# What is common sense?



## skipharper (Jan 15, 2015)

When wrapping a conductor around a device screw I thought common sense would always prevail and one would put the conductor under the screw and tighten it clockwise. This was obviously never taught in some schools and I cannot locate a code section to back up this common sense theory so any help is much appreciated.


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## ICE (Jan 15, 2015)

Listing installation instructions.  Then there's the catch-all workmanlike manner.


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## mn joe (Jan 15, 2015)

The dig about "taught in Mexico was a cheap shot.

Shame on you.


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## JBI (Jan 15, 2015)

Misnomer. 'Common sense' just isn't that 'common' these days...


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## Paul Sweet (Jan 15, 2015)

What is common sense?

Uncommon.


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## retire09 (Jan 15, 2015)

Common sense is very common in Mexico and they don't have to teach it like we do.


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## pwood (Jan 16, 2015)

does common sense say to put the ground up or down on a receptacle?


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## jdfruit (Jan 16, 2015)

Well, give a guy the "straight line" and just couldn't resist:

My favorite is from Admiral Rickover

“Common sense ain't common.”

― Will Rogers

“Common sense is in spite of, not the result of, education.”

― Victor Hugo

“Common sense is seeing things as they are; and doing things as they ought to be.”

― Harriet Beecher Stowe

“Common sense is as rare as genius.”

― Ralph Waldo Emerson

“The only thing a person can never have too much of is common sense.”

― Kathryn Smith, Anna and the Duke

“Nothing is more fairly distributed than common sense: no one thinks he needs more of it than he already has.”

― René Descartes, Discourse on Method

“What it takes to do a job will not be learned from management courses. It is principally a matter of experience, the proper attitude, and common sense — none of which can be taught in a classroom... Human experience shows that people, not organizations or management systems, get things done.”

― Hyman G. Rickover

“It takes centuries for sense to become common”

― Anthony Steyning

“The fifth sense is "common sense"- either you have it or you don't.”

― Jennifer Shong

“In a world of full of manipulation, half-truths and lies, the conspiracy theory is often a safer bet than the official story.”

― Gary Hopkins

“John Locke invented common sense, and only Englishmen have had it ever since!”

― Bertrand Russell

“What is common sense to one, is not always so common to another.”

― Stephan Labossiere

“Society is always taken by surprise at any new example of common sense.”

― Ralph Waldo Emerson

Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen.

ALBERT EINSTEIN, as quoted in Jerry Mayer's Bite-Size Einstein


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## Mark K (Jan 16, 2015)

Suggest that what is important is whether there is a good connection, not what direction the wire is wound on the connector.


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## ICE (Jan 16, 2015)

Mark K said:
			
		

> Suggest that what is important is whether there is a good connection, not what direction the wire is wound on the connector.


You can't have one without the other.


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## MASSDRIVER (Jan 16, 2015)

Not giving plumbers or electricians tools that will cut wood.

Up to and including a nail file.

Brent.


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## MASSDRIVER (Jan 16, 2015)

And hammers. Common sense dictates they shouldn't have hammers.

Brent.


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## fatboy (Jan 16, 2015)

MASSDRIVER said:
			
		

> And hammers. Common sense dictates they shouldn't have hammers.Brent.


Yeah, especially when working with engineered I-Joists..............

But yeah, the direction in the force of the screw, has a direct correlation to a better connection.......common sense.......


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## Francis Vineyard (Jan 17, 2015)

other than workmanship with stranded wire does the code or manufacturers specify additional requirements for screws?


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## pwood (Jan 17, 2015)

like a condition found in  alot of people on this board the manufacturer does not want to see screws loose!


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## north star (Jan 17, 2015)

*$  @  $  @  $*





> "When wrapping a conductor around a device screw I thoughtcommon sense  would always prevail and one would put the conductor
> 
> under the screw and  tighten it clockwise. This was obviously never
> 
> ...


There is nothing in the NEC to specify a direction for wrapping the conductor.From the `08 NEC, Article 110.14(A) is about as close as you can get from the

NEC:  *"Connection of conductors to terminal parts shall ensure a thoroughly*

*good connection without damaging the conductors... "*

The manufacturer of the device having the conductor attached to it "may"

provide their own instructions, but what is legally required by the manufacturer

and what is legally required by the Code are 2 totally different things.

The wrapping of the conductors around a terminal is something that is a taught

practice............The practice can be taught to wrap clockwise or counterclockwise.

A good understanding of physics is needed [ i.e. - torquing  ] also..........The thread

direction of the terminal screw is or should be, a good indicator.

Besides, what is Common Sense to one is not the same as what is Common Sense

to another.........Connections of conductors to a terminal screw is a taught practice.

Hope this helps !

*$  @  $  @  $*


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## pwood (Jan 17, 2015)

look at your typical breaker where you land the hot. It has a groove on two sides under the screw. What side does common sense say to land the conductor on? Since their are two grooves does that mean you can put a wire on each side of the screw?


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## ICE (Jan 17, 2015)

It may be common sense to know that the screw will spit the wire if the wire is wrapped the wrong way but it was taught in shop class...back when we weren't all destined to be executives.  Nowadays most people think that a screwdriver is a drink.


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## MASSDRIVER (Jan 17, 2015)

The question really is "Why would you make your life more difficult by trying to tighten a wire that's fighting tooth and nail to crawl out of the loop, because if you wrap it clockwise it will simply suck under the screw and create one less Fbomb in the world?"

That's the question.

Brent


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## JBI (Jan 20, 2015)

If the device is listed, it must be installed in accordance with it's listing.

If it was wrapped in a particular direction when tested, that is the direction it needs to be installed in.

The Code does require listed items to be installed in accordance with their listing, at least t did last time I looked...


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## mtlogcabin (Jan 20, 2015)

Charlie Daniels has some common sense


If the guy who had the camera in Paris had a 300 mag with a scope he could have taken both of the terrorists out. Keep your powder dry. - Charlie Daniels via Twitter


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## steveray (Jan 20, 2015)

MY Dad had a 300 Wetherby and that thing kicked like a Rockette....


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## Pcinspector1 (Jan 21, 2015)

Righty-tighty, lefty-loosey!

"Now put that screwdriver back where it goes!"

Parenting 101??

NEC110.3 (b) Installation and Use.

Listed or labeled equipment shall be installed and used in accordance with any instructions included in the listing or label.

pc1


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