ECN Forum Forums Code Related Discussion NEC & other Code issues Job Specifications

Can someone tell me what type of connector this engineer is asking for? Job is an Albertsons Express

"All joints in conductors shall be made by first twisting the conductors and then apply a UL approved insulated, cadmium plated, live steel, spring type connector in all sizes up to the catalogue capacity of the connectors. Wire nuts will NOT be accepted."

Sounds like a wire nut to me.

yup sounds like a wirenut to me too

There are some wire nuts that do not have the steel spring inside. I wouldn't use them and maybe that's what they are talking about.

-Hal

You can tell them to correct their wording. UL does not "approve" anything, it "lists"

Call the engineer and ask him WTF?

In my experience most job specs are an error filled joke, 90% being boiler plate stuff that gets cycled from job to job. Apparently if the spec book weights more than 3 lbs. the engineer can justify a higher fee.

My current job the spec. for sleeving conduits through masonry walls is obviously copied directly from a plumbing spec. complete with the requirement for chrome escutcheons. Have you ever installed chrome escutcheons on your electrical conduit? Well my spec says that I have to!

GJ

I have submitted in writing to the EE a request for a manufacturer and part number for reference. I'll let you guys know when I receive an answer.

Maybe they mean these?

http://www.idealindustries.com/wt/IdcPushin.nsf

GJ
Maybe that is why some of the low ball artists say the only specs they look at are on the windshield

e57,
Those look like like Wago connectors. But if you "Pre-twist" the wires, how do you insert them?
Perhaps you should send an e-mail to the President of the Engineering company requesting the name and school that this "engineer" graduated from. Explain that you need the name of the school so you can send a letter to the Dean of the school asking if it is possible to revoke the diploma of this so-called graduate.
~Peter

You could call it a wire cap. I had a college engineering project where we had to call things by specific names (Photovoltaics instead of solar panels) and if we called it anything else, we were docked points. I called the current leakage protector a "GFCI" and I was docked points because my prof. said it was called a "GFI." I thought this was bad, but this engineer has me beat!

In my experience most job specs are an error filled joke, 90% being boiler plate stuff that gets cycled from job to job...

Tell me about it. I get specs that call for a 20 year warranty on CAT 5e data wiring! To who, the guy who owns the dump??

-Hal

http://www.wago.com/web/us/pdf/wall.pdf


Thats what I was thinking of, couldn't remember the name of the company. But maybe they meant twist the strands before inserting? (Although, appantly not require for this product any longer...) Not all together.. Only thing non-wire nut I can think of..... Has steel spring, don't know about this plating or other non-sense, you got me.

But, yes, I'm sure we can all go on forever bagging on screwy plans and spec's. I've also seen my share of plans that look like cartoons, and equally animated spec's. The worst is when you get someone that, in order to save face, will try to justify thier faux pas. Then you have to beat it out of them to complete the job.

A while back, an Arch. on this one project had every trade lined up for hours clarifying his "design". He got so wigged out, he hopped in his car, backed into a pole really hard, (Made like it didn't happen!) and bolted!

Uh, folks—here’s a not-so-dirty little secret. CSI-type specs are not much of a secret these days. Many institutional and governmental projects post their {division 16, in our trade} specifications wholesale on the internet.

Dogpile/Yahoo/Google “16470” as an example—a fair number of hits are CSI boilerplate for panelboards—most all in .doc/.pdf/.html, ready to go. To me, this provides little excuse for bonehead a&e folks handing out and charging a mint for crappy specs in a fair portion of electrical-design work for buildings.

I think the pathetic, mealy-mouthed “specification” is a terribly reworded version out of something like a 3M “Scotchlok” Y/R/G/B-connector brochure. [“Wirenut” is a registered trademark of Ideal Industries.]

I think Bjarney's on to something here... Scotchlocks are also called "Spring-Nuts"... Is there a point to specifying Spring-nuts? Or maybe they just want to keep the overseas generic crap out of the job.... Would've been a hella lot easier to just say that

I've had EE's do everything from asking for things that would be NEC violations to spec'ing out manufacturers that are long out of existance... (Sierra was one...)

-Randy

Yes, I have been guilty of specs with obsolete parts and other mistakes in them. I hope that when you get on one of my jobs that you call me and complain (called constructive critisism by some). Mistakes make everybodies job miserable, are inevitable occasionally, and can be minimized. Sloppiness does not belong anywhere given the fact that even a pig will keep a clean pen if allowed (of course chickens don't count).

Shane

Kenny:
A while ago......had to use a 'Buchanan' item, two parts. Copper 'cap' that you crimped over a twisted splice, and an insulating 'clear plastic boot' that slipped over the crimp. (Hopefully, I remember that correctly)

Could this be your mystery item??? I hope not! Sounds to me like you are looking for a splice cap, commonly called a "WIRENUT"

John