Weird electrical splice

[y_p_w]

I’m doing GFCI replacement of (mostly) ungrounded electrical receptacles a few at a time in a couple of homes built in the 1950s. It’s been entertaining so far. I found a 3 connection splice in my parents’ home that was twisted around one wire, soldered, wrapped in electrical tape, and then put into the box that way. I cut it all off and used a 3-port WAGO 221 on what was left, which was barely enough to stick out of the box.

However, this was a really weird 3-wire splice that I cut off. The wires were one pair upstream, one pair down, and then to the receptacle. I removed the electrical tape that was covering it in the box. I replaced the setup using two 3-port WAGO 221 connectors to bridge the wires and connect to the receptacle. It was twisting three wires in this really odd way. It wasn’t soldered like the other pain in the posterior that I dealt with earlier, but this one used a copper crimp sleeve. Some of the electrical tape residue is still there. Something tells me this probably wasn’t up to code even when it was originally done, since it was only covered with vinyl electrical tape. Looking up what’s acceptable to cover bare wire in a box seems to be self-bonding rubber tape, then electrical tape to cover it up.

The other thing I’ve noticed with older homes is how different insulators were back then. Some used really thick plastic insulators (might have been from 1960s or later work), but I think some might have even been made of rubber. When I need to strip the insulator it could be tough and some didn’t want to fit easily in my lever connectors with how hard and thick the insulators were.

 

[Bailes1992]

Looks like an uninsulated inline crimp of some sort. Are these not standard in the US?

I used some insulated inline crimps on my Duster when I was fitting the tow bar in THIS post.

 

[ctechbob]

Those are buchanan copper crimp's, but they're being used wrong. Every one I've ever seen used is covered with a plastic cap and the wires all come out in one direction.

Back in the mid 80's dad wired our house with those. I probably still have the crimper somewhere in my stash.

 

[y_p_w]

Looks like an uninsulated inline crimp of some sort. Are these not standard in the US?

I used some insulated inline crimps on my Duster when I was fitting the tow bar in THIS post.

This is for household electrical power, which is typically 110-120V AC at 60Hz up to 15-20A in the United States. It was insulated with vinyl electrical tape and then shoved in the same box.

 

[Bailes1992]

This is for household electrical power, which is typically 110-120V AC at 60Hz up to 15-20A in the United States. It was insulated with vinyl electrical tape and then shoved in the same box.

We use insulated crimps on mains power over here. We only have 230v single phase or 400v three phase here though. No 110-120v AC.

 

[GMFan]

Good on you for doing the device replacement correctly (GFCI) at a non grounded location. Just make sure to put that blue “no equipment ground” sticker on the GFCI that comes with the device so whoever works or used the device is aware there is no ground wire.

Those are crimps and I’ve seen them in houses from the 1950s. They are usually also taped.

The best procedure is to replace with GFCI (like you are doing) and remake the connections with wire nuts or WAGOs. These days crimps are only acceptable and still seen on grounding conductors.

 

[snarl]

Why replace with GFCI if there is no ground?

 

[y_p_w]

Those are buchanan copper crimp's, but they're being used wrong. Every one I've ever seen used is covered with a plastic cap and the wires all come out in one direction.

Back in the mid 80's dad wired our house with those. I probably still have the crimper somewhere in my stash.

View attachment 218349

OK. That seems reasonable that they’re crimped and then shielded with a cap. But in my photo, (each in the pair) to the left is the wire to the receptacle, and to the right are two wires. So it was passing power down to the next outlet through the twist/crimp. What surprised me was that the only insulator was vinyl electrical tape. However, whoever twisted three 14 AWG solid wires like that was really skilled at it, especially that close to the box.

I might have been able to join 3 wires with a wire nut, but I had the WAGO 221 3-ports just for this sort of thing. Other than that, I’ve been using Ideal In-Sure L2 all over to connect to pigtails. I figure if there needs to be something redone (like replacing a bad receptacle), it’s easy enough to just remove the pigtails while leaving everything else in place. And if the connector needs replacement, the wire should be reusable in another one (or a WAGO 221) without needing to trim more wire.

Other than ones I installed, I haven't seen a single wire nut in the old part of this house. I think there might be in some of the remodeled rooms. I was thinking there could have been ceramic wire nuts. Not sure what I would have done if I saw one other than cut it off.

 

[y_p_w]

Why replace with GFCI if there is no ground?

If there’s a ground fault it will completely shut off. It’s not ideal, but it’s an acceptable alternative if tearing up drywall isn’t practical. It’s considered OK to install without being grounded, but as someone else stated, it has to be labeled “NO EQUIPMENT GROUND”. Such stickers didn’t actually come with these (I’ve seen them packaged with other GFCI receptacles) but I made up several with a Brother P-Touch label maker.

