When it comes to household electrical work I'm pretty much self-taught, know enough to be dangerous but reasonably cautious, etc. I've rewired rooms and panels and appliances and the like but sometimes the stuff terrifies me. For instance, I don't understand the seemingly arbitrary decisions as to what's "code" and what isn't.

Case in point: I've heard and read arguments, from licensed electricians no less, who say that when installing a new wall outlet or switch, you should always use the little holes whereby you simply strip 3/4" or so of insulation from the wire (use the gauge on the receptacle if in doubt) and stick the conductor into the little holes near the screws. The holes have tabs that are supposed to bite and give a nice secure connection. No screws to accidentally-not-quite-really-have-tightened all the way, or have loosen over time. It's supposed to be quick and easy and permanent and safe.

To that I say BULLSHIT! In at least 4 different structures now, wired and/or retrofitted at various times and locations by different people before me, every time I've encountered a flaky / shorting / dead / unreliable / dangerous / etc switch or outlet, and go to inspect or replace it... its been wired with those stupid quick-connect terminals instead of the screws! And incredibly, sometimes the conductors have backed out of them! This doesn't seem like it should be possible, but yet it is happening somehow. Not once on a fluke / poor-install case, either. The stripped ends look to be proper length, and seem to bite well enough if I push them back in - though not always. Sometimes these outlets look brand-new otherwise, so it's not like I could suspect someone previously reusing them.

But, you know what has NEVER failed from a mechanical-connection standpoint? The screws.

Call me old-school but this is what I will use every. Single. Time. In fact the ONLY reason I can think of for the quick-connect terminals is just that: they are quicker. Sometimes the screws are a PITA. Still, get the right hook on the wire nestled within the recess, cinch that screw all the way down, those things are never coming loose. OTOH, I have dodged a few bullets whereby those quick-connect terminals became downright unsafe over time.

So what is going on? How does "code" allow something so flaky to be manufactured and endorsed? Or am I encountering the work of people who are somehow screwing up something that should be so simple? There has to be something to this. It can't be just me... or is it?

I can't cite specific sources. Once (longest ago) was a guy who retired from being a hospital electrician. I've seen it a few times on handyman forums and such that otherwise reputably pass the "sniff test" as well. Of course in books I've checked out, they always show using the screw terminals - I figure that's just for one-size-fits-all reference. After all, even quickwire outlets have screws, but the reverse is not true.

Here's where it gets interesting: another debate I've encountered concerns mounting an outlet such that the ground terminal is over the spade terminals, instead of under. This gets to be a PITA when it comes to appliance cords and adapters being made for the traditional orientation, but there's some logic behind it: the thought is that if a grounded plug was ever loose and exposing its prongs, material that might fall on it would ground out and/or be deflected by the ground pin, instead of shorting across the plug spades. I've even heard this is a required code update for certain facilities and indeed, many hospitals and schools and the like I've seen, have outlets installed that way. I've also heard that "anecdotally" this is a sign of a licensed or union electrician. Whatever....

...but as it happens, when I have to replace or service outlets that are "upside-down" in that fashion, they have always been connected push-in style. What the hell? You're going to invert an outlet for reasonable-worst-case-paranoia, but then use an unsafe connection method? Or do these installers NOT realize push-in connections are unsafe, and *I'M* the one being paranoid??

At any rate, quick-wire / push-in terminals are a newer invention, yes? if so many do agree that they suck, and insurance companies are skinflints, why the hell are they still allowed to still exist? I've encountered 50+ year old outlets, screw-in-terminals only, that were as solid as they day they were installed. Quick-wired connections don't seem to last even half that long.