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Push in connectors vs. wire nuts

19K views 5 replies 5 participants last post by  Daniel Holzman 
#1 ·
Hey guys,

You guys helped me with my prior question/issue, so I figured I would ask what your thoughts were on the types of connectors available to us to use. You have the traditional wire nuts, but you also have these nifty push in connectors.

Are there any drawbacks to using the push in connectors? They are approved for code, but are they really reliable? Once I button things up, I don't anticipate having to go back in to do any work (then again, who does right :)).

So, which do you prefer, and why? I'm really interested to know the "why" part.

I like the idea of the push in plugs as they take up less space and are easier to work with. Plus, they are approved to meet code, so that's obviously good. However, I recall when the push in outlets were just hitting the market and how bad they were. Is this more of the same thing, or did they improve on that setup to make it more reliable/secure?

Thanks!
 
#4 ·
I read all the posts in that link above. thanks for posting it. There seems to be a contradiction in there though that has me puzzled. Some there stated that they think they are great but don't use them instead of wire nuts. I would think if you used them instead of wire nuts and you were satisfied with them, then wouldn't you want to stick with them?

Also, when using wire nuts I've been told that you should pre-twist the wires before nutting them. I've also been told it's not necessary. Which is true and why? I've never pre-twisted my wires. I get all the tips of the wires together, jam them in the nut as far as I can, then twist the nut until the wires start twisting together. Haven't wired a ton of stuff either though, so take that for what it's worth.

Thanks again for all of the advice. I really appreciate the information and not being treated like I'm an idiot. Forums like this are great as they aren't here to berate, but rather to help.
 
#6 ·
I use both wire nuts and push ins. The push ins are very convenient, so I use them most of the time. I have wire nuts with ears, makes them relatively easy to twist, and I don't need to pretwist the wires with ear nuts. The old wire nuts without the ears , I pretwisted those wires. As for electricity flowing better under pressure, I never heard that before, it makes little sense to me. As long as the wires are touching, electricity will flow. Of course, if you are concerned that the spring load in the push in will relax over time, that is an issue, however I have been using them for several years without any apparent issues. Maybe in 20 years they will loosen?
 
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