Strangely enough, the metal box this splice came from seemed to be grounded, even with a 2-prong receptacle. After installing the GFCI, I used a ground tester and it came up as properly grounded. The downstream box wasn’t grounded and I labeled that one.

 

[y_p_w]

We use insulated crimps on mains power over here. We only have 230v single phase or 400v three phase here though. No 110-120v AC.

I don’t mess with 240V, which is used here for appliances like electric clothes dryers and kitchen ranges. Or now EV charging.

I believe insulated butt crimps might be considered acceptable for joining wire, although I hear varying opinions on using them on solid wire. However, this was joining 3 wires together with a combination of a twist/crime/electrical tape. I think heat shrink tubing might also work, and a lot of insulated crimps come with those built in. At least these days it would most likely be done here with a wire nut, but possibly also push-in or lever connectors. But this would be a butt splice connector. Pretty simple - just cut a length on each end to partially insert, crimp, then take a heat gun to seal the ends.

Strike that. They're only recommended for stranded wire. Not sure how it works for building wire where solid is almost universal to the outlet. I suppose it would need to be connected at a terminal block or a push-in/lever connector.

https://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/162869O/highland-terminals-bsv10-bsv14-bsv18.pdf?&fn=DS_BSV10.pdf

Engineering Specification​

​

Crimp-type terminals shall, electrically and mechanically, connect permanently to the pre-stripped end of two stranded copper wires.​

​

The connector line shall offer barrel variations in wire (AWG) size (22-18, 16-14, 12-10) and construction (non-insulated brazed seam, vinyl insulated butted seam, nylon insulated seamless, etc...). The connector line shall have regulatory agency coverage (UL Listing, CSA Certification). The connectors shall be marked with the wire range and manufacturer’s symbol (􏰁).​

​

The vinyl insulated, butted seam butt connector shall be tin-plated, annealed copper, having a double-length, round barrel with a center stop and a close fitting vinyl tube covering, color coded and sized for a specified (AWG) wire range (22-18, 16-14, 12-10).​

​

Insulated connectors shall be UL Listed and CSA Certified for 600 volts maximum, building wire: 1000 volts maximum, signs or fixtures and temperature rated 221 ̊F (105 ̊C) maximum.​

I’ve also been surprised with what I’ve seen. Some of the older 2-prong (NEMA 1-15) outlets I’ve seen are marked as 125V, 15A, or 240V, 10A. The one on the top (Bryant) here is built like a tank and still requires a decent amount of insertion/extraction force after maybe 65-70 years. The one of the bottom I've seen quite a few, and they must have been the cheapest that General Electric sold, and the same type as the one attached to the weird splice. I also found a lot of outlets that were just painted over, including sometimes the wallplate. Sometimes the wallplate was removed during painting with the outlet covered with masking tape, but then the screws were painted over. I had a hard time digging a slotted screwdriver into screws that had a lot of paint.

Sorry about the focus.

 

[Kantaro]

However, this was a really weird 3-wire splice that I cut off. The wires were one pair upstream, one pair down, and then to the receptacle. I removed the electrical tape that was covering it in the box. I replaced the setup using two 3-port WAGO 221 connectors to bridge the wires and connect to the receptacle. It was twisting three wires in this really odd way. It wasn’t soldered like the other pain in the posterior that I dealt with earlier, but this one used a copper crimp sleeve. Some of the electrical tape residue is still there. Something tells me this probably wasn’t up to code even when it was originally done, since it was only covered with vinyl electrical tape. Looking up what’s acceptable to cover bare wire in a box seems to be self-bonding rubber tape, then electrical tape to cover it up.

Those look like how every original pigtail in my 1980's home was wired:

I like to think the electrician was an old stubborn guy that didn't believe in wire nuts, but at least it was all done properly. I believe as long as the connection is mechanically secured and insulated then it met code. I've gone through and replaced them with 3 port Wago 221's as well

Speaking of pigtails, check out this mess that was done in a later renovation:

 

[Pablo]

Holy BUBBA!!

 

[y_p_w]

Those look like how every original pigtail in my 1980's home was wired:

View attachment 218378

I like to think the electrician was an old stubborn guy that didn't believe in wire nuts, but at least it was all done properly. I believe as long as the connection is mechanically secured and insulated then it met code. I've gone through and replaced them with 3 port Wago 221's as well

Speaking of pigtails, check out this mess that was done in a later renovation:

View attachment 218380

Someone must have really liked wire nuts. Looks like it was done at the same time. What's the point of two wire nuts and a short length of wire to connect three wires when one would have been enough? I have been thinking of maybe extending from a wire nut splice and then hooking up to a lever connector. Just more or less as a quick disconnect/connect for any future work. Nothing like that though.

