Tightening Wire nuts /nut sizes

molo said:

Could someone please address the wire-nut sizing aspect of the question. The boxes literally have 20-30 options. Some have dashes between numbers, some have slashes. Any ideas?

TIA,
Molo

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Molo,
Give us an example of one or more of the options on the box and we can walk you through it.

Verdeboy said:

This is hilarious. After 40 posts, your original question is still not answered to your satisfaction.

As an unqualified Handyman, who has no business even lurking on this electrical forum, I'll stick with the answer I gave you 39 posts ago:

Choosing the correct wire nut depends on the number of wires and their gauges. If the wire nut is too small, the wires won't fit inside. If the wire nut is too large, the wires can pull out easily. Once you've done a few hundred of them, you get a "feel" for choosing the right one.

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Oh, good grief, Verdeboy. If that answered his question, he wouldn't have to ask it again, would he? Since you already posted it 39 posts ago?


Molo -

I haven't looked at the back of a box of wire nuts in ages, but I don't understand... as i recall, they list the approved combinations, pretty straightforward. This is a pic I found on the web, of the back of a box of blue nuts; does it not look like this?

...if not, post a pic or type it out, I'm sure we can work it out in less than 50 posts.

frenchie said:

Oh, good grief, Verdeboy. If that answered his question, he wouldn't have to ask it again, would he? Since you already posted it 39 posts ago?

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Well, according to that bit of strange logic, your response, that was posted 38 posts ago, must not have answered the question either. And, before you mention that you've since "refined" your answer, I also have. Note the bit about getting a "feel" for the correct nut after you've done a lot of them.

BTW, Frenchie, in all seriousness, why can't you just offer advice without trying to put someone else in their place? It's not just me. I think you've actually scared one or two people off of the forum.

Scary? Me? Are you serious? ... or just trying to make sure we get another 50 posts on this thread?

Seriously, I can't think of anyone, other than you, that I've tried to "put in their place". Maybe I'm missing something? Others feel free to chime in, here... please... even if it means we use 50 posts to answer poor Molo's question, I'd like to know if I need to check myself.

I'll get a pic up of the back of the box soon, I asked the owner of the local hardware, and he looked at me with a grin and said, "I never worried about it". That one you posted is close frenchie, but I think I can interpret that one, the boxes in the local store are more confusing. WHAT A THREAD!!

Molo

Like I said, it's been years, but I do remember boxes that looked more like what you're describing. As I recall, it wasn't too hard to work out what they meant... we'll see when you post a pic, I guess. In the meantime - do I scare you?

frenchie said:

do I scare you?

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click here

Only when I see you

This is to funny!

Next week were going to talk about how tight a screw has to be....

I would ask that posters refrain from making disparaging remarks about one another's experience or lack of it.

One of the things that has kept me coming back to this forum, and which differentiates it from many, many others out there, is the friendliness of the exchanges here. To berate someone because they ask a good question, or give an opinion that is different from yours, is uncalled for.

Not a moderator, not an electrician, just a DIY'er asking for a little civility.

cant believe no one's mentioned it

or maybe I glossed over it.

After pre-twisting the wires, clip the ends off so all the wire are even.

Note: I am not an electrician, just an engineer, so I probably deserve any and all disparaging comments sure to come.

northman said:

or maybe I glossed over it.

After pre-twisting the wires, clip the ends off so all the wire are even.

Note: I am not an electrician, just an engineer, so I probably deserve any and all disparaging comments sure to come.

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Good point. And prestrip them carefully so that the conductor exposed is almost the same length for each wire.

Northman - I'm not an electrician, either. That's got nothing to do with it.

...

Molo - does it bother you that we're doing this on your thread? I'm wondering if I should start a new one...

...

SteveW - I have to assume that you're talking to me. I'm sorry if I've ruined the atmosphere for you. This is a really special place. I've lurked here for years, and anytime someone has a plumbing question, I send them here...

Anyways, I basically started posting a lot (checking at least once a day), out of guilt over the Joe T incident. I already knew him from another forum, where I stuck up for him a lot... and I was heartbroken when I heard what he'd done. I also felt pretty guilty. Not just because I'd been sticking up for him previously: because he may have found this place from reading one of my posts over there...

All of which I mention, just to explain that when I say I'm sorry, I mean it.

...

Verde - sorry I came off the way I did. But there is something... I'm not sure this is the right place/time, but I'm going to try to try to explain it.

Your casual attitude, towards how much you don't know about electrical work, makes me nervous. It's like: you don't know enough, to know how little you know; and you seem not to care.

The fact that you do it for hire, so that it's not just yourself who might be at risk, makes me even more nervous. Seeing you give out electrical advice here... same thing.

Your casual attitude about that, offends me.


So... that's where I'm coming from. Not sure where to go with it, but hopefully it explains why I've been acting the way I have.

For the sake of everyone else, I'll try to keep it civil from now on. It would be nice if you met me half-way.

Frenchie,

I'll try to explain this to you:

When I ask a question, I tend to sound more ignorant than I really am. That way, people are more open to giving me information, and I can glean more useful information that way. The more information I can glean the better. If you sound like you already know everything, people tend to ignore you or give you less information. I've mentioned numerous times that I try to glean as much info on a subject as possible before taking on a job and refuse jobs that I don't feel qualified doing. How that translates into a "casual attitude" to you heaven only knows.

I also give advice, but only on subjects that I feel competent in. Occasionally I'll stick my neck out a bit in a subject I'm not that competent in and may feel a little stupid. So what. If you never take a stab at something new, you become stuck and boring.

Keep this in mind, Frenchie, We are all students and we are all teachers. No one knows everything and no one knows nothing.

Well, if you put it that way, put me in for
"Knows more than nothing"

Doesn't really say much, but sounds good.

Funny!!!

I'll get a pic soon..... please excuse the interruption of the normally scheduled broadcast..

Verdeboy...

I'm not sure if something just flew by near my head, or if what I was trying to say flew by yours... but there's still a gap.

If anything, I think it just got bigger.

Isn't the short version of what you just said, "I was lying to you; trust me..."??

Actually, the short answer is, I know how to connect a freakin' wire nut. I don't know how to run a nuclear power plant. Therefore, I give advice on how to connect a wire nut. I don't give advice on how to run the power plant.

Capisce?

molo said:

Funny!!!

I'll get a pic soon..... please excuse the interruption of the normally scheduled broadcast..

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Pic? I hope you aren't going to replace your beer picture.

Just do your own experiment: If you are connecting two wires only, it works most of the time, but not every time, to just shove the the wires into the wire nut. For three or more wires, you need to pre-twist the wires. My advice is to pre-twist ALL wire nut connections EVERY time. The "no need to pre-twist" on the box is a mistake. DIY electrical videos have lots of bad examples and bad advice too. (EC since 1975, college instructor 12 years.)