Re: wire stripper recommendation

[CH®IS <sh@xxxxx>]

"Robert L Bass" wrote...
> "CH®IS" wrote:
>>
>> Did you at least twist the wires together before using a B connector?
>
> It never occurred to me that one might *not* twist them.  I never really
> liked B connectors.  They're supposed to be a time saver in that it's not
> necessary to strip the wires -- just twist, crimp and go.  But I didn't
> trust the connection so I'd strip them anyway.  The problems with them
> are:
>

I've seen a couple guys from Telus (our main local phone company) just strip
each wire, plug them into a B connector and crimp.  Not a connection I'd
trust at all.  Nor would I trust not stripping them either.  I strip about
3/4", twist tightly enough that you don't need a B connector to hold it
together for the life of the building, and then add a B connector, either
crimping with a Leatherman (always handy) or the inside of whichever pliers
I have handy at that moment (they all have a little crimping feature between
handle and pivot point)

> (1) they're a messy looking way to splice.  A cabinet with a couple of
> dozen B's in it looks bad no matter how careful you are.
>

Very true.  I've seen one system (an 864 with 16 or less zones) with two
panels.  One for the panel, expander, battery, etc. and the other a foot
above it for splices.  One entire 12" x 12" DSC can entirely dedicated to a
rats nest of splices.

The only time I hopefully need to have connectors in a panel are for EOL's
for recessed contacts.  I'll rarely put them at the contact just to reduce
the wiring mess and need to tear the door frame apart later on just to
change a resistor (ie: switch to a different panel).

In this case though, I'll often take a 1" piece of insulation, slide it over
the zone wire (not common, then you have to mess with the wiring to see
which zone has the resistor on it), twist the resistor and zone wire very
neatly and tight... bend it back and slide the insulation over the splice...
trim the other end of the resistor and wire it in.  Sure, it would be
recommended to solder this splice too... but the way I twist them I'm not
concerned with them ever falling apart.

> (2) If you use them to splice recessed contacts it can be difficult to
> pull the contact out later without breaking the wire if the B snags on the
> hole.  Then you have to fish the darned thing all over.
>

The only time I use these now is when it's easy enough to remove that piece
of door trim.  Splice it together and leave a little extra wire behind the
trim.  Otherwise I use the stubby recessed contacts with the terminals.
Much faster/easier to install and work with later on as well.  If you must
use them though, I find it's best to stagger your splices and then tape the
whole mess into the slimmest possible shape.  Hopefully this way it doesn't
snag anything.

> I like my panels to look really neat and organized. Each wire (except
> ground) comes in from the upper left corner, proceeds to the bottom, makes
> a 90-degree turn and goes to a point under the appropriate terminal.
> Another 90-degree turn and it goes up to the terminal.  It might sound
> anal but when you do it that way the panel is much easier to service later
> and inspections tend to go really smoothly (those guys always like neat
> work).
>

I pretty well do the same thing, even down to bringing the wires in from the
top left corner.  Except that I'll have enough wire to almost hit the bottom
of the panel and go to it's zone/whatever using a more natural curve.  The
phone jack fits nicely in between this curve and the battery fits nicely on
the right side of the wiring.  Usually I'll have the phone jacks wire
stuffed behind the panel since it won't cooperate any other way.

The 90 degree bend thing looks great at first, until you have to change
something or check something, then it all goes downhill from there.  Some
I've seen have the wiring come in from the top, cable tied straight down to
the bottom, cable tied across the bottom halfway, cable tied up to about
half an inch to the bottom of the board, run straight left or right to where
ever it's going, then up into it's appropriate terminal, then when it's
finished, cable tied across there too.  This of course looks great at first,
but troubleshooting anything means cutting all of the cable ties and making
a mess of it all.  Plus I don't have time for that.  I'd rather spend that
time making sure every staple is good and there are no nicks in the wiring.

The worst way has to be running the wiring in from the back of the panel in
the middle.  Unless you still leave enough room to work with later and can
push that back into the wall without making a mess.  Actually no, the worst
way would be to run wire in from every direction possible, including through
the front before you realize you need to close the door (some days are long
because they're long... some days are long because you get stupid)

- Chris

- Chris