Wiring a Stove Plug for DIY Dummies

Note the bare ground wire, Nichole

Although it's a little scary -- anyone who's ever gotten an electric shock will understand why -- basic household wiring isn't actually particularly complicated. Sure, there are simple rules to keep workers safe while working, and there are also basic guidelines to ensure that a new installation won't burn the building to the ground and that users won't get nasty surprises. Of course, if you want good, quality instructions to help you complete a wiring project, you'll certainly want to find a qualified electrician or an advanced DIYer; as opposed to a two-time loser in the DotD stakes like eHow.com's Nichole Liandi. Already tagged twice for her lack of understanding of electrical components and wiring, Liandi extends her streak with a post called "How to Install an Electric Stove Outlet"¹ at HomeSteady.com.

We already know Nichole to be out of her intellectual depth when discussing 110-volt outlets and lighting; now she demonstrates that she is equally clueless when it comes to 220-volt circuits. Wonder of wonders, Liandi actually remarks on the voltage difference, not to mention the shape differences of the outlet and plug (probably because someone mentioned it, not because of experience). In her zeal to pick up her fifteen bucks, however, Nichole misses and/or misstates a few critical facts about such an installation. Take, for instance,

"...pull about 4 inches of cable through the front of the box... Remove 2 inches of the cable's outer jacket with a set of wire cutters..." Two things, Nichole: first, you want at least six inches of separated wires, not two. Second, you don't strip the sheathing from a cable with wire cutters - you use a (utility) knife. Liandi proceeds on her merry way, however, with more instructions on wiring. Oddly, she doesn't actually put as much effort into the wiring instructions as she does into installing an electrical box; which she calls a "gang box" for some unknown reason. Apparently, her vast experience doesn't include the notion that electrical boxes are 1-, 2- and more-"gang" sizes depending on the number of switches and/or outlets they hold. Dumbass... anyway, as for Nichole's version of wiring:

"...remove 1/2 inch of insulation from the ends of each of the wires -- black, red and white -- inside the cable. Loosen the screw terminals on the rear of the outlet with a screwdriver. Insert the bare end of the white wire into the terminal marked '-' and tighten the screw to hold the wire. Insert the bare end of the red wire into either of the terminals marked '+' and tighten the screw to hold the wire. Insert the bare end of the black wire into the other terminal marked '+' and tighten the screw to hold the wire."

Wait, there are only three wires? What happened to the ground wire!?

Most damning to her credibility (or any lack thereof), Liandi has nothing to say about such complications as the 110/220 receptacles required for many appliances with lights or clocks -- like a stove. She also neglects to mention surface-mounted receptacles, which are a damn sight more common than those mounted in "gang boxes." Nope, Nichole once again proves herself grossly underqualified and overpaid for this article - par for the course for eHow, par for the course of Dumbass of the Day recipients.

¹ The original has been deleted by Leaf Group, but can still be accessed using the Wayback machine at archive.org. Its URL was   ehow.com/how_8002718_install-electric-stove-outlet.html

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