Stripping wire in the middle question

That is how I have always done the operation and found it work the best.

If persons responding to posts would trim irrelevant pieces of the previous post out of their replies, it would make life better all the way around (I believe). That includes deleting everything below their last statement in their response, in an effort to minmize the eefort required to follow a long thread.

It does make the read, that much easier.

LOL! I know what you mean.

Brian

Reply to
Brian Smith
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Edward A. Oates spake thus:

[...]

Well, there's an easy answer for that: get a real mail/news client. (Should have warned you that you wouldn't like it, but there it is.)

Like Thunderbird (my current). Lots of other ones available for free.

Reply to
David Nebenzahl

in article 44160095$0$3701$ snipped-for-privacy@news.adtechcomputers.com, David Nebenzahl at snipped-for-privacy@but.us.chickens wrote on 3/13/06 3:30 PM:

I should use a real news reader, but Entourage puts everything in one conveient interface (mail, news, calendar, address book, notes, tasks, and project center) and is well integrated with the rest of MS Office. I've tried the Office wanna-bees from Star to Think. No go. All bad: even worse the MS. Even the Mac tools (mail, ical, pages, and keynote) don't deal completely with Word, Excel, Powerpoint et al documents, which I require. But my script fixes the issue as you can see by this nifty bottom post (euuuwwwww, to paraphrase Mr. Caple).

If I was a real man, I'd get Linux and write all my software from scratch...but I did that for a living for too long, so I've gotten lazy.

Reply to
Edward A. Oates

Alton,

I have always been afraid of 'suitcase connectors'; your club's approach appears to be _much_ better and I will give it a try. I use screw terminal strips to allow breaking circuits when needed; the blade terminal would avoid many of those strips. Too bad I have most of the bus wiring done

Reply to
kt0t

The stripper I use has multiple wire gauges and is very accurate (does not nick the wire)

Look like you and I agree completely here. I just cut the line between them first.

Reply to
Ken Day

I don't think it's a good idea to slice the wire all the way around unless you are really accustomed to cutting insulation this way. It's very easy to cut the wire when you ring it with the knife or cutter. When you slice a small piece off the side the cutting tool is almost parallell to the wire reducing the chance of cutting it. Of course , some people are better with tools than others. This works fro me. I also separate my bus wires by 12" or so wherever I can for easier access and no danger of them ever getting together.

I agree 100% . I always solder unless it's just a temporary connection for an accessory of some sort.

Ken Day

Reply to
Ken Day

OK Bob , I give up. Why ? :-)

Reply to
Ken Day

Fine, you're gone...

... more for bad attitude than top posting...

Reply to
Joe Ellis

What you describe sounds ideal. Thanks for the link, but I'm a little confused (unfortunately, not unusual!). The connectors C and D at the top of the page look like the type I referred to. Which are the ones your club uses? None of the ones on the page look like they'd could work with blade-type disconnects on the tap wires.

-- Bill McC.

Reply to
Bill McCutcheon

Oops!, I found them near the bottom of the page ... never mind!

-- Bill McC.

Reply to
Bill McCutcheon

"Bill McCutcheon" wrote in news:FnrRf.11568$ snipped-for-privacy@newsread1.news.atl.earthlink.net:

Bill,

Look on the right side near the bottom of the page. They are just above the pictures of the direct burial splice kits. The Mouser stock numbers are 517-951K, 517-952K, and 517-953K. Our club has been using the 517-953K connectors on 12 AWG stranded bus wires. We are using 20 AWG solid wire for feeders.

Alton

Reply to
Alton Highsmith

Because they can't fly?

-- Bill McC.

Reply to
Bill McCutcheon

A few others have mentioned the 'suitcase' styled connectors instead of strip and solder. Also known as IDC or Insulation Displacement Connector.

On a DCC group, extensive discussion about them was made and one point clearly came out,

Use only the sizes (and types) of wire that the vendor lists for each style of connector!!!

The second was to stick to known vendors of connectors.

When the right parts are used everyone reported great success. But a number of folks responded that when they used 'cheap' versions or tried to use slightly out of specification wire, failures followed later down the road. Also to watch is some are designed for solid wire while others for stranded wire. Or one size range for solid and a different range for stranded. Follow the specifications!!

Reply to
Ken Cameron

EASY? ... No.

