Fast Electrical Butt Splices
By Benjamen Johnson
Last week Ideal announced their new solution for butt splicing wires together quickly and easily: SpliceLine in-line wire connectors. They tout two major uses for the new connectors, making prefabbed electrical assemblies faster to install and lengthening short wires inside of electrical boxes.
To use the connectors you simply push the end of a stripped wire into the connector — no crimping or twisting. The connectors are small enough that three can pass through a 1/2″ knockout, and they accept 12-20AWG solid and 12-16AWG stranded wires so you don’t have to carry multiple connector sizes. You can see through the connectors to inspect the connection and there are check ports you can stick a probe into to verify continuity.
Ideal claims they will make the SpliceLine Connectors in the USA in lots of 10, 100, 300, and 2500, but they haven’t yet released their pricing scheme.
SpliceLine [Ideal]
Press Release [Ideal]
March 30th, 2010 at 11:01 am
This looks hot but I want to hear from the pro’s. We have a number of older cottages @ our resort and whenever I have to change a receptacle or a switch, the “short wire” issue bites me. Frankly, I’ve been soldering on an extension and covering with heat shrink tubing, likely not the best way.
March 30th, 2010 at 11:07 am
I always liked the “wall-nuts” type of connector for quick work with solid core wires. The advantage over these is that you can get them with up to 8 ports. They don’t work so well with stranded wire, especially wire with fine strands, since they split apart instead of pushing back the spring tabs. I don’t know how well these would work in that application. For solid core wire though, these types of connectors are lightning quick.
March 30th, 2010 at 11:48 am
Their photo is interesting. They show the wires passing OUT of the box into the wall cavity, suggesting that you splice there. Clear violation of the NEC for anything but knob and tube wiring.
March 30th, 2010 at 11:49 am
I could use this, right now. I have a broken wire in the door jamb of my Jeep that’s damn near impossible to get a decent solder or crimp butt splice onto.
March 30th, 2010 at 12:07 pm
Cancel the last comment. It IS UL approved for use in the wall cavity. Who would think that was ok?
March 30th, 2010 at 12:26 pm
Hey Wheels17 where did you find it was UL approved for use in a wall cavity? I must have missed that somewhere.
I had the same thought as you did, but let it slide figuring somebody more experienced would make a comment. I always thought that anytime you make a connection you have to have access to it, period. Seems like common sense to me.
March 30th, 2010 at 1:02 pm
Wheels17 Says:
Cancel the last comment. It IS UL approved for use in the wall cavity. Who would think that was ok?
I would think that, just because it’s UL approved doesn’t mean that use would conform to code. UL is not the NFPA.
March 30th, 2010 at 4:15 pm
From the few electricians I know, they all avoid this kind of stuff. For example, they use the screw terminals instead of the backstabs. I can’t see how this would be any different from the reliability of a backstab…
March 30th, 2010 at 5:23 pm
I would think the speed difference would mean using the backstabs first.
March 31st, 2010 at 7:17 am
@BC…you’re gonna have corrosion issues….use a good amount of silicone grease and realize it’s just temporary. Try removing the kick panel to access the connectors so you can get some more length.
April 1st, 2010 at 11:14 am
@Toby… it’s in the boot between the door and jamb. There’s no extra length available, unfortunately. The junkyards won’t sell me the part, and it’s $200 from the dealer for a piddly stinkin’ wiring harness. I’m cobbling it together more on principle now, considering I don’t plan on keeping the thing much longer.
April 3rd, 2010 at 11:10 am
the stab-in on the outlets are less reliable than the screw terminals. Less reliability means more call backs.
April 25th, 2010 at 11:23 am
I’m an electrician. You can never splice anywhere except in a junction box (or underground for direct burial cables). The reason they show the connector outside the box, is that it is part of a pre-fab unit. Screw the whole thing to the stud, strip your Romex back, put a snap-in connector on the Romex, make up the splices, and then shove the slices into the box and snap in the connector to the box.
May 18th, 2010 at 8:31 pm
Guys:
Thanks for comments. I am with IDEAL and Steve is correct. This is only for use inside the junction box or other approved enclosure. The picture does show pre-fab example as Steve mentions. These are very reliable and different from the brass stab-ins on the receptacle because they are made from copper for carrying the current and Stainless Steel to provide the long lasting pressure against the copper. In the wrong conditions, the brass on the stab-ins compromises both. Thanks