Re: What is the "Proper" way to attach lead wire to in wall wire

[Nomen Nescio <nobody@xxxxxxxxx>]

Artistry said:

>All my soldering equipment is in storage, hence the need to build a new
>house.  This FINALLY gives me a justification to purchase one of those
>cordless Cold Heat soldering tools.
>
>I personally could not think of anything that would be as reliable, but I
>thought that the industry would have adopted a less time consuming method.
>
>I didn't recognize the phrases, "Dry B-Beans," or "Gel filled B-Beans".  I
>googled them with unrelated results.

First of all, don't buy the Cold Heat tool.  It's a toy.  If you insist on
a portable soldering iron, get one that runs on butane.  However, if all
you want to do is solder contacts to wire, just buy a disposable butane
lighter, preferably with an adjustable flame.  Before you start talking
about cold solder joints, realize that a butane flame is considerably
hotter than the tip of a soldering iron.  Plus, a butane lighter fits in
your pocket, and cools down almost instantly.  Stagger the splices to
minimize the overall diameter of the splice, i.e., don't put the two
splices side by side.

I'm an old-timer, so I prefer solder and tape.  If you want to look at
solderless connectors that are widely used in the alarm industry, search on
the term "B wire connector."  That's the term Western Electric used when
they invented them.  They don't stuff up a small hole nearly as nicely as a
soldered, staggered splice.

- badenov