I had to cut some (mains lighting) wires to diagnose a light that
wasn't working. (Turned out to be a failed wire running up from a
switch in a conduit, can't replace for the moment).

So I need to reconnect a few wires in addition to making the new
connection so the light will work again. This is all under floor
wiring sitting between the joists. I'm going to crimp the wires back
together where I have cut them, what further protection do the
connections need? Would heatshrink over the whole thing be acceptable
or should it be in a box of some sort? A box would seem to be
overkill to me, might as well use a junction box instead of the
crimps.

--
Chris Green
·

On 10/12/16 11:48, Chris Green wrote:
I had to cut some (mains lighting) wires to diagnose a light that
wasn't working. (Turned out to be a failed wire running up from a
switch in a conduit, can't replace for the moment).

So I need to reconnect a few wires in addition to making the new
connection so the light will work again. This is all under floor
wiring sitting between the joists. I'm going to crimp the wires back
together where I have cut them, what further protection do the
connections need? Would heatshrink over the whole thing be acceptable
or should it be in a box of some sort? A box would seem to be
overkill to me, might as well use a junction box instead of the
crimps.

no protection needed if there are no bare bits.
heatshrink more than enough

I think I'd be a bit worried exactly why a wire is damaged and are any other
wires going the same route also damaged but still have continuity, myself.
Brian

--
----- -
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...

Blind user, so no pictures please!
"The Natural Philosopher" wrote in message
news
On 10/12/16 11:48, Chris Green wrote:
I had to cut some (mains lighting) wires to diagnose a light that
wasn't working. (Turned out to be a failed wire running up from a
switch in a conduit, can't replace for the moment).

So I need to reconnect a few wires in addition to making the new
connection so the light will work again. This is all under floor
wiring sitting between the joists. I'm going to crimp the wires back
together where I have cut them, what further protection do the
connections need? Would heatshrink over the whole thing be acceptable
or should it be in a box of some sort? A box would seem to be
overkill to me, might as well use a junction box instead of the
crimps.

no protection needed if there are no bare bits.
heatshrink more than enough

In article ,
Chris Green wrote:
I had to cut some (mains lighting) wires to diagnose a light that
wasn't working. (Turned out to be a failed wire running up from a
switch in a conduit, can't replace for the moment).

So I need to reconnect a few wires in addition to making the new
connection so the light will work again. This is all under floor
wiring sitting between the joists. I'm going to crimp the wires back
together where I have cut them, what further protection do the
connections need? Would heatshrink over the whole thing be acceptable
or should it be in a box of some sort? A box would seem to be
overkill to me, might as well use a junction box instead of the
crimps.

If the joint is accessible in terms of being under floor boards etc, a
junction box would be fine. Inaccessible (like plastered over) needs to be
crimped. Heatshrink over the lot will bring it back to nearer a non
jointed cable.

Personally, I'd use a JB if you can. Crimps vary a lot by make as do the
crimping tools. A perfect crimp may be better - but most are nothing like
perfect.

--
*Oh, what a tangled website we weave when first we practice *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Brian Gaff wrote:
I think I'd be a bit worried exactly why a wire is damaged and are any other
wires going the same route also damaged but still have continuity, myself.

OP here, yes, but in a sense that's a separate issue. I have bypassed
the existing broken wire and want to make my additions and changes
safe, hence my question about what extra protection (if any) insulated
crimps need.

The wire with a break was a 'single and earth' red cable, probably 1sq
mm so it is fairly fragile stuff. The other cable in the same buried
conduit is normal T&E and is functioning OK. The broken single and
earth was feeding an outside PIR light from a switch so that it could
be turned off. That's not really necessary, in fact was a bit of a
nuisance as it often got turned off when it was wanted to work. So I
have bypassed the broken wire and connected it directly to a 6 amp
lighting circuit.

I will label the broken wire as such (and the other wiring I have
identified in this process).

--
Chris Green
·

On 12/10/2016 11:08 AM, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
Chris Green wrote:
I had to cut some (mains lighting) wires to diagnose a light that
wasn't working. (Turned out to be a failed wire running up from a
switch in a conduit, can't replace for the moment).

So I need to reconnect a few wires in addition to making the new
connection so the light will work again. This is all under floor
wiring sitting between the joists. I'm going to crimp the wires back
together where I have cut them, what further protection do the
connections need? Would heatshrink over the whole thing be acceptable
or should it be in a box of some sort? A box would seem to be
overkill to me, might as well use a junction box instead of the
crimps.

