Featured Terms
Electrical Slang
What do a "bug" and a "cherry" have in common?
They are both electrical slang terms!
Curious about what these and other slang terms mean?
Scroll through our collection of slang terminology used in the electrical industry!
Whether you are an electrician, contractor, or just someone trying to understand what your local electrician is jabbering about, use the glossary to learn trade slang and electrical jargon.
Baffled by a term you just overheard?
Type it in the search box at the top and flip the switch!
10/6/2024
When you absolutely don't want your beam clamp to have the chance to slip off the beam, one of the two adjustable style beam clamps is the one to use. The standard style (E-160) has a fixed bottom where the threaded rod is attached and the swivel (E-165) lets the threaded rod adjust left and right. To use these clamps on an I-beam, the flange can't exceed .8" and the hook rod which comes in sizes 6, 9 or 12" must reach.
10/6/2024
Electro Mechanical Tubing (EMT) is used to protect wires within an electrical system. It is the most commonly used raceway because it can be concealed or surface mounted, it is low cost, light weight and doesn't require threading tools like rigid. The bending process, however, requires more skill than with rigid because EMT is prone to kink. It is also called "thin-wall" because the wall is much thinner than rigid conduit of the same nominal size. Available from Wheatland, Allied, LTV and others.
10/6/2024
Split bolt connector used to mechanically join two or more wires together.
10/6/2024
A tubular wrench with two hex head sockets (3/8" and 7/16"). One end for the bolts used on telephone boxes and the other for binding-post terminals.
10/6/2024
This is a "J" shaped grounding lug where the cable comes in from the side and just lies in the lug. The screw is tightened down and the wire is held fast. This lug can be found alone as in the GBL series or attached to a grounding bushing or some other fitting. It comes in a variety of sizes to handle different wire gauges so this part number shown is only one of several possibilities to point you in the right direction.
10/6/2024
Described as floor plate plug inserts, these threaded plugs seal-up an unused device opening in a floor box plate. You order them in sizes from 1/2" to 2".
10/6/2024
This is an open bottomed octagon ring that gets cemented into the building floor (deck) after being nailed to the wood sub flooring. By using back plates and covers, it becomes a complete deck box and is available in depths from 2" to 6" with knockouts from 1/2" to 1". It is called a concrete ring when it is extending an existing mud box and it can be called a mud box when it has a back plate and serves as a mud box. A classic mud box, however, comes as one unit with the back plate welded in place.
Those boxes are too far back. You'll need to use some goof rings.
