Manufacturer's seem to recommend that electrical connections with wire nuts
be wrapped with electrical tape to complete the job. But I have seen this
done in only a small handful of cases. What do y'all recommend?

"bob smif" wrote in message
...
Manufacturer's seem to recommend that electrical
connections with wire nuts
be wrapped with electrical tape to complete the job. But I
have seen this
done in only a small handful of cases. What do y'all
recommend?


Contractors don't seem to do it because of the added
time/labor and it's not a code requirement anywhere that I'm
aware of. The inspector that came out to check some changes
I did for our foster kids rooms noted that I'd taped the
wirenuts and said most people didn't bother, but he thought
it was a good idea.
He also agreed with me that when you wrap the nuts, you
wrap in the direction that would cause the tape (after being
stretched during application) to tighten, not loosen the
wirenut after you're done. He said he also tells people NOT
to wirewrap just because of the stretched tape situation -
wound the wrong way, it can twist the nut in the direction
that loosens it instead of tightening it. But since I'd
done it right consistanly, he even gave me an ataboy on one
of the little yellow thingies they leave behind. Made me
feel good if nothing else.

Pop

Manufacturer's seem to recommend that electrical connections with wire nuts
be wrapped with electrical tape

Where did you see that?

"Greg" wrote in message
...
Manufacturer's seem to recommend that electrical connections with wire
nuts
be wrapped with electrical tape

Where did you see that?

I have not taped a splice in 25 years, even then it was 15 kv and an
emergency. Taping splices when out when electricians quit soldering every
splice.
I have seen people wrap tape around the device before placing it back into a
metal box.

If the connection is proper, it doesn't need tape. If it is not proper,
tape will not help.

I tape stuff exposed to the weather, thinking maybe it will help keep it
dry; but even that is probably pointless.

bob smif wrote:

Manufacturer's seem to recommend that electrical connections
with wire nuts be wrapped with electrical tape to complete the
job. But I have seen this done in only a small handful of cases.
What do y'all recommend?

Not required, not fun for the next guy working on them, and
as somebody already mentioned you could conceivably do it ass
backwards and do more harm than good.

Bottom line is that if your wire nut is solid mechanically,
the tape is not serving any purpose (again, as others have
mentioned).

Baisez-les s'ils ne peuvent pas prendre une plaisanterie
--------------------------------------------------------
Tom Pendergast e-mail is for sissies, say it on line

bob smif wrote:
Manufacturer's seem to recommend that electrical connections with wire nuts
be wrapped with electrical tape to complete the job. But I have seen this
done in only a small handful of cases. What do y'all recommend?

The boxes of wire nuts I have around don't recommend this.

A properly installed wire nut does not need tape.

Electrical tape has no place in a residential electrical system.

Jeff Dantzler

"bob smif" wrote in message
...

Manufacturer's seem to recommend that electrical connections with wire
nuts
be wrapped with electrical tape to complete the job. But I have seen this
done in only a small handful of cases. What do y'all recommend?

Taped wire nuts are usually a sign that the person making the joint didn't
have the skill to do it properly.....if you find one, take the tape off and
you will usually see some bare wires that didn't get covered by the wirenut,
so the guy taped it.
However, taping wire nuts in outdoor locations will make a difference over
the years. Untaped ones will corrode much quicker than if taped.

I'm with you. I try to always tape my wire nuts -- and crank the tape in the
tighten direction like the other fine worker mentioned.

Just like winding teflon tape on pipe threads, also in the tighten
direction.

--

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
www.mormons.com


"bob smif" wrote in message
...
Manufacturer's seem to recommend that electrical connections with wire nuts
be wrapped with electrical tape to complete the job. But I have seen this
done in only a small handful of cases. What do y'all recommend?

"Stormin Mormon" wrote in message
...
I'm with you. I try to always tape my wire nuts

Interpetation:

Because I don't know rather the connection is right, I use tape to cover up
the screw up I just made.

and crank the tape in the
tighten direction like the other fine worker mentioned.

Just like winding teflon tape on pipe threads, also in the tighten
direction.

--

Christopher A. Young
I need to Learn more about HVAC

snipped the tag

~kjpro~

"bob smif" wrote in message
...
Manufacturer's seem to recommend that electrical connections with wire
nuts
be wrapped with electrical tape to complete the job. But I have seen this
done in only a small handful of cases. What do y'all recommend?

"bob smif" wrote in message
...
Manufacturer's seem to recommend that electrical connections with wire
nuts
be wrapped with electrical tape to complete the job. But I have seen this
done in only a small handful of cases. What do y'all recommend?

Thanks guys for all your comments. Some good reasoning for both methods. I
guess the best is to follow the manufacturer's instructions. None of the
packages at Lowe's instruct to wrap in tape although I did see that on at
least one manufacturer's website.

