- Location
- Illinois
- Occupation
- retired electrician
That was the common method around here when I started.
EGCs
- Thread starter DBoone
- Start date
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kwired
Electron manager
- Location
- NE Nebraska
- Occupation
- EC
Did you by chance mean "not nearly as many as people would like them to take" or something very similar? What you actually submitted is kind of self contradicting
- Location
- Massachusetts
Did you by chance mean "not nearly as many as people would like them to take" or something very similar? What you actually submitted is kind of self contradicting
Yes and yes.
Lucky for me I am a much better electrician than communicator.
The thoughts pour from my head faster than my fingers type them. :ashamed1:
DBoone
Senior Member
- Location
- Mississippi
- Occupation
- General Contractor
I just looked at my bag of big blues and it says it can take a combination of 2-10s and 4-12s , or 6-12s..... That doesn't make since to me. Seems like it should take more 12s. When I bought them I didnt look at the bag and just assumed it could handle maybe 8-12s or so.
DBoone
Senior Member
- Location
- Mississippi
- Occupation
- General Contractor
*sense
mopowr steve
Senior Member
- Location
- NW Ohio
- Occupation
- Electrical contractor
I also use "buchanan splice crimps (barrels)".
I was taught using them 25 years ago and then shortly after started using other methods which in short time proved not to be as accommodative as the buchanans were. So I have been using them for a while. I actually leave long tails for each switch and cut off the excess number of grounds after the crimp when not needed.
As for your ground splices where only two or three grounds enter a box with one device I use the green wire nut with the hole in it that leaves you with a pigtail.
I was taught using them 25 years ago and then shortly after started using other methods which in short time proved not to be as accommodative as the buchanans were. So I have been using them for a while. I actually leave long tails for each switch and cut off the excess number of grounds after the crimp when not needed.
As for your ground splices where only two or three grounds enter a box with one device I use the green wire nut with the hole in it that leaves you with a pigtail.
- Location
- Tennessee NEC:2017
- Occupation
- Semi-Retired Electrician
"Greenie":thumbsup:
kwired
Electron manager
- Location
- NE Nebraska
- Occupation
- EC
Just my guess, but if you have more then 6 in a "bundle" there will be one in the center that is not in contact with the spring of the connector. This one is more likely to pull out of the bundle then those threaded into the spring. It has more to do with how mechanically secured the conductors are then with the size of them.
DBoone
Senior Member
- Location
- Mississippi
- Occupation
- General Contractor
You very well could be right. Although I pre twist and then put in my wire nut so I would feel very good about all wires making good contact. But since pre twisting isn't required a situation like you mention could arise.
If you do residential with plastic boxes what is your preferred method for splicing a large group of grounds, say 10 in a worst case scenario?
There's just something in me that makes me uncomfortable when I have to start making multiple bundles and jumpering between them. If I could make one bundle that would be great but I'm just an employee and my boss just buys red wire nuts. I really don't want to have to buy material out of my own pocket.
Call me a dangerous, NEC violating hack if you want to but I'm just debating in my head over and over, "fill up a box with multiple bundles and splices or keep each circuit separate and have one manageable bundle per circuit just like if they were in single gangs side by side.
Feel free to pile it on me for even having the debate in my head
DBoone
Senior Member
- Location
- Mississippi
- Occupation
- General Contractor
Code:
Also, my boss is a 30 yr veteran, old school builder and he doesn't even ground his switches. So I'm trying to do the best I can with what and who I'm working with.
mopowr steve
Senior Member
- Location
- NW Ohio
- Occupation
- Electrical contractor
Just to help you think of this, green wirenuts with the hole in the middle if I'm not mistaken will only accept up to 5 - #12 conductors so at some point all conductors will wedge and twist with each other. Now when it comes to 6 or more twist conductors before installing large spring type wirenuts or splice caps.
kwired
Electron manager
- Location
- NE Nebraska
- Occupation
- EC
Unless you are dealing with maybe 4 gang box or larger, the need to connect 10 conductors usually means overfull box:happyyes:You very well could be right. Although I pre twist and then put in my wire nut so I would feel very good about all wires making good contact. But since pre twisting isn't required a situation like you mention could arise.
If you do residential with plastic boxes what is your preferred method for splicing a large group of grounds, say 10 in a worst case scenario?
There's just something in me that makes me uncomfortable when I have to start making multiple bundles and jumpering between them. If I could make one bundle that would be great but I'm just an employee and my boss just buys red wire nuts. I really don't want to have to buy material out of my own pocket.
Call me a dangerous, NEC violating hack if you want to but I'm just debating in my head over and over, "fill up a box with multiple bundles and splices or keep each circuit separate and have one manageable bundle per circuit just like if they were in single gangs side by side.
Feel free to pile it on me for even having the debate in my head
But if I were needing to connect that many together I would probably prefer to have two sets of connections and a jumper between them. I don't find it to be "hack" or otherwise a problem, if anything there is less chance of some conductor that wants to pull out of the group. Plus a large bundle is harder to bend and tuck into the box then smaller bundles.
DBoone
Senior Member
- Location
- Mississippi
- Occupation
- General Contractor
Thanks kwired. Using red Ideals I can handle up to 7 cables in a box (multi gang switch box as you mention) ... 7 cable grounds, 2 jumper ends, 1 pigtail to loop through my devices.I know once the bundles are jumpered together they are electrically connected as if they were all in one bundle but do you have a preference, a routine of how you like to bundle your grounds (ex: make sure all grounds from the incoming "hot" cables are in the same bundle)
Do you use wire nuts, crimps, push-in connectors with a large number of ports?
Also, when jumpering between different size grounds do you size it to the largest OCPD? I'm just into residential building and electrical so all I would probably ever need to jumper is 12, 14, at the very biggest a 10. I asked this earlier but I didnt quite understand Smarts answer.
I always like to be safe and ask even the simplest of questions.
Do you use wire nuts, crimps, push-in connectors with a large number of ports?
Also, when jumpering between different size grounds do you size it to the largest OCPD? I'm just into residential building and electrical so all I would probably ever need to jumper is 12, 14, at the very biggest a 10. I asked this earlier but I didnt quite understand Smarts answer.
I always like to be safe and ask even the simplest of questions.
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My first reply to this thread so not sure what post you are referring to.
Since you mentioned 'jumpering' I have to assume you are talking about between groupings at one outlet or junction. To keep it as simple as possible, size same as largest EGC therein. You'll usually have that size of wire available anyway.
If you want to be more discerning, where jumping to a load only group, the largest in the load side group.
mjc763
Member
- Location
- Minneapolis Minnesota
If you twist the wires tight enough and cut cleanly before putting a wire nut on you can easily get 6-8 in a red. It may exceed the limits of the connector but the wires are twisted tight enough to be mechanically secure w/o the wire nut. I don't know that I've ever ran into a situation where a big blue wouldn't accommodate everything I needed it to in a residential setting.
- Location
- Chapel Hill, NC
- Occupation
- Retired Electrical Contractor
There are lots of things we can do that are not to code. This forum generally gives code info rather than encourage non compliant installs.
- Location
- Massachusetts
Where I am we get rough inspections, overfilling a wirenut could result in a inspection fail. Not worth it to me.
kwired
Electron manager
- Location
- NE Nebraska
- Occupation
- EC
I have seen the practice of using a split bolt large enough to contain all the conductors as well. Is fairly effective, but still doesn't meet the listing requirements of the split bolt.
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