# Connectors for small gauge stranded wire



## kb1jb1 (Nov 11, 2017)

Low voltage and alarm guys sometimes use things that they call good and plenty s. They are white crimps. But can you use the small blue wirenuts?


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## Flyingsod (Jul 11, 2013)

Grey wire nuts. What’s wrong with them? In my experience they work way better than crimps at that wire gauge. 


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## Mbit (Feb 28, 2020)

Barrier strip. 

You can pigtail them or do them like a butt splice.


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## wcord (Jan 23, 2011)

kb1jb1 said:


> Low voltage and alarm guys sometimes use things that they call good and plenty s. They are white crimps. But can you use the small blue wirenuts?


I like the B connectors for small wires.
Inside has a metal crimp with multiple "teeth" that grab the wires. IMO, these work much better than small marretts. 
The blue ones are filled with silicone







.


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## 460 Delta (May 9, 2018)

When I have to do small wires, like S cells on scales, I use 3M UR connectors.


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## Southeast Power (Jan 18, 2009)

Flyingsod said:


> Grey wire nuts. What’s wrong with them? In my experience they work way better than crimps at that wire gauge.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I have had the experience where the spring inside of the wirenut will cut he conductor all of the way through.


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## Southeast Power (Jan 18, 2009)

wcord said:


> I like the B connectors for small wires.
> Inside has a metal crimp with multiple "teeth" that grab the wires. IMO, these work much better than small marretts.
> The blue ones are filled with silicone
> View attachment 154484
> .


We use those and will also use a small red butt splice and put both of the conductors in one side. 
Also. those B connectors don't require the wire to be stripped. The teeth pierce the insulation.


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## gpop (May 14, 2018)

if you are using small wires you are probably using low voltage dc. Then the problem may be less about the crimp and more about corrosion. 

Add a little moisture to a ac connection and it will turn black. Add the same to a dc connection and the connection will turn green and be eaten away. I hate the blue dolphins as you get that grease all over your hands but it does protect the splice in less than ideal conditions.


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## splatz (May 23, 2015)

I find they all work but it is challenging finding a connector that will work with 18 gauge through 24 gauge, the two small sizes I use the most. Cat 5e and most cat 6 is 24 gauge, some cat 6 is 23 gauge. 

I like your idea of using a ferrule, that opens up a lot of options by building up a 24 gauge wire a bit. The eurostyle barrier strips are inexpensive and very handy. You can mount them but you don't have to. 










You don't usually see them advertised this way in the US but in the UK they call them "chop blocks" - you could chop off just one piece if you have to splice just one wire. That's actually in the directions for some brands so you're UL kosher if you care. 

Wago lever nuts are good down to #24 so the ferrule would be optional. 

The B caps, Dolphin brand or others, aka maggots, beanies, etc. work well. The are made to work through the insulation but I strip about 3/8" anyway, then they are dead reliable. I usually buy the gel filled. 

The Scotchlok in telecom sizes are good, a little more money if you're using a lot, but the little telecom ones won't work with #18. 

Gray wire nuts are very good but they are only listed with #22, not #24. 

Many DIN rail terminal blocks are rated down to 26 awg, if it's in an enclosure and you have the space. 

You can find uninsulated crimp butt splices that are rated for #24, if you are doing this where it's not a pain to insulate with heat shrink, it's a good way to go for repairs. 

I think there are nylon insulated crimp splices, they look like a white nylon wire nut but you crimp them, that are rated for #24, but they are hard to find. 










And as for soldering - I don't believe the NEC requires you to solder a splice with class 2, communications, telecom, etc. you'd be using with tiny wires. A western union splice or rattail splice and heat shrink insulation is a pretty decent connection. It's acceptable to add a scrap of 24 to build up before you twist, too. I did a commercial speaker system with over 100 speakers, every speaker drop tapped with the ancient "knotted tap" splice, and they are running fine every day 25 years later. (Couldn't get the scotchloks I wanted....)


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## oldsparky52 (Feb 25, 2020)

splatz said:


> I think there are nylon insulated crimp splices, they look like a white nylon wire nut but you crimp them, that are rated for #24, but they are hard to find.
> 
> View attachment 154485


I was lucky, one of the local supply houses stocked these (when I was working).


