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Wiring Simplified
Updated to adhere to 2005 National Electrical Code standards, this manual provides general information about electrical inspections and electrical code enforcement for residential and small-farm application. Homeowners learn how to understand codes and safety, select and connect wires, ground for safety, and install service equipment. Detailed drawings illustrate how to wire electrical devices, such as receptacles and different types of switches, with a focus on ensuring safe installations. Also discussed are special wiring projects such as modernizing old wiring and working with power-limited wiring.
243 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1978
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
June 19, 2020
I have a very old edition of this book, so perhaps a little dated, but not much. The principals and fundamental wiring arrangements are still the same. This.
October 16, 2016
I have gradually come to realize the limitations of the Internet for providing information on technical subjects. Yes, a vast volume of information is available for free. But there is so much chaff that often it is hard to find accurate answers. When and if you do find accurate answers, they are surrounded by a cloud of invasive ads and other devices meant to distract you, which have the effect of making it difficult to view and comprehend the information as a whole (not to mention the constant temptation to lose focus and check out something else on the Internet). And searching online for something even moderately complex frequently creates a bias towards focusing on the easy answer, since that’s the answer that’s going to be simple to find, and find repeatedly. Maybe on page 20 of the results you’ll find a passing reference to a less easy answer—and then find that more details are behind a paywall.
That’s not to say that the Internet is not superior for some things. For example, often there is no substitute for videos—a picture is worth a thousand words, and so on. But more often, you get a disjointed pile of information, from which you have to extract the key pieces and assemble them into a coherent whole. So, while Internet research has its place (especially for binary answers to factual questions), I find that more and more going to books for important matters makes sense.
This is a long way around to recommending this book. The excellence of this book for its purpose, communication of basic wiring information, brought fully home to me the limitations of Internet research. I’ve finished, and am working on, various small wiring projects in a newly acquired house. I’ve carefully evaluated what I’m doing using multiple Internet sources. I haven’t had any problems—but after reading this book is the first time I feel like I both clearly understand the principles involved and have a complete grasp of basic wiring, and I see some minor errors that I have made. Up to know, the knowledge I’ve gotten has been fragmentary and poorly laid out, despite my best efforts to research online from multiple sources.
Here, clearly organized and laid out, are the key provisions of the (2014) NEC. The authors start with basic information, including simple yet complete and accurate explanations about electricity, wires and conduit, diagrams, grounding, and so forth. They explain why things are the way they are. Later chapters cover all aspects of wiring, from the service entrance to receptacles, as well as rehab and repair wiring, appliances, and so forth. Finally, the book also covers special situations, such as motors, farm wiring, and low-voltage wiring. Clear pictures and explanations of them are found throughout (and the stupid reviews demanding color pictures should be ignored).
None of this could be found researching online, except in fragments, frequently contradictory or incomplete, where the reader has to perform the function of cohering the information and deciding which pieces are false or useless. The price of this book is a low price to pay for avoiding that task and getting an organized, logical, complete set of facts.
That’s not to say that the Internet is not superior for some things. For example, often there is no substitute for videos—a picture is worth a thousand words, and so on. But more often, you get a disjointed pile of information, from which you have to extract the key pieces and assemble them into a coherent whole. So, while Internet research has its place (especially for binary answers to factual questions), I find that more and more going to books for important matters makes sense.
This is a long way around to recommending this book. The excellence of this book for its purpose, communication of basic wiring information, brought fully home to me the limitations of Internet research. I’ve finished, and am working on, various small wiring projects in a newly acquired house. I’ve carefully evaluated what I’m doing using multiple Internet sources. I haven’t had any problems—but after reading this book is the first time I feel like I both clearly understand the principles involved and have a complete grasp of basic wiring, and I see some minor errors that I have made. Up to know, the knowledge I’ve gotten has been fragmentary and poorly laid out, despite my best efforts to research online from multiple sources.
Here, clearly organized and laid out, are the key provisions of the (2014) NEC. The authors start with basic information, including simple yet complete and accurate explanations about electricity, wires and conduit, diagrams, grounding, and so forth. They explain why things are the way they are. Later chapters cover all aspects of wiring, from the service entrance to receptacles, as well as rehab and repair wiring, appliances, and so forth. Finally, the book also covers special situations, such as motors, farm wiring, and low-voltage wiring. Clear pictures and explanations of them are found throughout (and the stupid reviews demanding color pictures should be ignored).
