Customer Reviews

Wiring Simplified: Based on the 2002 National Electrical Code

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My father bought me my first copy of this book over 20 years ago and he bought his further back than that. Ever since we never miss a revised edition, we both look foward to the new one and use it. It is well written and easy to follow. We both went from amateur to professional electricians on this book. So if you know alot or a little about electricity, this is a must have.

This book perfectly meets my needs for a 'cliff notes' type of electrical summary and reference covering all the common and general applications and concerns. This book offers the most practical material I've found published to date on this subject.

I was terrified of electricity, so much so I had to have an electrician friend come over to the house to change an outlet. It was mysterious and it hurt. Then we moved into a ninety year old home, with old knob and post wiring (which was not too bad) and the most awful retro-wiring I had ever seen. On the first evening in our new house, we plugged in our coffee pot and dishwasher only to be greeted with a brilliant flash of electricity followed by total darkness. The circuits were so bad, we could not plug in more than one appliance per circuit. It was obvious that I was going to have to get over my fear of electricity if we were going to live in that house.

An elderly parishioner loaned his copy of Wiring Simplified. It was from the 1930s, perhaps a first edition, but it taught me how to wire circuits, figure amperage and keep my house from burning down. Since then, I have purchased an updated editions and have wired three-way switches, installed fixtures and added new circuits. If this country preacher can do it, so can you. This book is simply the best, it took the mystery out of electrity .

I bought my first edition of this book when I was building a workshop in our basement. I had done minor electrical work before (replacing light switches, installing one extension outlet in an existing circuit), so this job was rather daunting since it involved putting in a subpanel and 110 and 220V circuits. I happened upon this book at the local home center.

What I found was a treasure trove of information on every conceivable subject that would probably come up in wiring a house. And it takes you from ground zero, not even assuming you know what volts or amps are. The topics include: codes, planning, basics of electricity, all about wire (want to know the difference between NM, NMC, THHN, and EF? it's in the book!), ampacity, grounding, the service entrance, outlet/switch boxes (including a great section on calculating box sizes), wiring procedures, outdoor wiring/conduit, modernizing old wiring, applicances, and a number of special situations (motors, farms, etc). In the later editions, it also includes what I believe is a new section on low-voltage wiring. Since what I am doing now is building a deck, this will be very useful. (I'm on my second copy of the book.)

What's more, it's clearly laid out, easy to read, and everything references back to the NEC itself. It is truly as the editorial review above states, like having a "tiny electrician on your bookshelf." The author also updates it every 3 years, since the code changes that often. (Note that it's now on the 41st edition.)

Now, you won't find all kinds of beautiful color pictures in here. It's a basic book. It does have lots of diagrams and line drawings (at least one per page), plus a relatively small number of black-and-white photos. But I don't find this a problem at all, and it no doubt keeps the cost down. It's also very small: not shirt-pocket sized, but very small and portable nonetheless.

I think the best testimony to this book are two comments made by the electrical inspector. First, as he was doing the final inspection, I mentioned that I had made a change inside the wall since the rough inspection, so I could pull back the wall for him to take a look. He said it wasn't necessary: he could see the kind of work I did and he trusted me. Then, the inspector said "If all homeowners knew as much as you know, I'd be out of a job."

Pretty good, considering that I came into this job knowing almost nothing about house wiring. And I owe most of what I know to this little book. Get it!

Good service + good quality, Got the book in the time it was promised, in the condition it was stated.. I would use this vender again, no problem..

I have purchased several editions over the years to keep up to date on wiring techniques and codes. Of all the DIY publications on the market, this one is the best for beginners to intermediates. The fact that this is the 40th edition must say something.

I recently purchased this (slightly outdated) edition of the book. I don't expect that there were any major changes as far as safety goes in the newest edition. This book contains far more information in a smaller format than any of the several other basic wiring books i have purchased. It also builds from the ground up as far as knowledge goes, and it is based on the national electric code, so you can be sure it is well thought out. it also omits many things from the NEC which homeowners would probably find extraneous, yet directs readers to the proper section of the code for more obscure and in depth items.