Re: Installalation Tips and Tools

[julian <julian@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Sat, 20 May 2006 16:17:28 GMT, bdolph <bdolph@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>Solid core is fine if the tech knows what he is doing.  One of the
>biggest problems with solid wire I have seen is stripping the wire with
>a cutting type stripper and nicking the wire and then you get a close
>intermittent break in the wire.

That's why you MAKE them use size strippers. That way, when you strip
a 22 awg wire, you DON'T nick it. I got a Mastercraft wire stripper
(that's from Canadaian Tire, a well know Canadian hardware store for
all you non-Canandians readers) when I first started in the biz as a
nwebie and when it wears out, Canadian Tire replaces it free of
charge, no questions asked. In fact their lifetime warranty even
applies if you damage the tool on purpose! There must be some place in
the great big US of A that has a store with a similar warranty on
their tools!

And if a tech doesn't know what he's doing, why is he out in the field
unsupervised anyway?

Julian



>
>One the other hand stranded wire is less problem prone since it takes
>more effort to nick all the strands and overall more flexible.  The
>danger here is that you have to use a spade or crimped connector on the
>end (or tin the end) so that no loose strands touch a neighboring
>terminal on the panel.
>
>BobbD
>
>Frank Olson wrote:
>
>> Robert L Bass wrote:
>>
>>>> I can remember my first tech tip way back in junior high school
>>>> electric shop.  It was wrapping a stripped wire properly around a
>>>> screw terminal. An old time shop teacher that made sure we had good
>>>> basic install skills. A very nice and basic tip.  While this seems
>>>> obvious to many of us techs, you would be surprised how many wires I
>>>> see wrapped the wrong way.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> I like to use stranded cable for transformers.  It doesn't break like
>>> solid core cable can if the wire is flexed a bunch of times.  Also,
>>> if I have some in the tool kit I crimp spade lugs on the wires rather
>>> than wrap bare wires around the screw terminals.  This isn't entirely
>>> necessary but it makes a good, solid connection and there's no chance
>>> of a stray strand shorting the adjacent terminal.
>>>
>>
>>
>> Why would the wire "flex" a "bunch of times"?  I realize that you guys
>> int he US really like those screw-in "wall warts", but isn't the screw
>> supposed to discourage the customer from unplugging it?  And wouldn't
>> you use a plug that was "out of the way" and not prone to occasional
>> use?  Our contract stipulates that we must have a dedicated unburdened
>> circuit for the panel.  Around these parts we use a wire in
>> transformer, and all solid core wires.