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Tried splicing a 22/4 wire without a crimp tool on a Friday afternoon job in Phoenix
Ended up with a false alarm callout at 2 AM because the connection wiggled loose in the junction box, anyone else skip the proper tools and regret it?
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the_paul18d ago
OH COME ON, proper tools are OVERRATED! I've done plenty of field splices with just a lineman's and some tape and they held up fine for years. The problem wasn't skipping the crimp tool, it was probably that cheap Chinese wire or lousy box you stuffed it in.
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victorb1718d ago
Friday afternoon in Phoenix is already a recipe for heat-expanded connections that contract overnight, so a loose splice was almost guaranteed whether you crimped it or not. Maybe the real culprit isn't the tool but the timing-waiting until the heat of the day to make a connection that needs to hold at 2 AM when everything shrinks back down. Too many people forget that thermal expansion is a bigger factor in this climate than what you used to squeeze the wire together.
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ross.kevin18d ago
Read somewhere that thermal expansion in Phoenix can actually make splices loosen by a few millimeters overnight... not enough to see but enough to break a bad connection. That 22/4 wire is super thin anyway and without a proper crimp you're basically relying on friction alone. I've seen guys swear by the lineman's twist method but the smaller gauge wire just doesn't bite together the same way. The heat shrink on a good crimp actually helps lock things in place when temps drop. Sounds like you got bit by a combination of skipping the tool and the climate working against you... live and learn I guess.
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