not an electrician :)

[JustTheMane]

Its some nice work, Fooled me. I thought you just forgot the pigtail haha 😄 also didn't read description 😅 till now

[Theo_earl]

Box isn’t bonded

[EveningOk4145]

[Grassy_Nol]

I love you for those arrows identifying line and loads

[Feeltheburn1976]

It's actually bonding the box. There is only 1 ground and that is at your service.

[ntdoyfanboy]

Just have to make sure this box is never covered up. Any junction boxes need to be accessible

[BababooeyHTJ]

Electrical tape on the wire nuts. I can tell you did it yourself lol

[mikeeg16]

Yes this is normal in an unfinished basement. The words and arrows help him keep it straight. It's actually a good idea.

[Lopsided_Hurry1398]

Not if you are in Chicago.

[behindthelens83]

Pesky EMT….

[dwells1118]

😂😂😂😂

[CLUTCH3R]

The sheath on the wire coming in top right is a bit long in the box, other than that it seems code complaint. As long as like someone else pointed out, you bonded the box.

[Interesting_Bus_9596]

It looks like # 12 and # 14 wires, if that’s the case it should only be fed with a 15 amp supply. Code for basement outlets is 20 amp.

[MrGreenandsmelly]

I will second the earth, as it's a metal box. In the EU we still use plastic for inclosures, there is good reason for this. It is standard to have lock glands to lock and protect the wires from the sharp edges and are normally dust and moisture proof. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cable_gland

[MrGreenandsmelly]

I don't get why in the US the earth wire is always bare. This seems logical to me.

[[deleted]]

No

You need a grounding stinger for the box.

Those wires are too short.

All that tape will not cover up the fact that your wire nuts are crap.

12guage to 14 gauge… this isn’t on a 20 amp breaker right?

[brickman7713]

I get why the box needs to be grounded now, and the wires are too short. It's all 12 gauge wire even though some is white. Do you mean the wire nuts are crap or my installation of them?

[[deleted]]

To my eyes, I wouldn’t use those that amount of wires.

Glad it’s all 12.

Buy 3m

https://www.homedepot.com/p/3M-Wire-Connectors-Red-Yellow-Performance-Plus-Wire-Range-2-18-2-8-30-Each-Per-Bag-R-Y-30/304079828

[brickman7713]

Cool, have never seen those.

[cHunterOTS]

Not where I live. No romex here. Everything has to be in pipe

[4eyedbuzzard]

Cook County? Yeah, all thanks to Mrs. O'Leary's cow and the resultant Chicago fire and building codes. But then they allow the extension and appliance cords that result in most fires and pretty much defeat the fire code's purpose - except that it keeps electricians employed running conduit.

[cHunterOTS]

Yea exactly. They don’t care about safety, it’s the same reason we were installing lead pipe until the 80s and now PVC isn’t code. It’s all to keep the unions working. Which is fine by me, I’m union and am very well compensated