Here's another question on making these connections. I have read that there
should be a good mechanical connection of the wires first, then twist the
wire nut onto the wires. ie: twist the wires together, then twist the wire
nut on. Those packages at Lowe's had instructions just to insert the
untwisted wires straight into the wire nut, then twist the wire nut. In
fact, this manufacturer's site says to do so
http://www.nelcoproducts.com/wire_nuts_d.html. So is it necessary to twist
the wires first? Maybe this defeats the design of the wire nut? I had an
awful time the other night connecting some light gage stranded fixture wires
to much heavier solid hard copper wires for a pendant light fixture; it was
virtually impossible to twist those together and get a good mechanical joint
before using the wire nuts.

bob smif wrote:
Here's another question on making these connections. I have read that there
should be a good mechanical connection of the wires first, then twist the
wire nut onto the wires. ie: twist the wires together, then twist the wire
nut on. Those packages at Lowe's had instructions just to insert the
untwisted wires straight into the wire nut, then twist the wire nut. In
fact, this manufacturer's site says to do so
http://www.nelcoproducts.com/wire_nuts_d.html. So is it necessary to twist
the wires first?

Is it *necessary*? Probably not, if every other thing you do while making
that connection goes perfectly. Is it *smart*? Yes.

--
DAMN tax cuts! They're letting money trickle down to people who spend it!
WASHINGTON, July 13 (Reuters) - The U.S. government posted a larger-than-
expected budget surplus in June, propped up by higher quarterly business tax
receipts, a government report released on Tuesday showed.

bob smif wrote:
Manufacturer's seem to recommend that electrical connections with wire nuts
be wrapped with electrical tape to complete the job. But I have seen this
done in only a small handful of cases. What do y'all recommend?

One of my oldest friends has been a union electrician for over 30 years.
He tapes every single wire nut connection he makes, and he would beat me
if I didn't.

--
DAMN tax cuts! They're letting money trickle down to people who spend it!
WASHINGTON, July 13 (Reuters) - The U.S. government posted a larger-than-
expected budget surplus in June, propped up by higher quarterly business tax
receipts, a government report released on Tuesday showed.

In article ,
clifto wrote:
...snipped...
One of my oldest friends has been a union electrician for over 30 years.
He tapes every single wire nut connection he makes, and he would beat me
if I didn't.

--
...snipped...

Gosh, you'd think that in 30 years he would have learned how to make
them work without the tape...

--

Larry Wasserman Baltimore, Maryland

"Lawrence Wasserman" wrote in message
...
In article ,
clifto wrote:
...snipped...
One of my oldest friends has been a union electrician for over 30 years.
He tapes every single wire nut connection he makes, and he would beat me
if I didn't.

--
...snipped...

Gosh, you'd think that in 30 years he would have learned how to make
them work without the tape...

ya i agree. the whole country runs on wire nuts without tape. if they
failed regularly we would be using something else. the wire nut provides a
good electrical connection. the tape provides peace of mind.

there is a simple test. after you put the wire nut on, try and pull it off.
give it a good solid pull. if it comes off, it wasnt on good enough. if it
stays on, its fine.

randy

there is a simple test. after you put the wire nut on, try and pull it
off.
give it a good solid pull. if it comes off, it wasnt on good enough. if
it
stays on, its fine.

I was taught to hold the wire nut and try to pull out each wire individually
to see if it is loose. I caught myself with a loose one just yesterday.

John

"John Leeke"
JohnLeeke*remove*this*spam*blocker*@HistoricHomeW orks.
com wrote in
message
there is a simple test. after you put the wire nut
on, try and
pull it off. give it a good solid pull. if it
comes off, it wasnt
on good enough. if it stays on, its fine.

I was taught to hold the wire nut and try to pull
out each wire
individually to see if it is loose. I caught myself
with a loose one
just yesterday.

John

THAT is the right advice! It's also a good idea to pay
attention that the wire won't move around at all, let
alone not pull out. A singly wire in the center of a
twist may not pull out, but can easily be felt to be
loose if it didn't twist, or if there is no pressure on
it.

Pop

Lawrence Wasserman wrote:
clifto wrote:
...snipped...
One of my oldest friends has been a union electrician for over 30 years.
He tapes every single wire nut connection he makes, and he would beat me
if I didn't.

Gosh, you'd think that in 30 years he would have learned how to make
them work without the tape...

He's never had one fail. That's because he uses insurance... tape.

Also makes up for that occasional over-stripped wire one might miss.

--
DAMN tax cuts! They're letting money trickle down to people who spend it!
WASHINGTON, July 13 (Reuters) - The U.S. government posted a larger-than-
expected budget surplus in June, propped up by higher quarterly business tax
receipts, a government report released on Tuesday showed.