STOP Cutting Wires So Short!!! What Does Code Say?

There are not many things that irk an electrician more than when the previous electrician installing a device cuts the wires in the box super short!! I am quite confident that most of us electricians have been forced to work on a box that someone has left barely enough wire to install the devices! It isn’t fun!! In this latest episode of Electrician U, Dustin explains a bit about the rules surrounding how much wire to leave available in the box.

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Article 310.14 of the 2020 NEC states “at least 6 inches of free conductor, measured from the point in the box where it emerges from its raceway or cable sheath, shall be left at each outlet, junction, and switch point for splices or the connection of luminaires or devices. Where the opening to an outlet, junction, or switch point is less than 8 inches in any dimension, each conductor shall be long enough to extend at least 3 inches outside the opening.” The biggest reason for the length required at the box is so the electrician working on the device, fixture, or junction can actually have enough wire to perform the work. If the wires are too short to put a device or wire connector (wire nut) on, it makes the installation quite difficult, and sometimes unsafe, to accomplish.
The above code reference states 6 inches from where the wire emerges from its raceway or cable sheath. So that is from the BACK of the box where the wire enters! It is ok to leave a bit extra, but not overdo the extra length as it can become difficult to install some of the larger devices (GFCI or USB receptacles) in the boxes with too much wire. The second portion of the code reference states that for boxes with dimensions less than 8 inches, the wire must extend at least 3 inches from the opening (front) of the box. This part can be used to get the length correct on the grounds that are cut off when installing a green wire nut and leaving one wire long to connect to device but cutting the others short.
A couple good tips for getting the correct wire length in a box without having to pull out your tape measure!
1. When working in single switch boxes, push the wire into the back bottom of the box, then accordion them up to the top of the box and back down to the bottom and cut. This insures you have left enough wire to work with but still fit neatly inside the box.
2. Another tip is to use your fist to get the length you need. When working in a commercial setting where you pull wires in a pipe, grab the wires in your fist, put the back of your fist against the opening in the box, extend your thumb out and then cut your wires at the point where they reach your thumb.
3. Another item to remember are the wire connectors. You do NOT have to use RED wire connectors for joining two #12 wires. For those joints where you only have 2 wires, you can save some space within the box by using a smaller connector!

We hope this has been helpful in determining how much wire you should leave in an electrical box for access. Is there a topic you would like to see discussed? Leave a comment in the comment section below and let us know. Please continue to follow Dustin and Electrician U as we are constantly adding new content to assist our followers in being the best electricians they can be!