There are several methods. A lot depends on the type and size of wire, the type of insulation, and the location of the job. Some can be scraped off with a fingernail, others (like Teflon or Nylon) are tough and hard to get off. Older wire often had fabric covering. Most now are PVC or similar soft plastics, and can be removed with minor effort.

Some avoid the whole issue and use the dreaded "Suitcase Connectors", aka: "Insulation Displacement" connectors. These are a mixed bag at best. SOMETIMES they work 'OK', and sometimes they don't. It depends a lot on the type wire being used, and finding a suitable connector. A wrong choice can easily damage the wire (see below on 'nicking', which may NOT be immediately apparent). Personally, I avoid them whenever possible.

You can almost always strip a short section of wire with a hobby knife. How neatly this can be done depends on your skill, patience, and the location of the wire. Access can be an issue. Care must be exercised to avoid seriously nicking the wire. A nick causes a 'stress riser', where any future flexing or stress may deepen the scratch in the metal, leading to increased electrical resistance, potential HEATING, and may eventually cause a break. Make LENGTHWISE cuts whenever possible, and 'pare' the insulation away, rather than hacking it off crosswise.

Some types of wire stripper will work in the middle of a wire. You need to make two opposing cuts about a quarter inch apart to cut through the insulation in two places, then use a hobby knife to split and remove the insulation between the cuts. Care must be used to make sure the type and setting of the stripper are correct to void nicking the wire. Again, access can be an issue. Generally, it's faster and neater than doing the whole job with the knife.

Some insulations (very few) can be removed with alcohol, lacquer-thinner, or other solvents ... use adequate ventilation and avoid the FUMES.

Many insulations can be removed with heat (soldering iron or thermal wire-stripper), or fire (a small torch) ... use adequate care to avoid setting anything on FIRE. Again, access can be an issue. Some residue usually remains that must be removed by scraping or sandpaper.

It's a fussy job at best, and can be downright NASTY in some locations. Thus the popularity of the 'suitcase' connectors ... but they have their own (performance) problems.

Dan Mitchell ============

Reply to
Daniel A. Mitchell

Thanks, I guess,everything I've ever written is irrelevant....... ( rimshot)

Back to the argument at hand......

This is like the engineering school trying to design a doghouse.

Just heat the insulation with a lighter and it's gone, no nicks, no cuts, no expensive tools.

Next subject should be " what is the right tool to pick flea crap out of black pepper"

Before anyone jumps in to say it, I already know. Afterall, my father once told me, " son, you'll never have hemmorids. you're a perfect a$$hole

Reply to
the OTHER Mike

in article snipped-for-privacy@j33g2000cwa.googlegroups.com, the OTHER Mike at snipped-for-privacy@aol.com wrote on 3/14/06 12:00 PM:

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Just be careful: some insulation produces toxics when heated to the melting point; hopefully none actually catch file -;)

It does work though; I do it often enough when soldering ;-)

Reply to
Edward A. Oates

Daniel A. Mitchell spake thus:

I think you're being a bit dramatic and overly cautious about this. I've done plenty of cutting wires in the middle, often with none-too-sharp knives (the wrong tools, but what was at hand at the time), and have had very few problems. And I should point out that I'm a certifiable klutz.

If one uses heavy-gauge solid wire for the bus, as one should, a little nick around the circumference of the conductor ain't gonna bother anything. No need to stay awake nights in a cold sweat wondering how far the "wire rot" has progressed due to your cutting a little too deeply into that fat 12-gauge wire.

Reply to
David Nebenzahl

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Don Altenberger

Reply to
Dori

Think global warming. I might remind you that the average global temp was warmer only 1000 years ago.

-- Why do penguins walk so far to get to their nesting grounds?

Reply to
Bob May

Agreed. Some insulations (Teflon for one) are difficult to remove as described. Some char and leave residue that must be scraped off the wire or the solder won't stick, and some produce really annoying fumes. Older cloth covered wire will char and perhaps burn (lots of different fabrics were used). There's also the fire danger in confined spaces, like under a layout. The burn/melt technique, and others, are also difficult to use when the wire to be stripped is one in a tight bundle of wires (especially if they're 'laced' together).

Still, it's fast and simple, *IF* it works for the job at hand.

Dan Mitchell ============

Reply to
Daniel A. Mitchell

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