Old timer told me to stop twisting my wire nuts so tight. Changed everything.

Guy with 40 years in the trade watched me do a panel. Said I was torquing the nuts like I was tightening a lug. He showed me his trick. Snug then a little extra. No more broken tails. No more stranded wire poking through. Been doing it his way for 6 months now. Way less callbacks. Anyone else get told this early on?

3 comments

3 Comments

ben_fisher19d ago

Hannah brings up a solid point about cheap wire, but it's not just that. Even good quality wire can snap if you overtighten. The real trick is matching the wire nut size to the conductors. Way too many guys grab a gray or blue nut for everything, then torque it down like they're mad. Get the right sized nut for the wire count, snug it up, then just a hair more. That's the gold standard right there.

abbyhall18d ago

Guilty as charged. I'm the guy with a blue nut and a death grip.

coleman.hannah19d ago

Nah I gotta disagree, snug is fine but if you're getting broken tails you're probably using cheap wire or the wrong size nut.