"TimR" wrote in message
...
On Apr 20, 7:16 am, Tegger wrote:
George wrote :

On 4/20/2011 5:53 AM, bob haller wrote:
On Apr 20, 2:39 am, Larry wrote:
On Apr 19, 11:50 pm, wrote:

nuts. With only wire strippers to handle, no fumbling with extra
pliers was nice.

Um... What are you using pliers for? Might want to check the
instructions on the box of wire nuts...

you should always twist wires together before twisting on wire nuts,
otherwise a loose wire nut will cause a outage and possibly a over
heated connection

But no manufacturers app notes even suggest twisting the wires.

The wires twist together automatically when you install the wire nut.
Take
a look inside next time you use one.

--
Tegger

I always twist stranded, never twist solid.

The wire nut is going to twist the stranded anyway, but if you twist
first you can be sure it doesn't kink or lose a strand.

The wire nut is not going the twist the solid anyway and if you twist
first you get a looser connection.

Neither is anywhere near as reliable or safe as a chocolate block.

I twist stranded not solid wire also. Any time that I have tried to twist
solid wires together, the act of cutting the twisted lump down to the 3/8"
to 7/16" length to fit into a wire nut with no bare copper showing, causes
the twisted wires to fall apart. I find that keeping the stripped wires
parallel and screwing down the nut real tight works well. I have tried the
wire nuts that have a brass ring with a set screw can work well, but
sometimes the screw will clamp down real tight, but the stresses of stuffing
the wires into the box will re-arrange some wires and result in a loose fit,
needing the set screw to be tightened further. But since the wires are now
in the box with the plastic cap covering the set screw, it may be impossible
to tell if it is loose unless a wire falls out or the connection arcs.