Taped Wire Nuts

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Besoeker said:
We've got nuts. Just not wire nuts............
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That can be very hard for an American electrician to get used to. Without wire nuts we are lost.

I had to inspect a job on a military base for NEC compliance but the job was supposed to be done to British standard ( also ) and it nearly drove me nuts.
 
beyond taping, who is twisting the wires together prior to putting nut on?

i guess the question i have is, beyond the extra materials and time to use tape, what are the pros & cons of taping a wire nut?
 
FionaZuppa said:
beyond taping, who is twisting the wires together prior to putting nut on?

i guess the question i have is, beyond the extra materials and time to use tape, what are the pros & cons of taping a wire nut?
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It depends imo about which size, how many, as well as what type (solid or stranded) that determines pretwisting>

A couple of solid 14's, no, but anything w/at least a couple of solid 10's or 3 or more 12 solids, its getting twisted first.

As for stranded and solid mix, no pretwist- leave stranded a little longer than solid, insert straight wires into cap and twist until the nut is super tight.

Stranded by itself- sometimes its better to pretwist the individual strands of each wire counter clockwise, then pretwist all of wires together- when you do this, they will act almost like solids and stay together- then cap with wire nut.

Taping traps moisture, is an obstacle when trouble shooting, and generally is a complete waste of time and tape for standard connections.

Some will do it when dealing w/ motors, beyond that there is no discernible benefit.
 
FionaZuppa said:
beyond taping, who is twisting the wires together prior to putting nut on?

i guess the question i have is, beyond the extra materials and time to use tape, what are the pros & cons of taping a wire nut?
Click to expand...

I always twist solid to solid or stranded to stranded wire connections. If it's one of each, I dont.

I've seen countless loose wire nuts fall off of connections with the slightest touch. At least if the wires are pre-twisted they wont spring apart.

Also install all wirenuts on top if possible so they dont hold moisture as much and so that gravity would keep them on should I forget to tighten one well.
 
For all of you who are taping wire nuts because you are worried about them falling off why don't you use Scotch-locks. They work great for that issue but are a real PITA if you have to trouble-shoot a problem.
 
If the connector was going to fall off anyway - the connection likely isn't a very good one, tape won't change that.

You should pull on each conductor after making the connection to ensure it is secured in the joint whether you plan to tape or not.
 
Besoeker said:
We've got nuts. Just not wire nuts............
Click to expand...

growler said:
That can be very hard for an American electrician to get used to. Without wire nuts we are lost.

I had to inspect a job on a military base for NEC compliance but the job was supposed to be done to British standard ( also ) and it nearly drove me nuts.
Click to expand...

Um, growler, let me see if I can explain Brit humor:

They have twist on connectors for wire type conductors; they are called marrettes, not wire nuts.

For propriety I cannot elaborate, the pun is subtle, witty, dry, humorous and typically British style......

Reread what Bes said with that info.:)
 
growler said:
That can be very hard for an American electrician to get used to. Without wire nuts we are lost.
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As I'm sure they would be too if they had to turn in their terminal blocks for bcaps. They are not fans of wire nuts at all over there- the funny thing is is that a few that have ​actually used them say they aren't all that bad........:D

jumper said:
Um, growler, let me see if I can explain Brit humor:

They have twist on connectors for wire type conductors; they are called marrettes, not wire nuts.

For propriety I cannot elaborate, the pun is subtle, witty, dry, humorous and typically British style......

Reread what Bes said with that info.:)
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I believe another term for the original wire nuts over there was "scruits" and supposedly they fell out of favor at some point in time decades back.

And yes, I got the pun.:happyyes:
 
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five.five-six said:
I have never taped wirenuts, I don't see the point.

More importantly, why wouldn't you wear suspenders with your tool belt?
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OK guys, I'll take this one. As you get older and develop a beer belly your butt has a tendency to shrink. Now you don't have anything to prevent the belt from dropping down. That's why you need the suspenders. :slaphead::p
 
goldstar said:
OK guys, I'll take this one. As you get older and develop a beer belly your butt has a tendency to shrink. Now you don't have anything to prevent the belt from dropping down. That's why you need the suspenders. :slaphead::p
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I think your butt stays about same size your beer belly just happens to grow big enough that you no longer have a "waist" that is narrower then your hips to hold up a belt, both your tool belt and your pants.
 
Clear wirenuts you install with a Phillips head screwdriver bit on a cordless drill:
scru_driver.gif


screw_head_rt.jpg



http://www.scru-it.com/how_to.html
 
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kwired said:
I think your butt stays about same size your beer belly just happens to grow big enough that you no longer have a "waist" that is narrower then your hips to hold up a belt, both your tool belt and your pants.
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You sound like you're speaking from experience :)
 
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