Hooking Up an Electrical Outlet

Have you ever had to deal with a super ugly electrical outlet or one that just does not hold in the plug very well? Well if so, this process is going to show the ways of changing out an electrical outlet. I know the ways of electrical outlets and I'm going to show 6 easy steps to changing the bugger out.

A few things that are needed is a new outlet, phillips screwdriver, flat screwdriver and a voltmeter is recommended but not needed.

First order of business is an important note. When working with electricity never assume that it is off, always double check or you can cause serious injury to yourself and others. Alright, now that we got that understood we will turn off the power to the circuit by switching off the circuit breaker at the breaker box. If your living with other people let them know that it's going to be off for a bit. The last thing we want is someone to go turn it on while it is being worked on. Double check for power with a voltmeter if available. If a voltmeter is not available, just plug a lamp or charger into the outlet and make sure it does not turn on.

Unscrew the center screw on the outlet with a flat screwdriver, and pull the cover off. Next, unscrew the outlet from the electrical box using the phillips screwdriver and pull it out. It may be pretty stiff but just give it a tug and wiggle until it comes out far enough to get at the screws.

Remove the wires using your phillips screwdriver. Keep in mind that the hot wires (black or colored) attach to brass screws. The neutral or white wires attach to silver screws. The ground or bare wires hook up to green screws. If you hook it up backwards fireworks may be seen.

Hook up the wires to the new outlet the same way the old outlet was hooked up. Make sure to get the wires nice and snug so they don't fall out. If the wiring has a green ground wire, attach it to the green terminal on the box or the outlet.

Lastly, push the new outlet into the box and screw it back into place, screw on the cover, and turn on the power. Check and make sure it works with a voltmeter or plug something into it.