If the joint is accessible in terms of being under floor boards etc, a
junction box would be fine. Inaccessible (like plastered over) needs to be
crimped. Heatshrink over the lot will bring it back to nearer a non
jointed cable.

Personally, I'd use a JB if you can. Crimps vary a lot by make as do the
crimping tools. A perfect crimp may be better - but most are nothing like
perfect.

Another good option, assuming you have the kit and know how to use it,
is soldering followed by heat shrink or even a good wrap with pvc
insulating tape. And that's OK for inaccessible joints too, of course.

Actually, those little "cooks" blowtorches are good for this, used with
a bit of multicore solder.

On 10/12/16 10:31, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 10/12/16 11:48, Chris Green wrote:
I had to cut some (mains lighting) wires to diagnose a light that
wasn't working. (Turned out to be a failed wire running up from a
switch in a conduit, can't replace for the moment).

So I need to reconnect a few wires in addition to making the new
connection so the light will work again. This is all under floor
wiring sitting between the joists. I'm going to crimp the wires back
together where I have cut them, what further protection do the
connections need? Would heatshrink over the whole thing be acceptable
or should it be in a box of some sort? A box would seem to be
overkill to me, might as well use a junction box instead of the
crimps.

no protection needed if there are no bare bits.
heatshrink more than enough


I would disagree - pop it in any box - eg single gang box with blanking
plate.

In article ,
Tim Watts wrote:
On 10/12/16 10:31, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 10/12/16 11:48, Chris Green wrote:
I had to cut some (mains lighting) wires to diagnose a light that
wasn't working. (Turned out to be a failed wire running up from a
switch in a conduit, can't replace for the moment).

So I need to reconnect a few wires in addition to making the new
connection so the light will work again. This is all under floor
wiring sitting between the joists. I'm going to crimp the wires back
together where I have cut them, what further protection do the
connections need? Would heatshrink over the whole thing be acceptable
or should it be in a box of some sort? A box would seem to be
overkill to me, might as well use a junction box instead of the
crimps.

no protection needed if there are no bare bits.
heatshrink more than enough


I would disagree - pop it in any box - eg single gang box with blanking
plate.

What are you protecting it from - that needs to be so much stronger than
the original TW&E?

--
*Great groups from little icons grow *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In article , Dave Plowman (News)
scribeth thus
In article ,
Chris Green wrote:
I had to cut some (mains lighting) wires to diagnose a light that
wasn't working. (Turned out to be a failed wire running up from a
switch in a conduit, can't replace for the moment).

So I need to reconnect a few wires in addition to making the new
connection so the light will work again. This is all under floor
wiring sitting between the joists. I'm going to crimp the wires back
together where I have cut them, what further protection do the
connections need? Would heatshrink over the whole thing be acceptable
or should it be in a box of some sort? A box would seem to be
overkill to me, might as well use a junction box instead of the
crimps.

If the joint is accessible in terms of being under floor boards etc, a
junction box would be fine. Inaccessible (like plastered over) needs to be
crimped. Heatshrink over the lot will bring it back to nearer a non
jointed cable.

Personally, I'd use a JB if you can. Crimps vary a lot by make as do the
crimping tools. A perfect crimp may be better - but most are nothing like
perfect.


Beg to differ Dave decent ratchet crimping pliers almost weld the wires
together!..

--
Tony Sayer

In article ,
tony sayer wrote:
Personally, I'd use a JB if you can. Crimps vary a lot by make as do
the crimping tools. A perfect crimp may be better - but most are
nothing like perfect.


Beg to differ Dave decent ratchet crimping pliers almost weld the wires
together!..

I did say decent crimps made with a decent tool. There are lots on sale
that are neither.

It's interesting to do a test crimp with one of those pre-insulated crimps
then carefully cut off the insulation to see the actual crimp. Often not a
pretty sight.

Of course in many cases they will never actually carry the full current
anyway.

But if it's somewhere a JB is allowed, I'd use that.

--
*Women who seek to be equal to men lack ambition.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On 10/12/2016 15:17, tony sayer wrote:

Beg to differ Dave decent ratchet crimping pliers almost weld the wires
together!..


If they are correctly adjusted in the first place.
Having a ratchet only ensures that the operator squeezes them enough to
release the ratchet and that may be too much or not enough.

All the good ones have an adjuster and you need to know when to use it.

