Can we talk about how many people still use the wrong size wire nuts?

I was helping a friend rewire a ceiling fan in his old house in Springfield last weekend. He had a bag of those orange wire nuts, the ones for 22 to 18 gauge wire, and was trying to use them on 14 gauge conductors. The connection felt loose and looked wrong. I explained that using an undersized connector is a real fire risk because it can't grip properly. Has anyone else run into this with DIYers or even on a job site?

3 comments

3 Comments

jamie60212d ago

Orange ones work fine if you twist hard enough.

jana_miller3112d ago

Yeah but @jamie602, what happens when you need to open a new jar of pickles later. Your hand is totally wrecked from the first one. Orange ones just shred the skin off your palm. I had to use a towel for a pasta sauce lid last week, looked ridiculous.

calebhayes12d ago

Totally feel you on the shredded palm thing, jana_miller31. That gritty texture is BRUTAL. But the real problem is the jar itself. If you run the lid under hot water for a solid minute, the metal expands way more than the glass. It breaks the seal completely. Then you can open it with zero pain, even with wet hands. It's a total game changer for any stubborn lid.