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## kb1jb1 (Nov 11, 2017)

wcord said:


> I like the B connectors for small wires.
> Inside has a metal crimp with multiple "teeth" that grab the wires. IMO, these work much better than small marretts.
> The blue ones are filled with silicone
> View attachment 154484
> .


The " good and plenty" . I have seen all colors except pink.


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## MikeFL (Apr 16, 2016)

Wago 221 specs from wago.com

Solid conductor0.2 … 4 mm² / 24 … 12 AWGStranded conductor0.2 … 4 mm² / 24 … 12 AWGFine-stranded conductor0.14 … 4 mm² / 24 … 12 AWG

I use them here in the shop for making up connections when breadboarding, etc. with 22 AWG.
You can give them a hefty tug and they stay put.


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## joe-nwt (Mar 28, 2019)

I ferrule all wires that small. Easier for clumsy fingers after that. With a wago they make an excellent free-air splice.


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## paulengr (Oct 8, 2017)

gpop said:


> if you are using small wires you are probably using low voltage dc. Then the problem may be less about the crimp and more about corrosion.
> 
> Add a little moisture to a ac connection and it will turn black. Add the same to a dc connection and the connection will turn green and be eaten away. I hate the blue dolphins as you get that grease all over your hands but it does protect the splice in less than ideal conditions.


Black is copper sulfide. You get it around H2S. Blue green or whitish is oxides.

A trick my grand dad taught me is get some silicone grease. Same stuff. For instance you can smear it onto RJ45 connectors then plug them in.

Scotchlocks tend to pull apart for me except on telecom wire.

If you need to take it apart use terminal blocks. DIN mount terminals come in say 50-100 per box for around $25. All kinds of colors, multiple levels, snap in splices. Huge range of sizes.

If it’s permanent what’s wrong with burr splices? If you get the heat shrink kind they are waterproof and almost gas tight.

Punch down 110 blocks are great for telecom. I always have trouble with cheap RJ45s. With 110 if it’s messed up I can fix it.


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## samgregger (Jan 23, 2013)

Picabond connectors are great and the tool cuts the wires to length as you splice them, but the crimp tool is expensive. Mostly used in POTS.


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

Southeast Power said:


> I have had the experience where the spring inside of the wirenut will cut he conductor all of the way through.


Don't go gorilla on them.

Tight is tight and too tight is busted.


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

For wires that small I've always used the stuff Ma Bell uses: URs and B connectors.

Grey wire nuts are fine for 18 ga-20 ga.


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## Signal1 (Feb 10, 2016)

kb1jb1 said:


> The " good and plenty" . I have seen all colors except pink.


"Chiclets"


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## SpaceMonkey (Sep 19, 2018)

Great input all!

So it appears the 3M UR connectors are actually listed for solid conductors only?


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## hbiss (Mar 1, 2008)

SpaceMonkey said:


> So it appears the 3M UR connectors are actually listed for solid conductors only?


Those "B" connectors (Chicklets, Good and Plenty, Dolphins, etc.) are for SOLID wire, same as the UY's and UR's. 

B connectors were NEVER reliable when used with unstripped wire (as they were supposed to be). That's why the phone companies stopped using them many years ago in favor of UY's, UR's. The only trade that uses B connectors now is the security trade, which is why we call alarm installers "Beanie Boys". When you see a B connector you know an alarm guy was there. 

That said, I'll let you in on a little secret. To use B connectors reliably, strip and twist the conductors together then slide the connector over the twist and crimp it WITH THE BACK of your linesmans. 

This is especially good when splicing stranded to solid or stranded to stranded because the UY's won't work with stranded. That's really the only place I use them.

Other than that, gray wire nuts are the standard for 22-24ga. I wouldn't even consider any of that other stuff. 

-Hal


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## u2slow (Jan 2, 2014)

SpaceMonkey said:


> Here was a possible idea, how about crimping ferrules on and using a wago lever nut?


This works well for us. 

It may not be the cheapest/fastest from the installer point of view, but makes the guys doing maintenance/troubleshooting quite happy.


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## GrayHair (Jan 14, 2013)

SpaceMonkey said:


> So it appears the 3M UR connectors are actually listed for solid conductors only?


I would say yes; solid only. I serviced several large buildings installed by others and they used URs on stranded (low voltage; 18 ga to 22 ga). Had enough problems with them becoming intermittant that I started replacing every UR I ran across. No problem on tinned 22 ga.


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## SpaceMonkey (Sep 19, 2018)

Thinking Wago’s with ferrules is going to be the most robust connection. 

