need help removing a single electric socket

[ColJack]

to join 3 wires, you simply need a larger butt crimp..
for 2.5's, you need a yellow one..
you strip back the 3 ends long enough to just go through the metal part inside and along side each other.. then crimp..
not much different than crimping stranded wires

 

[JohnW2]

to join 3 wires, you simply need a larger butt crimp..
for 2.5's, you need a yellow one..
you strip back the 3 ends long enough to just go through the metal part inside and along side each other.. then crimp..
not much different than crimping stranded wires

I've often thought about that, but I'm sure that I'd be even less comfortable with that than with crimping in general. One difference from crimping a stranded cable is that, in that case, good connection with all of the strands is not quite so crucial.

Kind Regards, John.

 

[EFLImpudence]

to join 3 wires, you simply need a larger butt crimp..
for 2.5's, you need a yellow one..
you strip back the 3 ends long enough to just go through the metal part inside and along side each other.. then crimp..
not much different than crimping stranded wires

Good idea - thanks.

 

[ldoodle]

Assuming the buried cable is in conduit, could you not push the wires back down to the void below and join them in a junction box?

Looking at the pictures again, it looks like the cables enter the left top KO, so that would suggest to me the cable runs horizontally. But whoever put it there could have stupidly sunk the back box next to the cable drop so it could still run up or down.

EDIT: Can you confirm where the floor is in relation to the socket. It could be the socket has just twisted round, as if you look at the socket's switch in relation to the cable entry, as in the photo, it looks as I've said above. But if you rotate the socket 90 degrees the cable entry becomes the bottom left KO.

Need to know where they go. Also what room is this? I'm guessing as you're tiling it it's either kitchen or bathroom. If you do drop the cables to the void below to join, and you're tiling over the floor you'll need to crimp the cables as JB's need to be inspectable and I don't think you'd be happy with breaking up floor tiles to inspect it!

 

[holmslaw]

..

 

[JohnW2]

Its not a good idea, its an extremely bad idea.
Cable, crimps amd crimpers are all sized to fit together in a accurately designed and proven manner. If you start stuffing any size or number of cables in to anysize crimps, you will end with a severely weakened joint due to inaccurate compression of the cable and crimp.

That's certainly what I would have thought. As I said, I would be far more uncomfortable about attempting to crimp multiple solid conductors than I am about crimping in general (and I'm uncomfortable enough about that ). I think one thing one has to remember is that the crimping tools generally used by electricians are far more 'squashers' than concentric compressors, so that the quality of connection to individual (multiple single cores (which would tend to end up 'side-by-side' after squashing) could, I would have thought, end up very iffy, particularly if the three (or more) solid conductors did not behave identically under pressure.

Kind Regards, John.

 

[sparkwright]

Can't see how you'd necessarily get a reliable joint by stuffing two or more wires in one end of a crimp. Crimps aren't designed to be used in that way.

 

[EFLImpudence]

It's a better idea than crimping one single solid core.

 

[sparkwright]

It's a better idea than crimping one single solid core.

Why?

 

[EFLImpudence]

Because crimps aren't meant for single solid cores - but stranded.

 

[holmslaw]

..

 

[JohnW2]

It's a better idea than crimping one single solid core.

Why?

Because crimps aren't meant for single solid cores - but stranded.

I was certainly brought up with the idea that crimping was only acceptable for stranded cables. However, I do not think that would extend to a situation in which the strands of the cable are separated and laid side by side (which is analogous to what you're talking about if one tries to crimp several solid conductors together) but, rather, ony if they remain twisted around one another. As per my previous post, I think that's particularly true if one uses an essentially 'flat squashing' tool, rather than concentric compression.

Kind Regards, John.

 

[JohnW2]

Because crimps aren't meant for single solid cores - but stranded.

Everyday I learn something daft that I immediately ignore.
So how would you join together solid core cables?

Screw terminals, soldering, brazing - maybe even splicing!

This topic has been done to death in the past in this and other forums. There is no doubt that a good few people (like me) have been brought up with the idea that crimping is not suitable for solid conductors - and there's is an 'oft-cited fact that a number or organisations (notably NASA) apparently ban this practice in their procedures manuals.

There is equally no doubt that many electricians do it all the time, seemingly usually without problems, and the fact that (much to my amazement) the regs seem to single out this type of connection (everyone interprets a 'compression tool' as a crimper) as the only type which does not need to remain accessible (which, IMO, is crazy) - so I guess it's a question of 'You pays your money and .....'!.

Kind Regards, John

 

[EFLImpudence]

526.1 The selection of the means of connection shall take account of, as appropriate:
(i) The material of the conductor and its insulation.

526.3 Every connection shall be accessible for inspection, testing and maintenance, except for the following:
(iv) A joint made by welding, soldering, brazing or appropriate compression tool.

If you take the view that single solid cores are not suitable for crimping then it does not comply.

 

[EFLImpudence]

Further to this, for single solid cores I prefer soldering so wouldn't it be better if there were small tubes - would these be ferrules? - which fitted tightly over 1, 1.5 and 2.5mm² cores which could then be soldered and covered in heat-shrink extremely neatly.

The result would be a very much smaller joint than other methods.

I think this would be eminently preferable. Will they now appear as did the three-way crimps?