Wire Nuts

[16again]

Need to keep a stock of good wire nuts. Who makes the best stuff?

 

[captaindiode]

Ideal twister

 

[KMdef9]

Ideal twister

2nd that. Cheap and found everywhere.

 

[alcorelli]

I'll 3rd that.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

 

[wyliesdiesels]

Ill 4th that

 

[Jim greengo]

The tan ones work for the majority of jobs.

 

[jdm5]

3M for me. Not the cheapest, but quality.

 

[Norcal]

3M for me. Not the cheapest, but quality.

I prefer Ideal Wingnuts, but 3M products are good as are the Ideal Twisters.

 

[Ilikeike]

90+% of the time for me the Tan size is just right.

If I'm messing with a light fixture sometimes an orange, but around home and light shop work almost always a tan, reds and blues or even yellows I almost never grab anymore.

 

[16again]

Never even thought of using the tan ones. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[Pingel85]

Tan twisters are the cats meow

 

[bmwpowere36m3]

I used tan twisters on my garage build... why did I wait so long? I predominately used yellow and red wing-nuts. The tan twisters work over a larger range than say a yellow wing-nut and seems to hold stranded and solid wires together better. I always needed the smaller orange wire nuts when connecting stranded wires of fixtures to solid in-wall.

 

[Git]

 

[nadogail]

I am a fan of the Ideal Wing Nuts in all the various colors they come in. That being said Wago LEVER-NUTS have saved the day for me on occasion.

 

[ZX3ST]

After using WAGO lever nuts at work I'll never use a wire nut again.

 

[Chris130]

After using WAGO lever nuts at work I'll never use a wire nut again.

Just a DIYer here, but I'm also a full Wago convert...

PRO -- Simple to mix sizes and stranded/solid, and easy/clean to later re-do connections when necessary.

CON -- Expensive compared to nuts. As a DIYer who just does my own projects around the house, they're totally worth it for me, but I understand why other folks scoff at the cost.

If interested, Amazon is a good place to get them, but beware the many knock-offs there - make sure you order the real deal.

 

[Git]

I have had at least one incident where I was having problems with an electrical circuit in my home. And after pulling all the wires out of a particular junction box, I could see where a neutral wire was broken right where the insulation was cut off. But because the wire nuts twist all the wires together, which was probably why the wire broke to begin with, it was hard to tell that there was a problem until I removed the wire nut.

Another thing to think about - although WAGO's are more expensive, I always thought in the commercial/professional world that 'time was money'. It sure is a lot quicker using WAGO's than wire nuts.

Lastly, if your in to home automation - dimmers, light switches, etc, WAGO's sure makes it easy to change or upgrade a device

 

[Terry D]

I like 3M

 

[Mr_fixit]

ones with wings

 

[cybrdyke]

Waiting for the "do I twist the conductors first?" argument to start....

 

[Norcal]

Waiting for the "do I twist the conductors first?" argument to start....

It’s like ground prong up or down, personal preference although the up/down can also be job specs.

 

[jdsac]

Waiting for the "do I twist the conductors first?" argument to start....

Do an experiment- take some scrap wires, on one end twist with linemans pliers, on the other end just skin the wires & put on a nut-tight as you can by hand
then remove the nut from the end that you just put on the nut without twisting and compare- the joint falls apart & is inferior to the twisted end. Not twisting is just being lazy

 

[Jim greengo]

Do an experiment- take some scrap wires, on one end twist with linemans pliers, on the other end just skin the wires & put on a nut-tight as you can by hand
then remove the nut from the end that you just put on the nut without twisting and compare- the joint falls apart & is inferior to the twisted end. Not twisting is just being lazy

And count the number of knicked wires on the twisted version.

 

[rlitman]

Do an experiment- take some scrap wires, on one end twist with linemans pliers, on the other end just skin the wires & put on a nut-tight as you can by hand
then remove the nut from the end that you just put on the nut without twisting and compare- the joint falls apart & is inferior to the twisted end. Not twisting is just being lazy

Not buying it. I've done this many times. IF you twist the nut enough (and it does take some strength), the wires will be sufficiently twisted inside.

 

[sparky 1971]

I use: orange wire nuts, orange twisters (formerly light blue), tan twisters, red wing nuts, gray twisters, and blue wing nuts. I probably use twice as many tan's as the rest put together.

 

[JKJEFF]

Straight from Ideal. Pre twisting not required but recommended.

 

[Miss the Pontiacs]

In my garage I predominately used the yellow Ideal wing type. Ran out and used some standard Ideal yellow. Always pretwisted copper before using the wire nuts.

 

[rburke65]

I like the winged type of “nuts”.

 

[allinon72]

Do an experiment- take some scrap wires, on one end twist with linemans pliers, on the other end just skin the wires & put on a nut-tight as you can by hand
then remove the nut from the end that you just put on the nut without twisting and compare- the joint falls apart & is inferior to the twisted end. Not twisting is just being lazy

Now go back 2 years later when a wire needs removed or added, then count the number of swear words uttered.

I’ve moved to Wagos. I’m willing to pay the extra cost for the safety and convenience, especially when we’re talking more than 3 wires.

 

[AP514]

Ideal for me...

 

[justsam]

WAGO - Do wish they made a 4 port version, but 2, 3, and 5 is all I have seen/purchased. So handy if any reconfiguration is needed and great for dissimilar wire types in fixtures. Was helping a neighbor the other day and the Romex in the box had been damaged and now so short that no way would a wire nut work. Not an issue for Wago connector. Wish big box stores would carry them but do understand the added cost.

 

[Crazyjake8493]

Ideal tan twisters are my current favorite. I have a large stock of Ideal red (non-twister) that I bought a few years ago on clearance at HD ($3 for 250ct) so I've got a bunch of those to use up. They work great with the Ideal screwdrivers with wire nut drivers in the handle, but the guys at work got me turned on to tan twisters and once my reds are gone, then tan twisters are all I'll buy.

I do have a small supply of Wago 221 lever-nuts, and I like them for certain applications like old boxes with an inch of wire left - use a Lever Nut and a pigtail to bring the wire out farther. I've also used them inside a few brewing control panels that I've built. Great for stranded wire or joining wire of various sizes. Ultimately, they're just too expensive to replace wire nuts for every day use.

 

[Milton Shaw]

CrazyJake mentions the Ideal screwdrivers with the socket for tightening them. Those are great. I don't do heavy gauge wire without using mine for them any more. Anything over 18 gauge I use the screwdriver socket handle to tighten them.

 

[Dagny]

3M ranger red and yellow

 

[Gummi Bear]

3M and Buchanan for me

Ideal are ok, but definitely not my favorite




I throw GB and similar wirenuts out, won’t even consider using them.



I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately...

Henry David Thoreau

 

[Norcal]

If Wingnuts are used correctly they will twist the conductors together, even solid I am a pretwister unless they are all stranded, but following manufacturers instructions are a must.

 

[Tduby]

It’s like ground prong up or down, personal preference although the up/down can also be job specs.

If you go ground up you can’t use is cover plate

 

[ArcReactorKC]

Not buying it. I've done this many times. IF you twist the nut enough (and it does take some strength), the wires will be sufficiently twisted inside.

I was about to say this same thing. I still carry my J-man card even though it's not currently in use with my current career. I have put on thousands up on thousands of wire nuts. If the nut is installed right the wires will be twisted inside just like if you have used your linemans to pretwist.