Wirenuts

J

Jimmy7

Senior Member
Location
Boston, MA
Occupation
Electrician
In your opinion, what is the best brand of wirenut? For example splicing a solid 14 and a stranded 14 together. I notice that some yellow wirenuts don’t really grab the wires that great.
 
I prefer 3M. extra long with flexible skirt. We buy them in the jug.

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In my opinion, prep and using carefully matter more than brand.

In your example, twist the stranded wire well, and make sure neither wire gets pulled in too far.

Also, for one solid and one stranded #14, I prefer to use a small orange wire-nut.
 
Company buys Ideal brand, twisters in tan or wing nuts in red. No complaints. I do like those 3m ones a lot though, would probably buy those if it was my choice. Worked for a company briefly that started buying Amazon trash. Every other nut the spring would come out or it wouldn’t catch.
 
I hate the little yellows if you need a small wirenut 3m orange blue or ideal orange blue are better.

Most of the time it's either ideal Reds tans or 3m tanreds.

Big Grey wirenuts I like the ideal the best and same for big blue I like the ideal ones. The blue Grey 3m works good for stranded but if you need it for like 4 or 5 10awg solid it hurts the wrist a bit but non issue most of the time.
 
The orange/blue are great for fixtures wires and splicing #14's or #12's in a box where there isn't much room.
 
I love the Ideal tans. They'll easily cap-off a single #14 or even smaller and are good for (4)#12 on the other end of the spectrum. I especially like that the tips fit a 5/16" nut driver, which is nice when working with short wires in small spaces. The Ideal blue/orange are nice, too--particularly since they're quite small but are also good for (4)#12. They can be a bit harsh on the fingers, though.
 
We use Ideal's wire nut at my work. I haven't had any issue with them. I prefer the ones with wide "wings" on them (easier on the fingers), but only if there is sufficient space in the box.
 
Electromatic said:
I love the Ideal tans. They'll easily cap-off a single #14 or even smaller and are good for (4)#12 on the other end of the spectrum. I especially like that the tips fit a 5/16" nut driver, which is nice when working with short wires in small spaces. The Ideal blue/orange are nice, too--particularly since they're quite small but are also good for (4)#12. They can be a bit harsh on the fingers, though.
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The package of tans used to come with a bit to go on your drill to tighten the wirenuts.

I have a 10-n-1 screwdriver that the handle is for tightening wirenuts. I use it often and saves on the hands and wrist.
 
PaulMmn said:
You still have to know which wires get connected together!
The Wago connectors let you un-do and re-do a connection without dealing with a twisted mess! And, IMHO, better when connecting solid to stranded.
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Wagos are excellent for this. I also love the fact that they are clear and I can visually inspect the connection.
 
My son does commissioning for Facebook. I was surprised when he told me Facebook only allows Wago's.
Like many others I have seen wire nuts fail or fall off. Wire nuts do take up a tad less space.
 
PaulMmn said:
No Wago fans??
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PaulMmn said:
You still have to know which wires get connected together!
The Wago connectors let you un-do and re-do a connection without dealing with a twisted mess! And, IMHO, better when connecting solid to stranded.
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The OP sited a example of splicing a #14 solid to a # 14 stranded. IMHO, I would choose the Wago 221.
Chances are the load on a 15A circuit do not exceed the 20A rating of the Wago. If installed properly, they make a better connection.
 
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