On 10/12/2016 11:12, Chris Green wrote:

The wire with a break was a 'single and earth' red cable, probably 1sq
mm so it is fairly fragile stuff.


1mm^2 copper is not fragile.


--
Adam

On 10/12/2016 09:48, Chris Green wrote:
I had to cut some (mains lighting) wires to diagnose a light that
wasn't working. (Turned out to be a failed wire running up from a
switch in a conduit, can't replace for the moment).

So I need to reconnect a few wires in addition to making the new
connection so the light will work again. This is all under floor
wiring sitting between the joists. I'm going to crimp the wires back
together where I have cut them, what further protection do the
connections need? Would heatshrink over the whole thing be acceptable
or should it be in a box of some sort? A box would seem to be
overkill to me, might as well use a junction box instead of the
crimps.


Then use a maintenance free JB.

--
Adam

In article ,
ARW wrote:
On 10/12/2016 09:48, Chris Green wrote:
I had to cut some (mains lighting) wires to diagnose a light that
wasn't working. (Turned out to be a failed wire running up from a
switch in a conduit, can't replace for the moment).

So I need to reconnect a few wires in addition to making the new
connection so the light will work again. This is all under floor
wiring sitting between the joists. I'm going to crimp the wires back
together where I have cut them, what further protection do the
connections need? Would heatshrink over the whole thing be acceptable
or should it be in a box of some sort? A box would seem to be
overkill to me, might as well use a junction box instead of the
crimps.


Then use a maintenance free JB.

I reckon that good advice when someone asks about crimping.

--
*If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On 10/12/2016 09:48, Chris Green wrote:
I had to cut some (mains lighting) wires to diagnose a light that
wasn't working. (Turned out to be a failed wire running up from a
switch in a conduit, can't replace for the moment).

So I need to reconnect a few wires in addition to making the new
connection so the light will work again. This is all under floor
wiring sitting between the joists. I'm going to crimp the wires back
together where I have cut them, what further protection do the
connections need? Would heatshrink over the whole thing be acceptable
or should it be in a box of some sort?

Heatshrink would be fine

A box would seem to be
overkill to me, might as well use a junction box instead of the
crimps.

Wago connectors and wago box would be another maintenance free option.


--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

John Rumm wrote:
On 10/12/2016 09:48, Chris Green wrote:
I had to cut some (mains lighting) wires to diagnose a light that
wasn't working. (Turned out to be a failed wire running up from a
switch in a conduit, can't replace for the moment).

So I need to reconnect a few wires in addition to making the new
connection so the light will work again. This is all under floor
wiring sitting between the joists. I'm going to crimp the wires back
together where I have cut them, what further protection do the
connections need? Would heatshrink over the whole thing be acceptable
or should it be in a box of some sort?

Heatshrink would be fine

A box would seem to be
overkill to me, might as well use a junction box instead of the
crimps.

Wago connectors and wago box would be another maintenance free option.

That was my temporary fix to see if I had understood the wiring right.
I just wanted to make things less bulky and 'wasteful'. A Wago box
for just two connections seemed messy somehow.

I have now crimped and heatshrunk the connections so they are just
slightly fat bits of wire.

--
Chris Green
·

In article ,
Chris Green wrote:
Wago connectors and wago box would be another maintenance free option.

That was my temporary fix to see if I had understood the wiring right.
I just wanted to make things less bulky and 'wasteful'. A Wago box
for just two connections seemed messy somehow.

I have now crimped and heatshrunk the connections so they are just
slightly fat bits of wire.

And in the future, you'll want to add something. And remember that would
be a good place to pickup the circuit. As you've already lifted the
floorboards once, so will be easy again. And wish you'd used a JB. ;-)

--
*Why are a wise man and a wise guy opposites? *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote:
In article ,
Chris Green wrote:
Wago connectors and wago box would be another maintenance free option.

That was my temporary fix to see if I had understood the wiring right.
I just wanted to make things less bulky and 'wasteful'. A Wago box
for just two connections seemed messy somehow.

I have now crimped and heatshrunk the connections so they are just
slightly fat bits of wire.

And in the future, you'll want to add something. And remember that would
be a good place to pickup the circuit. As you've already lifted the
floorboards once, so will be easy again. And wish you'd used a JB. ;-)

There's *already* a junction box there, that's where I got the
replacement live feed from. Another JB seemed overkill. :-)

--
Chris Green
·