Forgot to add...when you need to flow in and out of the outlet, can you put 2 wires under the plate (one on either side of the screw)? Or should only one wire go under each plate/screw being there is 2. Kind of dependant on the first post with a possibility 2 wires preventing the cocked plate.

Tom-
Back wire (or back stab) usually refers to holes in the back of the receptacle where you strip off about 1/2 inch of wire and insert it into the hole; a little friction clip inside holds it in. While legal, this is not a very secure connection and can lead to overheating, and fires in extreme cases. You want to use only the side screws, of which there are two on each side. You DO NOT put more than one wire under a screw. You always put a loop in the wire, curving in the direction you tighten the screw (clockwise). If you have power coming in and going out, you connect one cable to the top pair of screws and one to the bottom pair. If you have more than two cables, you connect all the white wires with a proper size wire nut and a pigtail, and connect the pigtail to the appropriate screw; the same with the blacks and the grounds.

However, having said all that, I am concerned that your knowledge of wiring is very basic and I see the possibility of you inadvertently doing something that could cause a fire or electrocution hazard. Please do yourself and your family a favor and spend $10-$15 for an illustrated book on wiring.

One clarification. There is such a thing as back wire that is not the simple push-in type: it has a screw you tighten after inserting the straight wire. These are perfectly fine, but I suspect this is not what you have.

Excellent advice, kudzu9

"Back wire (or back stab) usually refers to holes in the back of the receptacle where you strip off about 1/2 inch of wire and insert it into the hole; a little friction clip inside holds it in."

'Back wire' and 'back stab' are NOT the same thing.

Back wire uses the metal plate and is reliable.

Back stab uses the spring clip and is NOT reliable.

That was the distinction I made with my second post...I just wasn't sure that he really had a back wire receptacle.

Tom, if you wrapped the wire around the screw- that would be sidewiring. Since you pushed the wire in from the back (under the plate)- that is backwiring.

Backwiring is also when you insert the wire into the hole in the back of a GOOD quality receptacle. In that case there is an internal plate that tightens down with the screw. Many GFCI's have this type of hole.

Backwiring will almost always accept both #14 and #12 wire while -backstabbing- only accepts #14.

All I have is a screw with the plate. There are NO back stab holes. Why does the box say "back and side wire"...are they synomous terms? If back wire is slipping the wire under the plate and tightening, what is side wire? Do you need to remove the plate and loop the wire over the screw to be side wired?

Tom is talking about Leviton's very recent replacement for their Prograde line of receptacles. I really liked their old Prograde outlets, but I don't like these new ones. Tom, if you rip open the box and study the diagram on the inside, you will see that "back wire" option shows the wire going under the screw and under the plate, while the side wire option shows the wire going under the screw but on top of the plate. For the back wire option, the wire remains straight. For the side wire option, the wire gets looped as normal. I tried the side wire option and I didn't feel like a good connection was being made - the wire just doesn't seem to sit right between the plate and the screw. Maybe I am used to outlets with just screws on the sides, but I dont care for these new Leviton "Prograde" outlets. - Tim

tom_p_pa, I answered your exact question in the post right above yours:

"Tom, if you wrapped the wire around the screw- that would be sidewiring. Since you pushed the wire in from the back (under the plate)- that is backwiring."

So, is it ok to “back wire”( placing a straight copper cable under the screw and plate) two wires under that one terminal ?