From: andrew@cucumber.demon.co.uk (Andrew Gabriel)
Newsgroups: alt.engineering.electrical,sci.electronics.basics,sci.electronics.design,sci.engr.electrical.compliance
Subject: Re: wire joining practice..
Date: 23 Sep 2002 11:17:00 GMT
Organization: Sun Microsystems
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In article <3D8D92CD.856FC4B7@prontoremovethismail.com>,
AC/DCdude17 writes:
> By the way, what methods are used to make splices outside North America?
> Here wire-to-wire connections are made with wire nuts. You hold two wires
> together, and you slip on a special lid thing and twist it on. That's it. I
> doubt you'll see many crimp on terminals or crimp on splices here. What
> happened to spade terminals and such here?
In the UK:
If the terminal will remain accessible without wrecking decorations
or building fabric, screw terminals are used where you insert the
wire into a hole and clamp a screw onto it. One variation on this is
what I think you are calling split bolts, but I don't like them very
much, and machined brass screw terminals are preferred. Wrap-around
screw terminals are no longer used. Terminals must be within a fire-
retardant enclosure, and are usually an integral part of that
enclosure. You should be able to occasionally disassemble/reassemble
such connections for testing, fault-finding and circuit expansion.
As others have said, wirenuts/screwits have not been used for
probably 50 or more years in UK, and I don't think they were ever
particularly popular.
If the terminal will not remain accessible without wrecking
decorations or building fabric, crimp or soldered connections must
be used, but generally the use of inaccessible connections is to
be avoided whereever possible.
I have just made a recommendation that the UK Wiring Regulations be
changed to require inaccessible connections to be fully waterproofed
against submersion in areas where they are located below the maximum
flood level. Again, avoiding them altogether is better, but will not
always be completely viable.
--
Andrew Gabriel