The fact the UR’s are not rated for stranded is a major strike against them to me.


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## 460 Delta (May 9, 2018)

While the UR’s are listed for solid only, I’ve had great success on using them on S cells which are stranded 22 gauge or so.


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## wiz1997 (Mar 30, 2021)

Here's a cheap solution.
Strip ends of wire.
Twist together.
Insert into one end of a barrel connector.
Crimp just the one end. 
The other open end can be used if a tap is needed or as access for checking with a meter.


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## SpaceMonkey (Sep 19, 2018)

Not trying to find a cheap solution, was trying to find a proper one


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## wiz1997 (Mar 30, 2021)

If you can find a section of any code that states this is an improper way to splice small wires, please post it.
The splice is mechanically sound, wires are twisted together and crimped using approved for the purpose splicing components.
The splice is electrically sound, insulated, approved for the purpose splicing components.
I suppose I shold have left out the cheap statement.
Now if you want real cheap.
Strip wire, twist wires together (mechanically sound), wrap with electrical tape (electrically sound) splice acceptable by code.

Update: I looked up whether or not the slicing of wires by twisting and wrapping with tape is still listed as an approved method of splicing.
It is not.


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## samgregger (Jan 23, 2013)

Why don't you want to consider soldering? You can put a battery operated soldering iron, solder, heat shrink, and a lighter in a pouch and go splicing all day - it's easy and cheap


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## paulengr (Oct 8, 2017)

samgregger said:


> Why don't you want to consider soldering? You can put a battery operated soldering iron, solder, heat shrink, and a lighter in a pouch and go splicing all day - it's easy and cheap


Solder is not mechanically sound, never has been. It is kind of like hot glue...at best it more or less keeps things from unraveling. But on top of that it wicks down the copper and makes jt more brittle if it doesn’t manage to destroy any insulation. This is why it was abandoned by the automotive industry in the 1960s. Even in a “Western Union” splice the solder just lays on top. The twisting creates cold welded gas tight electrical and mechanical joints. Solder is still used for corrosion protection (tinning) although with the ban on lead-tin solder the alternative (silver solder) is not nearly as corrosion resistant so tinning is less popular. Solder is still used to hold very tiny parts onto electronic circuit boards using wave or oven soldering only because it’s cheaper and faster than the alternatives even though it is vastly inferior to them. Again...care to try to make something sturdy from hot glue?


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## splatz (May 23, 2015)

wiz1997 said:


> If you can find a section of any code that states this is an improper way to splice small wires, please post it.


It may or may not be code compliant, it really depends on the listing of that crimp butt splice. If it's listed for use with more than one wire, and you use a crimp tool that's specified in the instructions, it's compliant. 

Most of the crimp terminal / splices are sold for a certain range of wire sizes, like the blue ones are for #14 - #16 awg. Some brands state in the instructions you can use multiple wires if the sum of the cross sectional areas is in the range. I often use a #10-12 ring terminal with two #14's in it. 

But to be 100% compliant, if the instructions call for a tool, you have to use that tool. Usually the manufacturers specify their own tool. So if you crimp Ideal crimp terminals with a Klein crimp pliers, it's not code compliant.  

Now twisting wires and taping - of course that's not going to pass. 



> (B) Splices. Conductors shall be spliced or joined with splicing devices identified for the use or by brazing, welding, or soldering with a fusible metal or alloy. Soldered splices shall first be spliced or joined so as to be mechanically and electrically secure without solder and then be soldered. All splices and joints and the free ends of conductors shall be covered with an insulation equivalent to that of the conductors or with an insulating device identified for the purpose. Wire connectors or splicing means installed on conductors for direct burial shall be listed for such use.


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## wiz1997 (Mar 30, 2021)

Never had an inspector ask what brand of crimps and what brand of crimper did I use.

The only two places I ever worked where crimps and crimpers were specified were when I worked at a nuclear power house and NASA.

If there are specs to the job then stick with the specs.



Personal preferences are not specs.


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## kurtbelyeu (Jun 18, 2017)

You could dress the wires up with bootlace ferrules then use Wagos or some terminal strips.


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## Quickservice (Apr 23, 2020)

kb1jb1 said:


> Low voltage and alarm guys sometimes use things that they call good and plenty s. They are white crimps.


A data guy gave me a bunch of these. Work great on 22awg.


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