The internet as a source of information.

[Ross]

More contentious than anchors or crimp vs. solder. One thing we know for sure though is that wire nuts are verboten on boats...

My buddy Darren actually fired a guy over wire nuts. Darren owns the company and the guy refused to install nuts the way Darren wanted on his jobs, so, gone....Over a few extra seconds per termination the guy gave up a great job..

AND he was probably being paid by the hour.

 

[Ross]

There are several right ways to use wire nuts and a few wrong ones. Insuffient torque is the most obvious, stripping too long and leaving exposed conductor happens too often, over filling is next on my list. I had a friend connect #12 wire for an electric heater with wire nuts and didn't tighten them adequately and therefore didn't have enough contact area between the conductors. When a full load was applied the connection over heated, he smelled it and no harm was done except to his pride. Had he twisted the conductors before he applied the wire nut it wouldn't have over heated. if he had adequately tightened the nut, it wouldn't have happened, if he had done both he could have been totally certain that it wouldn't ever happen.

 

[TimCup]

Ross- the internet is a great source of info, but it needs a garbage man. I was reading about the guy that developed the nautilus workouts, and he stated- absolutely- that steroids have NO EFFECT on building muscle. Research showed the article was written in 1980, before the net was invented (by Al Gore, right?). I think one reason there are so many different opinions on the net is because the older info is still available!

 

[BobT]

Ok here goes....

A three way switch is not aptly named. It should be a three-wire switch. Or "Y" switch.
In words:
Power enters the bottom of the first "Y" and goes out one top end or the other, depending on the switch position. At the other end is a "Y" switch the power enters the top of the "Y" and goes to the light fixture out of the base of the "Y". If either switch position is changed the power is switched from one side of the connecting pair of wires to the other... the third wire in the circuit is the neutral that must go all the way to the light. (And of course, a ground wire).

Wire nuts are my least favorite way to connect solid to stranded wire, or stranded to stranded. And none at all on the boat, please.

 

[Ross]

Ok here goes....

A three way switch is not aptly named. It should be a three-wire switch. Or "Y" switch.
In words:
Power enters the bottom of the first "Y" and goes out one top end or the other, depending on the switch position. At the other end is a "Y" switch the power enters the top of the "Y" and goes to the light fixture out of the base of the "Y". If either switch position is changed the power is switched from one side of the connecting pair of wires to the other... the third wire in the circuit is the neutral that must go all the way to the light. (And of course, a ground wire).

Wire nuts are my least favorite way to connect solid to stranded wire, or stranded to stranded. And none at all on the boat, please.

The switch known in the trades as a three way is technically a single pole double throw three terminal switch.

As to wire nuts just how would you connect the wire in a house and meet code without wirenuts?

 

[Old Skool Neil]

In my experience the best wire nuts are the Gardner or Ideal wing nuts. They cost more but are well worth it.

The trick to connecting stranded and solid wire is to have the stranded wire a little deeper into the wire nut. That is, when aligning the wires before installing the nut, the stranded wire should be a hair longer than the solid.

Further, IMHO wire nuts have no place on board a boat. The good ones (mentioned above) have steel coils inside that will promptly rust to high Heaven.

And finally, Ross is spot on with the more accurate SPDT description of a three way switch. What to call a four way switch is an entirely different matter.