BTW - Ideal has a trademark on "Wire-Nut", so nobody else uses that even though it's practically as generic as "Kleenex".

 

[nomas]

Why replace with GFCI if there is no ground?

Because a ground conductor has zero to do with a GFCI receptacle . And because it's probably code if you upgrade .

 

[y_p_w]

Because a ground conductor has zero to do with a GFCI receptacle . And because it's probably code if you upgrade .

Sure. It's the only code compliant way to plug in a 3-prong plug even if the box isn't connected to ground. Well - one of those 3-prong to 2-prong adapters is code compliant as long as it's connected to a center screw in a grounded box.

One of the outlets I replaced had one of these and when I tested it, the tester said it was grounded. I didn't see any grounding wire or maybe a grounding screw in the box, but this room is somewhat subterranean. Maybe the box was grounded and I don't see it? The other box in this room showed up as grounded, but that's on the other side with a real wall. Neither of these receptacles in this room were connected to the ground screw, but if the metal box is grounded then an installed receptacle will be grounded through the mounting screws.

I've heard that some electricians choose to connect ground wires directly to metal boxes instead of to receptacles.

 

[eljefino]

I've heard that some electricians choose to connect ground wires directly to metal boxes instead of to receptacles.

Pretty sure now you have to connect wire to both, even though the receptacle self-grounds via its installing screws.

 

[y_p_w]

Pretty sure now you have to connect wire to both, even though the receptacle self-grounds via its installing screws.

I just got a commercial grade receptacle, and the box says that it’s self-grounding if the box is grounded. Of course I installed it in a plastic box. I tried reading the NEC and can’t make heads or tails of what it’s trying to say.

 

[dlundblad]

Not sure what the correct term is, but I’ve always called these Buchanans. My parents had a light post that would instantly trip the breaker. Turns out the tape around these finally wore out. It would have been like that since the late 80’s when the place was built.

Didn’t read all the comments, but if you know where the first outlet in the circuit is, you can just install a GFI there and install 3 prong outlets after that. The GFI will have its power wires in the line side terminals. Everything after is on load side.

 

[y_p_w]

Not sure what the correct term is, but I’ve always called these Buchanans. My parents had a light post that would instantly trip the breaker. Turns out the tape around these finally wore out. It would have been like that since the late 80’s when the place was built.

Didn’t read all the comments, but if you know where the first outlet in the circuit is, you can just install a GFI there and install 3 prong outlets after that. The GFI will have its power wires in the line side terminals. Everything after is on load side.

I had another look at the remnants of the splice. I’m not sure when this was done. The receptacle is really old, but the splice might not be from when the house was built. The house was built in the 1950s, but I've heard that repair work could use 2-prong receptacles if there was no grounding wire. However, the copper was really clean with almost no tarnish. And what’s stuck there isn’t sticky like electrical tape. I’m thinking it’s probably self-bonding rubber tape. I still wanted to remove it since it was taking up a lot of room in a small box, I had already pulled off the tape to see what was in there, and a GFCI receptacle was going in there. Three port WAGOs came in handy there since there was only a few inches to work with.

I’ve noticed that older setups often had little extra wire for repairs or re-splicing. I guess it could have to do with individual electricians. Newer work I’ve seen has splices that extend several inches out the box using wire nuts, where it’s then tucked into the back. I also found a good deal of these splices where the electrician used 12 AWG Romex on a 20A circuit, which is correct. But then pigtails to the receptacles using 12 AWG hot and neutral, but 14 AWG green for ground. I asked around and apparently this was a shortcut that some electricians did with the rationalization that a grounding wire would rarely carry any electricity. I took it as an opportunity to clean it up with 12 AWG and then add lever connectors. I did find some bare wire 12 AWG scrap, and used some of it for grounding wires. I think that’s acceptable. Also, the cost of cut to order 12 AWG can be ridiculous now. I found it as much as $1 per foot (67 cents at HD), although I just found a local place that has it for 29 cents a foot.

I guess there was a time when these things were basically unrepairable and one just hoped to have enough wire left over to make a repair. Modern work with wire nuts can be undone and respliced if the wire isn’t excessively twisted, and I get that it’s a source of argument over whether it should be twisted before being connected. I’d think lever connectors might be pretty popular these days. But I’ve seen older work with solder and crimps, including receptacles using a backwire connection that’s effectively crimped to the terminal.

 

[Rogueman2016s]

Those look like how every original pigtail in my 1980's home was wired:

View attachment 218378

I like to think the electrician was an old stubborn guy that didn't believe in wire nuts, but at least it was all done properly. I believe as long as the connection is mechanically secured and insulated then it met code. I've gone through and replaced them with 3 port Wago 221's as well

Speaking of pigtails, check out this mess that was done in a later renovation:

View attachment 218380

Didn’t have large enough wire nuts lol