My kitchen outlet died mid-brisket at 11pm and I almost burned the house down

Zara Palmer · 2026-10-15T19:20:05.736683+00:00

So last month I'm smoking a brisket for my kid's birthday party, it's 11pm, and the outlet my pellet grill was plugged into just quits. No tripped breaker, nothing. I'm out in the dark with a headlamp, extension cord snaking through the dog door, and I start thinking about just jamming a bigger fuse in the panel. Bad idea, I know. Instead I killed the main, pulled the outlet, and found the real problem: backstabbed wires that had been arcing for who knows how long, all black and crispy behind the drywall. The house was built in '87 and half the outlets in this place are wired that way, those push-in connections instead of screws. I spent the next two weekends going through every outlet on that circuit and pigtailing them with wire nuts. Cost me about $40 in outlets, wire, and a decent stripper. Best money I've spent on this house. If your place is from the 80s or 90s do yourself a favor and check one outlet, just one, and see if it's backstabbed. Anyone else find this stuff hiding behind their walls?

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My kitchen outlet died mid-brisket at 11pm and I almost burned the house down | Abq Home Repair - Rigidtalk