None of this could be found researching online, except in fragments, frequently contradictory or incomplete, where the reader has to perform the function of cohering the information and deciding which pieces are false or useless. The price of this book is a low price to pay for avoiding that task and getting an organized, logical, complete set of facts.
May 17, 2011
The best book I have read about electricity in U.S. buildings. This book got me started and constitutes the fundamental training text for anyone working with me. Not glossy with big photograph-covered pages, but the illustrations are enough and the text is 1000x more valuable than what's in glossy Home Improvement Store texts (although you can buy this at some Home Improvement stores).
Buy this, and the Klein cable/wire combo stripper tool before installing more than a single location in any DIY residential electrical installation project.
- Robert Monk, Electrician
http://www.phillylicensedcontractor.com
Buy this, and the Klein cable/wire combo stripper tool before installing more than a single location in any DIY residential electrical installation project.
- Robert Monk, Electrician
http://www.phillylicensedcontractor.com
September 29, 2021
1 - Horrible | 2 - Not Good, but Creative | 3 - Okay, Worth Reading | 4 - Good | 5 - Awesome!
4 - Good - This is what it is, a book that simplifies and teaches wiring. It does give you all the updates codes, so not all inclusive, hence the 4 stars. It is not entertaining, but it has helped me wire a basement, a kitchen, my garage, and other odds and ends.
4 - Good - This is what it is, a book that simplifies and teaches wiring. It does give you all the updates codes, so not all inclusive, hence the 4 stars. It is not entertaining, but it has helped me wire a basement, a kitchen, my garage, and other odds and ends.
October 15, 2019
Very technical, had some good information but a bit hard to follow for a beginner.
reference
November 8, 2012I COULD NOT WRITE A BETTER REVIEW THAN THE AUTHOR:
PREFACE
This book has been written for the man who wants to learn how to install electrical wiring, so that the finished job will be both practical and safe. The installation will comply with the National Electrical Code. Then the finished job will be acceptable to electrical inspectors, power companies, and others having juris-
diction in the matter. Electrical wiring cannot be learned by skimming through this or any other book for 15 minutes, but careful study of this book should enable you to wire a house or farm, so that it will be acceptable to everyone concerned. However, before doing any wiring,
learn how to do the job correctly, or hire an electrical contractor
who knows how. The author hopes this book will also be of considerable value in planning a wiring job (regardless of who is to do the work), to enable you to write sensible specifications which will lead to your
securing maximum usefulness from electric power. Careful planning will avoid later changes which usually cost several times as much as when included in the original plans. Finally, I hope the book may be interesting to the man who is just naturally curious, and wants to know how things are done and why-the man who still has in him something of the spirit of the boy who takes the clock apart just to find out what makes the wheels go around. Throughout this book I have emphasized the reasons why things are done in a particular way. This will help you to understand not only the exact problems discussed, but will also help you to solve other problems as they arise in actual wiring of all kinds. Suggestions for improvement of this book (especially from teachers who use it as a textbook) will be greatly appreciated by the author.
H. P. RICHTER
April 4, 2007
So I purchased this old house with kind of funny wiring - GFCIs where they're sort of superfluous and non-tripping GFCIs where they are not needed, hot wire in the wrong place, the mysterious second panel - and my dad recommended I pick up this book. I ordered it from my wife's bookstore and have been looking through it. It is an excellent resource. I am relatively comfortable with DIY projects, but with electricity there is always that fear that I might somehow wire the utility feed directly to the cold water tap in the kitchen, resulting in flash-cooked family member.
This book has a section on upgrading old wiring, too, especially useful since my house has wiring of many different eras from 1922 on.
December 31, 2014
This is a great book for anyone who wants to tackle the job of wiring or re-wiring their home. It starts with safety practices and covers everything you need to know, though you may find yourself needing to consult additional resources to get all the information you need. The first Wiring Simplified was published in 1932 and the various authors, through the years, have maintained good practice in wiring and installation while updating each edition to current NEC standards and specifications. I'd be interested in checking out the current edition and would recommend that anyone going into a wiring/installation job get their hands on it. Excellent diagrams and illustrations and just very solid, simple, excellent explanation of the subject matter.
May 5, 2013
Liked this book. I rewired and installed new wiring to code.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews