In article et,
"carl mciver" wrote:

I'm really fond of red scotchbrite pads. You can get the green (not
quite as aggressive and a courser grain) at grocery stores, but various
electrical supplies sell it as well.

After the splice is done, and since you're underground, cover it
liberally with silicone sealant, RTV is better. Even better, use a
waterproof underground splice. I've also used dielectric filled wire nuts
meant for wet environments, and I've seen underground wire nuts in the
hardware store but never had reason to use them.
Is this underground cable that's getting dug up by animals or otherwise

The cable is underground, the splices are above ground. Sometimes wires
get chewed by animals, more often corrosion and lightning damage.

damaged? I'd highly recommend environmental splices rather than wire nuts.
No slack used in the process. They are basically butt splices with a
shrinkable sleeve over the top, and a sealing ring at each end. I use the
AMP kind that requires special tooling and all that, but you'll see the ones

I've used that type in more extreme environments. Probably should have
used it here where it would fit, but right now I'm just trying to fix
bad connections without re-doing everything like I probably should.

I'm talking about in better suppliers. Slipping a piece of PVC or steel
pipe over the repair beforehand provides some degree of protection since
animals tend to dig up the same place over and over.


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