Tightening Wire nuts /nut sizes

JWelectric · Aug 24, 2007

If you are afraid of installing a wire nut or if you think that a little tape would help anything then make you installations like this

Frenchie · Aug 24, 2007

That's trippy, Mike, where did you find that?

Eric - I've almost posted a few times, but held off. Pointless to try to communicate until I was out of bickering mode. I've re-read this thread, and the one about the kitchen receptacle, a couple of times. Realized how much you have me all wrong. You keep defending against things I haven't said... I'm not your Typical Defensive Licensed Electrician; I'm not even an electrician; and I'm definitely not a fascist.

(Read the whole thread if you want, but I don't recommend it to anyone who thinks 30-40 posts is a lot... jokes aside, i think that was a record setter, even for JLC.)

Or maybe this thread will do it better:

https://terrylove.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10313

So. Once you realize you don't know me, either... try talking to me, instead of that other guy you think I am.

Sponsor · 2022-01-29T12:20:58-0800

KD · Aug 24, 2007

Do an experiment. Shove and Twist with 2 wires, then 3 wires, then 4 wires. We did this in our class. You will find out that it fails sometimes with 2 wires, then worse and worse with more wires. Conclusion: Always twist with pliers first. Ignore the slogan on the wire nut box--it is a mistake. Also, those electrical DIY videos are loaded with mistakes-they are entertainment-- not science.

Chris75 · Aug 24, 2007

ked said:
Do an experiment. Shove and Twist with 2 wires, then 3 wires, then 4 wires. We did this in our class. You will find out that it fails sometimes with 2 wires, then worse and worse with more wires. Conclusion: Always twist with pliers first. Ignore the slogan on the wire nut box--it is a mistake. Also, those electrical videos are loaded with mistakes-they are entertainment-- not science.

If it fails, then you didn't follow the directions... the directions on the box is not a slogan, they are directions on how to use the product... like it or not... they also say that pre-twisting is not required, so if you feel the need to twist, twist away...

KD · Aug 24, 2007

What part of the directions did myself and the 25 class members not follow?

Chris75 · Aug 24, 2007

ked said:
What part of the directions did myself and the 25 class members not follow?

I don't know I wasn't there.

Did the class actually READ any directions?

Cwhyu2 · Aug 24, 2007

Split Bolts TAPED?

Chris75 · Aug 24, 2007

cwhyu2 said:
Split Bolts TAPED?

Yeh, with 5 rolls of electrical tape...

Cwhyu2 · Aug 24, 2007

Only way.For #2 wire.

JWelectric · Aug 24, 2007

cwhyu2 said:
Only way.For #2 wire.

Why?

.

Cwhyu2 · Aug 24, 2007

You could use crimps,but all need to be insulated some way.
There differert methods depends on your power company.

Old Dog · Aug 24, 2007

lotta tape...

jwelectric said:
If you are afraid of installing a wire nut or if you think that a little tape would help anything then make you installations like this

Must be a time and "material" job!

Alectrician · Sep 18, 2007

Just hand-tighten them and then wrap some electrical tape around the opening

Gahhhh!!!

Just tighten the crap out of them.

No tape please.

Livin4Real · Sep 20, 2007

Here's a pic I snapped of a pole in St. Maarten, caribbean when we there earlier this year. Wonder where they got their pointers from?

, this was one of the better ones we saw.

Bob NH · Sep 20, 2007

Livin4Real said:
Here's a pic I snapped of a pole in St. Maarten, caribbean when we there earlier this year. Wonder where they got their pointers from? , this was one of the better ones we saw.

I wonder how many of those taps go through meters?

Jadnashua · Sep 20, 2007

The house I lived in in Amman Jordan had marginal wiring, too. The frig would cause all of the lights to dim as would the stove or dryer. At the time, I used a servo controlled variac on my pc, and it would be running for a significant amount of time as the voltage rose and dropped. Lucky for me, the pc had a pretty wide input range on its ps. UPS devices were not readily available at that time, or I would have used one of those. The connections at the pole were often just twisted wires...and they rarely were insulated making it very dangerous to even think about getting near. At night, it was an interesting light show, and things really went bonkers when it rained (infrequently, luckily).

The codes and inspections we gripe about here mean our infrastructure is much safer, and things work as designed. Some day, the rest of the world will figure that out; some have, and might be considered stricter than ours.

Statjunk · Sep 20, 2007

I read this entire post much to my detriment. LOL.

I've rewired three houses (every wire, switch, fixture etc...) and several other living spaces including garages.

My take on electrical tape on a wire nut is that if you're doing lots of boxes and lots of connections just put tape on the nuts. It doesn't take much time and it prevents the ground wire from possible causing a short by coming into contact with a wire while pushing the wires into the box.

I also pre-twist all my wires. Why? I feel it makes a better connection.

Before I tape a wire nut I pull on each of the wires to make sure they won't come loose. I definetly pull when combining a solid wire with a stranded wire.

I will say I'm not an electrician but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last year while on vacation in Miami.

Tom

Tightening Wire nuts /nut sizes

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