If my picture messed up during resizing – it looks like a jumper wire between the two screws on the hot side of this outlet.
Electrical – Why is there a jumper wire between the hot screws on the outlet
electricalreceptacle
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That description is OK, but you really only need to run 2-wire with ground romex up to the switch, not 3-wire. Split the hot side of the outlet as described. Use a wire nut to pigtail a short piece of wire from your source hot to the terminal of the receptacle that you want "always on" and also connect to the new black wire from the romex running to your switch. Connect the other end of your new black wire to one terminal of your new switch.
Remember, the switch just "makes" or "breaks" the hot.
Connect the new white wire from the romex to the other side of the switch. Permanently mark the white wire at the switch box with red or black permanent marker to identify it as a "switched hot". Connect the other end of the white wire from the romex to the hot terminal of the receptacle that you want switched (for the disposer). Permanently mark the white wire at the receptacle with red or black permanent marker to identify it as a "switched hot". Connect the source neutral to the receptacle and ground everything.
Yes, you can.
- Turn off the power.
- Add a pigtail from the twist-on wire connector to the top "hot" receptacle terminal.
- Break the little metal tab between the "hot" terminals on the receptacle.
- Mark the white wire going to the switch with black tape or marker, so the next person knows it's being used as a "hot".
The top outlet should be always hot, while the bottom will be switch controlled.
Use a multimeter to verify my assumptions are correct, before proceeding.
If the feeder is coming from the other side, then you'll want to rewire it like this.
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Best Answer
Someone broke the fin off, then had breaker's remorse
A factory-new duplex receptacle has a copper "fin" connecting the two screws on each side -- breaking this fin off on the hot (brass) side is done when you want a half-switched receptacle outlet, for instance. It appears somebody broke the fin off at one point, then either the same person or a different person had regrets about the broken fin and replaced it with a jumper wire. So, leave the fin on your new receptacle, and all will be well.