# Applying wire nuts to solid wires



## bmart (Dec 28, 2011)

Hi! I have been told that it is unecessary to twist the wires together before applying a wire nut. The turning of the wire nuts twists the wires and it avoids wires breaking off of the previous twisted wires. Which is the correct thing to do? Thanx

bmart


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## Dennis Alwon (May 9, 2009)

Look at the directions on the wirenuts. Almost all that I have seen state that twisting is not necessary. That being said I always twist.


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## bmart (Dec 28, 2011)

*Wire nuts with stranded wire*

Is it necessary to use an adapter to convert stranded wires to a solid wire when using wire nuts? I never have. and if so, what is this adapter called?


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## HARRY304E (Sep 15, 2010)

bmart said:


> Hi! I have been told that it is unecessary to twist the wires together before applying a wire nut. The turning of the wire nuts twists the wires and it avoids wires breaking off of the previous twisted wires. Which is the correct thing to do? Thanx
> 
> bmart


Always twist your wires first so you can make sure you have a good solid splice then put your wire nut on.

the wire nut company puts that on the box because they show the twist coming out of the wire nut but when most guy twist on wire nuts without twisting first they just give it a couple of twists and you end up with a loose connection.

So i always twist them first.

Welcome to the forum..:thumbup:


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## green light (Oct 12, 2011)

maybe this calls for a poll, twist or no twist? or has it been done?


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## Semi-Ret Electrician (Nov 10, 2011)

I treat wirenuts like tape. Make up a good mechanical connection before putting the wirenut on, no matter what the box says.


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## electricmanscott (Feb 11, 2010)

here we go  :laughing:


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## 480sparky (Sep 20, 2007)

green light said:


> ........... or has it been done?


At least a dozen times.


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## jbfan (Jan 22, 2007)

480sparky said:


> At least a dozen times.


It's not an official poll until it is conducted by Cletis!:whistling2:


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## BBQ (Nov 16, 2010)

Just follow the damn instructions and forget everything you read in this thread.


:thumbsup:


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## Bulldog1 (Oct 21, 2011)

BBQ said:


> Just follow the damn instructions and forget everything you read in this thread.
> 
> 
> :thumbsup:



110.3(b) would apply. I still twist....:whistling2:


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## onewirehookup (Apr 21, 2011)

Twist first. Nothing worse then opening a box and a wirenut falls off from a suicide tap.


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## BBQ (Nov 16, 2010)

Bulldog1 said:


> 110.3(b) would apply. I still twist....:whistling2:


When connecting one solid to one stranded twisting does nothing.

Follow the instructions and just lead the stranded ahead of the solid. It works great. Of course what do the people that make the product know.


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## McClary’s Electrical (Feb 21, 2009)

onewirehookup said:


> Twist first. Nothing worse then opening a box and a wirenut falls off from a suicide tap.


How does twisting first affect how much the wirenut is tightened. If anything pretwisting is giving less copper for the wirenut to bite.


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## onewirehookup (Apr 21, 2011)

mcclary's electrical said:


> How does twisting first affect how much the wirenut is tightened. If anything pretwisting is giving less copper for the wirenut to bite.


What I meant was going In the box taking a wirenut off and there not twisted and the wires just fan out.


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## B W E (May 1, 2011)

Are we really assuming this guy is an electrician? Asking if you can put stranded wires in a wire but without an "adapter"?


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## Bulldog1 (Oct 21, 2011)

BBQ said:


> When connecting one solid to one stranded twisting does nothing.
> 
> Follow the instructions and just lead the stranded ahead of the solid. It works great. Of course what do the people that make the product know.





What? Do you think I actually read what the other posts in the thread said? :huh: I was talking about solid to solid....I never twist one solid and one stranded. :no:

The people who make the product know nuthin....nuthin......


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## B4T (Feb 10, 2009)

I always twist.. since when do real men follow instructions on the side of a box.. :blink::laughing:


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## rdr (Oct 25, 2009)

B4T said:


> I always twist.. since when do real men follow instructions on the side of a box.. :blink::laughing:


Real men also show up when you rent a U-haul and challenge them to a showdown at HD eh? :jester:


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## mrmike (Dec 10, 2010)

Twist or not , whichever way you put them on- make sure to do a pull test with the wires to make sure of a good connection:thumbsup:


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## rdr (Oct 25, 2009)

All solid - 2 or 3 good twists with a pair of linemans snip the end if the wires are uneven. Broken too many hot joints, or seen them come apart where somebody didn't twist.

All stranded - Not as hard a twist as solid, and maybe not necessary but I still like to do it. 

Stranded and solid - Twist the stranded together if they're small (fixture wires etc) lead whatever stranded you have just a hair ahead of the solid not really necessary to twist.

Adapters? :blink:


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## BBQ (Nov 16, 2010)

B4T said:


> I always twist.. since when do real men follow instructions on the side of a box.. :blink::laughing:



Men that are professional do.:thumbsup:


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## B4T (Feb 10, 2009)

BBQ said:


> Men that are professional do.:thumbsup:


So you always read the side of the box.. not matter what was inside..


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## BBQ (Nov 16, 2010)

B4T said:


> So you always read the side of the box.. not matter what was inside..


With new or changed products yes.


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## HARRY304E (Sep 15, 2010)

BBQ said:


> Just follow the damn instructions and forget everything you read in this thread.
> 
> 
> :thumbsup:


Wrong..


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## brian john (Mar 11, 2007)

HARRY304E said:


> Wrong..


 
NOT WRONG...Different than you normally do.


