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Tightening Wire nuts /nut sizes
The back of the wire nut boxes are very confusing, with several numbers. How do you know what wires will fit?
Also, how do you know when the wirenut is tight enough? are you supposed to use a tool or just your hands?
TIA,
Molo
"Any American who is prepared to run for President should automatically, by definition, be disqualified from ever doing so."
Gore Vidal.
It 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.Originally Posted by molo
Just hand-tighten them and then wrap some electrical tape around the opening.
Sparkies - cleanup in aisle three!
I'm not sure about the details, so hopefully a real electrician will swing by. But as far as I know, it's supposed to be pretty tight. Electricians do it by hand, but they really crank on those suckers. Not finger-tight, forearm tight.
Electrical tape over a nut is a nice gesture: it gives fair warning to the next guy.
As for which nut to use, that's what those numbers on the back of the box are for: all the combinations of wires that nut will hold. So many of this size, so many of that size, etc.
Yellows & reds cover most household needs.
Master Plumber Mark:
there is nothing better than the
manly smell of WD 40 in the air
while banging away on brass with a chisel and hammer...
it smells like......victory......
do not hit your thumb...
__________________
Just so everyone's clear: I'm the POODLE in the picture ("french", get it?) The hot woman is my wife.
Nicely Put Frinchie
1. i've heard the tape was the sign of an amateur
2. There are 20-30 nsets of numbers on the boxes
3. Yes i ususally use red or yellow
4. Is it causing a problem with over-heating if you tighten them to the point that the wires coming into the nut begin to twist?
TIA,
molo
"Any American who is prepared to run for President should automatically, by definition, be disqualified from ever doing so."
Gore Vidal.
No...I like to pull individually on each wire after I get a nut installed to make sure something didn't slip. Probably the worst thing in this situation is a loose connection.
Jim DeBruycker
Important note - I'm not a pro
Retired Defense Industry Engineer
No tape is needed if the wire nut is installed propertly
I twist the nut until the conductors are twisted at least twice on the outside of the nut
Inside joke?
No wonder I'm not an electrician. I have to use my fingers to tighten the nut. They must have specially designed forearms that grab on to it and really crank it tight.
They must have specially designed forearms that grab on to it and really crank it tight.
As you can see that the electricians forearm has some interesting aspects that are internal to the arm itself
Verdeboy -
Inside joke? I thought it was pretty obvious.
Ha-ha on the forearm joke. But when you crank on something really hard with your hands, the forearm muscles come into play... all I know is that, when he's tightening wire nuts, sparkie's elbow moves. He's putting his whole arm into it.
Seriously - if you're going around twisting wire nuts just hand-tight, you're going to get a lot of call-backs for loose connections... if you're lucky. If you're unlucky, the results might be a bit worse than that.
(Side-comment... just so you don't think I'm all Joe T on you) Lesson #1, if you're working outside the law, is to make sure your work is perfect. "As good as most" doesn't cut it, and "good enough" is just out of the question. It has to be better than any pro's. If something goes wrong, a licensed/insured guy's butt is covered, to some extent. But if you're being Harry Tuttle, they're out to get you already. You have no safety net, you can't afford a mistake, you are completely on the hook if something goes wrong. Cover Your Ass, bro... learn up on this stuff.
Molo -
The danger of overheating is if you don't tighten them enough. Loose connections = arcing = fire hazard. As long as you don't go tight enough to damage the wire or the nut (I think this is why they don't use tools to tighten the nuts)... the tighter the better.
And yeah, electrical tape is the mark of an amateur. Not to take cheap shots, but if you're going to leave nuts insufficiently tightened, then it's a good idea, as it does give the next guy fair warning that an amateur's been at this wiring.
Master Plumber Mark:
there is nothing better than the
manly smell of WD 40 in the air
while banging away on brass with a chisel and hammer...
it smells like......victory......
do not hit your thumb...
__________________
Just so everyone's clear: I'm the POODLE in the picture ("french", get it?) The hot woman is my wife.
The connection should be mechanically secure, twisted with pliers, prior to the application of the wire nut. Then finger tight is OK
Not true, read the directions that come with the wirenut... Pre twisting is not required, but feel free to do so.
i always recommend twisting of solid conductors i.e romex but in commercial uses we use alot of stranded wire and it's not necessary to twist them. for some reason the wn just don't bite as good on solid wire.
You also have to watch the difference between wing nuts and wire nuts. I like wing nuts much better. You can also get one more 12ga wire in some of the wing nut brands than in the normal wire nuts.
A little trick I have found is to use stranded wire. I have a hard time getting the torque I need to feel confident in tieing 3 or 4 12ga wires if they are solid.
I'm not a pro...
Steve
Haven't had a call-back yet. I think you're splitting hairs a bit. Molo just wanted to know "hand-tight vs tool." Consensus is hand-tight.
So, you're a GC and an expert on New Mexico law?
Geesh. I guess I better start training for the world wire nut competition...and win...if I'm going to keep installing those light fixtures and receptacles.
Duuuh. That's why I keep posting all of my "rookie questions."
I've seen plenty of wiring done by electricians, where a bit of electrical tape is used to cover the open end of the wire nut. It serves 2 purposes: The first is an insurance measure against wire pull-out. The second is to seal the connection in the unlikely event that water gets in there, from a roof leak, etc...
Last edited by Verdeboy; 08-18-2007 at 10:10 PM.
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