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pc1966

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I though I saw the last of those horrid screw-on wire joints when pulling out stuff replaced in the 60's, though for some unknown reason they remain popular in the USA.

Today while looking for terminals my search results pulled up the CEF web site and to my horror they are back! :(
 
Wire nuts are extremely common in America & Canada, as are hook loop terminals On the majority of their wiring accessories...
they also do strange things like Pig tailing And keep their Earth (ground) wires completely bare...

(theY do also use ideal push fit connectors as well)
 
The modern ones with a conical spring inside a plastic case are much better than the old porcelain ones, but I still wouldn't use them.
 
I though I saw the last of those horrid screw-on wire joints when pulling out stuff replaced in the 60's, though for some unknown reason they remain popular in the USA.

Today while looking for terminals my search results pulled up the CEF web site and to my horror they are back! :(
Yes like yourself, pulled loads out in decades gone by, never used them, horrible things, my old mentor told me the nick name for them were dog cocks.
 
As many people are probably tired of hearing me say, a good electrician can make a sound connection with all kinds of different products. It is possible to make a reasonable joint with either a US-style wirenut (with the metal spring inside) or a traditional UK porcelain thimble (a.k.a 'Scruit' - often incorrectly quoted as 'Screwit' - the leading brand).

Correct cable prep and positioning is important; just poking them in, twisting and hoping will not always produce a good joint, although the same is true of terminal block. I suspect one of the main causes of bad joints at Scruits was lack of attention to detail because of their deceptive simplicity.
 
think they were designed for stranded cable, where twisting them made for a decent connection.
 
Scruits, where I served my time the factory was lousy with them, although that was the least of their problems as they still had overhead shaft lines driving the presses, this was in the early 80s?.
 
think they were designed for stranded cable, where twisting them made for a decent connection.
Yes. I can't see how the old porcelain ones could possibly satisfy with solid cores. I would imagine solid cores came in the early 60's, don't you think. Can't remember scruits being easily available in the 70's, even.
No pre metric sizes of solid, that I know of.
 
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1/.044 (solid) was the equivalent of 1.0mm and was used for lighting on cheaper jobs. Good work usually specified 3/.029. A 'midget' size Scruit will join three ends of either.
 
1/.044 (solid) was the equivalent of 1.0mm and was used for lighting on cheaper jobs. Good work usually specified 3/.029. A 'midget' size Scruit will join three ends of either.
Yes, maybe OK for stranded.
I was taught that you should never twist together solid conductor wires. And I don't.
As Lucien stated if wire nuts are installed correctly I personally have never had a problem with my splices but I can speak for other electricians because I have went behind them and yes found wires pulled loose. There are Electricians and they are people that do electrical work and I don’t call them electricians
 
1/.044 (solid) was the equivalent of 1.0mm and was used for lighting on cheaper jobs. Good work usually specified 3/.029. A 'midget' size Scruit will join three ends of either.
Aye, I do remember it in existing jobs, usually for single cables. Rarely, though. It was usually 3/.029 tinned.
 
They are widely used in Spain too, and on the 3 occasions I have had to call an electrician it has been these connections which were at fault.
I guess we are getting much more sophisticated nowadays, but wire nuts have made millions of connections, and while i don't like them, or the principle on which they work, they are still popular in some areas. One thing I do like about the Spanish wiring systems in houses is that they do seem to stick to zones, and every room will have at least 1 junction box where all the cables connect and can be exposed by removing a slim, flat cover-plate., where the singles, in conduit, are easily accessible...albeit terminated in wire nuts. One chap who came to fix a dodgy lighting circuit had to cut off a wire nut and I gave him a few Wagos to try...he liked them, and I take him a handful each trip as a bit of a standing joke. 2 5-ways = 1 beer! God, let me out of lockdown, please!
 
Wow Pete and you been round a bit, there are the ones that twist together in a pot, so you say to the apprentice pass me one of those Wangoo will you.they are called a wire nut because the peaple that fit them are often called a wire nut. Lol
Buzz when y’all use wagos I agree that they make an awesome connection but when you splice in a box it appears that it would be harder to stuff them in a box. I’ve seen pictures of them and it looks like a terminal strip which we have that’s just cut per your preference like 2 or 4 screws and so on.
 

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