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## BBQ (Nov 16, 2010)

HARRY304E said:


> Wrong..


Don't be a pin head.


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## HARRY304E (Sep 15, 2010)

brian john said:


> NOT WRONG...Different than you normally do.


Every time I open a splice box and the wires are not twisted together before the wire nut it is because the gur read the instructions and did not twist first and when you take the wire nut the splice falls apart because they did not understand the instructions and the splice falls apart.

If you twist them first you can see that you have a good solid splice that will not fall apart.


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## HARRY304E (Sep 15, 2010)

BBQ said:


> Don't be a pin head.


Then. Don't be one either.


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## raider1 (Jan 22, 2007)

HARRY304E said:


> Every time I open a splice box and the wires are not twisted together before the wire nut it is because the gur read the instructions and did not twist first and when you take the wire nut the splice falls apart because they did not understand the instructions and the splice falls apart.
> 
> If you twist them first you can see that you have a good solid splice that will not fall apart.


So we are to ignore the manufactures installation instructions because you don't like them?:blink:

Chris


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## Bulldog1 (Oct 21, 2011)

raider1 said:


> So we are to ignore the manufactures installation instructions because you don't like them?:blink:
> 
> Chris



Your fighting a losing battle Chris......Harry is even more hard headed than I or my bulldog...


:laughing:


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## BBQ (Nov 16, 2010)

HARRY304E said:


> Then. Don't be one either.


I am not the one talking out his ass. 


:laughing:


If you follow the instructions as they are written the splice wil not fall apart.

It would help if you took a minute and go read some instructions to see exactly what they say.


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## McClary’s Electrical (Feb 21, 2009)

Bulldog1 said:


> Your fighting a losing battle Chris......Harry is even more hard headed than I or my bulldog...
> 
> :laughing:


Hard headed is putting it nicely


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## HARRY304E (Sep 15, 2010)

raider1 said:


> So we are to ignore the manufactures installation instructions because you don't like them?:blink:
> 
> Chris


The manufacture is telling us to use the wire nut as a tool to twist the wires together and when you do that you can not see if the splice is good or not. 

Splicing wires together in a laboratory is different than in the field.

It says right on the box that you must twist the wire nut till two twists appear outside the wire nut, The guys that do not pretwist never do it they put the wire nut and twist just enough to stuff it in the box.

Then complain about AFCI breakers tripping...:blink:


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## BBQ (Nov 16, 2010)

HARRY304E said:


> It says right on the box that you must twist the wire nut till two twists appear outside the wire nut, The guys that do not pretwist never do it they put the wire nut and twist just enough to stuff it in the box.


Exactly and that is a problem with the installer NOT following the instructions.


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## B4T (Feb 10, 2009)

Harry has a very good point about splices coming apart when you take off the wire nut..

If you are troubleshooting a dead receptacle.. there can be live splices in the same box..

One of the rare times you have to work live to find the problem..


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## bmart (Dec 28, 2011)

B W E said:


> Are we really assuming this guy is an electrician? Asking if you can put stranded wires in a wire but without an "adapter"?


 
Stranded wires in a wire nut!!! Not wire!!


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## B W E (May 1, 2011)

bmart said:


> Stranded wires in a wire nut!!! Not wire!!


Sorry... Wire NUT. Again, are you asking if it's ok to put stranded wires in a wire NUT without an "adapter"?


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## BBQ (Nov 16, 2010)

B4T said:


> Harry has a very good point about splices coming apart when you take off the wire nut..


Yes, if the installer did not actually follow the instructions entirely they can fall apart.


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## RGH (Sep 12, 2011)

Solid...Twist, snip, and a nut...this will last a lifetime under normal conditions...current produces heat..heat causes expansion..expansion causes separation...separation causes arching...then they call us..or the fire department:whistling2: these are things your instructor should be teaching you in class.


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## B4T (Feb 10, 2009)

bmart said:


> Stranded wires in a wire nut!!! Not wire!!


I have read this (3) times and I still can't figure out what your point is.. :blink::blink:


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## McClary’s Electrical (Feb 21, 2009)

RGH said:


> Solid...Twist, snip, and a nut...this will last a lifetime under normal conditions...current produces heat..heat causes expansion..expansion causes separation...separation causes arching...then they call us..or the fire department:whistling2: these are things your instructor should be teaching you in class.


This is merely an opinion.


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## joethemechanic (Sep 21, 2011)

mcclary's electrical said:


> This is merely an opinion.


Yeah, there is a bit of springiness in a wire nut that allows for thermal expansion/contraction while still retaining sufficient pressure for a good connection

Although, sometimes I think you would do better if you were nicer to people McClary

Maybe you should read "How to win friends and influence people" by Dale Carnegie 










ISBN 0671027034


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## RGH (Sep 12, 2011)

Call it what you want..I call it a method..the method I was taugh and have used in the feild for 30yrs...proven...safe..effective..do as you please.


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## Wirenuting (Sep 12, 2010)

I pre-twist solid wires. 
I do not pre-twist stranded. 
If a mixed load, I pre-twist the solid and allow the stranded to slightly lead the solid into the wirenut.

The box Ideals I'm looking at does not state twisting is required.


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## Wirenuting (Sep 12, 2010)

Wow, after reviewing this thread, I'm not going to wirenut anything anymore. 

Since my old solder pot is out of style these days,,, I'm just going to use my 
split-bolt. 
It says it's good for 3-500 wires.


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## Speedy Petey (Jan 10, 2007)

Well, it's been nice revisiting this age old discussion.


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