How to install an outlet: detailed instructions with photos and videos

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

You will need half an hour and a couple of little things that can be found in any hardware store.

1. Prepare the necessary tools and materials

It doesn't matter if you change an old outlet during renovation or install a new one after moving into the apartment. You cannot do without the following things:

• socket - with or without grounding, depending on the wiring;
• mounting box (socket) compatible with the new socket and suitable for installation to the type of wall;

• voltage indicator (tester) - to determine the phase;
• Phillips and flat screwdrivers - for mounting;
• knife - for stripping wires;
• nippers - for trimming;
• alabaster or gypsum - for fixing the socket in a solid wall.

2. Remove the cover of the old socket

If you do not change the outlet, but install a new one, go to the next section.

Use a screwdriver with an insulated handle to unscrew the central fixing screw and remove the cover.

Do not forget that the socket contacts are live! Do not touch them with a screwdriver and proceed with extreme caution.

3. Check the wires

Examine the inside of the outlet to see if it has two or three wires connected. In old buildings, there are most often two of them - phase and zero. In modern apartments, grounding is added to the latter.

By color or using, determine which of the wires is phase and which is zero. To do this, take the screwdriver by the handle so that your thumb rests on the metal circle at its top. Then alternately touch the socket contacts with the tip of the screwdriver. The one on which the indicator lights up will be the phase, the second - zero.

When there are three wires, they must be connected strictly in accordance with the marking. The purpose is easy to identify by color:

• earth (PE or Protective Earth) - yellow-green or yellow;
• zero (N or Null) - blue;
• phase (L or Lead) - brown, red or white.

4. Turn off the electricity

De-energize the room with a breaker in the electrical panel on the staircase or in the apartment. To do this, the handles of the machines must be moved down - the indicators on them will change from red to green or from one to zero. Circuit breakers are not always labeled, so be sure to verify that the power is actually de-energized.

If the apartment has a switchboard with several automatic devices, disconnect only those that protect the sockets. So you can work with lighting and observe safety measures.

5. Dismantle the old socket

If you do not change the outlet, but install a new one, go to the next step.

Check again that there is no voltage. Alternately touch the contacts of the socket with an indicator screwdriver, touching the metal part on the handle with your thumb - the control lamp should not light up.

Use a screwdriver to loosen the contact clamps and pull out the conductors. Loosen the screws of the fastening braces and remove the socket from the back box.

6. Install the back box

It will not work to mount a new outlet in an old socket. Soviet installation boxes have a larger diameter, and modern sockets will simply fall out of them, being pulled out of the wall along with the plug.

Remove the old box or immediately clean the wall space from plaster and dust. Then try on the flush mount and make sure it fits freely without protruding beyond the wall level. Expand the hole if necessary.

If the wall is drywall, just thread the wire through the socket. Secure the box by tightening the clamp screws.

For solid walls, use alabaster or gypsum mixed with water to a thick slurry. Dampen the wall with water and apply the mixture to the hole. Then thread the wire through the socket and insert the box, aligning it with the wall. Fill up the cracks around it. Wait a few minutes for the plaster or plaster of paris to harden.

7. Strip the wires

If the cable is too long, cut it with wire cutters so that it protrudes about 5–7 cm beyond the wall. Carefully peel off the outer sheath and strip 5–10 mm of insulation from each conductor.

8. Connect the socket

If the socket is not grounded, the wires can be connected in any order. Most likely, there will be no designations on it, but according to the rules, the phase should be on the right, and zero on the left.

In a grounded socket, the wires are also allowed to be swapped, but it is advisable to place the phase to pin L, and the neutral conductor to pin N.

The ground must be connected to the terminal marked ⏚ or PE! If there is no marking, then to the central contact leading to the characteristic antennae inside the socket.

Take a new outlet and remove the cover from it. Loosen the clamping screws of the contacts, then insert the conductors into them one by one in accordance with the marking and tighten thoroughly. Make sure that the stripped part of the wire gets into the clamp, and not the insulation.

9. Fix the mechanism

Check the connection again and tighten the contacts with a screwdriver. Gently bend the conductor strands so that they fold like an accordion, and insert the mechanism into the back box.

Align it horizontally so that the outlet is not tilted. Install the side screws that will release the spacers and secure the mechanism. If there are additional screws on the body of the socket for more secure fixation, tighten them too.

10. Install the cover

Place the top cover of the socket and secure it with the screw. If the structure includes a decorative panel, install it first.

11. Turn on the electricity

Apply voltage by turning on the switch in the switchboard at the site or in the apartment. Be careful not to confuse the circuit breakers.

12. Check the outlet

If, after the electricity was supplied, the light did not go out and the machines did not knock out, then you did everything right. But before plugging in any appliances, it's best to check it again.

To do this, take an indicator screwdriver and touch all contacts one by one. The control lamp should light up only on the right. On the left contact and on the ground antennae, the indicator light should not glow.