Large Scale Central

Advice on 12V DC distribution for lighting

Electronics Power and Sound
#41

Done and Done!

And I get what you say, there is another shortcoming in these connectors, if you are wanting to “tap into” a bus, you have to cut that wire, and no matter how good the connector is, you have cut and re-spliced your wires.

What I have done in my landscaping is leave the wire intact, and strip about 3" of insulation without cutting the wire. Now I fold that stripped part in the middle, and can now use that folded over part in a wire nut, along with the other wires to be “tapped in”… so my “bus” remains unbroken/uncut… it might be a fine point but I felt better when I needed to “tap in” near the beginning of a long run…

I have about 9 separate landscape lighting runs, some are pretty long

Greg

#42

I like splicing into a wire also instead of cutting it.

#43

I am always bemused by the interesting products that get re-invented to solve problems that we who own boats know how to solve.

A boat operates in a wet environment, often with salt in the air. Wiring is always tinned (similar to galvanized metal) so the wires don’t corrode, and the connectors are marine grade butt connectors with shrink-wrap already added. Stick your 2 or 3 wires in the connector, give it a squeeze, wave a flame around [carefully] and the adhexive and sleeve will seal the wires. Done - one waterproof connection.

#44

Those are seriously cool. I may switch over to those. Thanks!

#45

Jim Rowson said:

Those are seriously cool. I may switch over to those. Thanks!

Available in many variations at your local West Marine store.

#46

If you use landscaping wire, it comes as “twin lead”, and when you zip it apart, it has little ridges. Ordinary shrink tubing does not work well on irregular insulation.

I do like shopping at West Marine because of all the corrosion proof stuff.

I see those connectors there, I see there is adhesive there, but it won’t compensate for the irregular ribs on split landscape wire, and of course it won’t do the job Jim wants, is to put several wires in one connector.

Hard to beat the devices already invented for this specific task.

Greg

#47

Greg Elmassian said:

If you use landscaping wire, it comes as “twin lead”, and when you zip it apart, it has little ridges. Ordinary shrink tubing does not work well on irregular insulation.

I do like shopping at West Marine because of all the corrosion proof stuff.

I see those connectors there, I see there is adhesive there, but it won’t compensate for the irregular ribs on split landscape wire, and of course it won’t do the job Jim wants, is to put several wires in one connector.

Hard to beat the devices already invented for this specific task.

Greg

I doubt the ridges stop the shrink wrap from working. A little sandpaper may deal with that.

And you really think that boats don’t have to put multiple wires in the same connector? https://www.westmarine.com/buy/ancor–heat-shrink-step-down-multi-wire-connectors–P015982408?recordNum=2

However, I recommend you stick to what you are used to, as I do.

#48

Pete said -“However, I recommend you stick to what you are used to, as I do.”

I absolutely agree. There is little reason to reinvent the wheel. Use your basic knowledge and try new items that will enhance it, but don’t abandon basic skills and knowledge.

#49

Pete, that definitely won’t work at watertight, no matter what the advertisement says. There is not enough “adhesive” in those connectors to bridge the gap between 2 round wires side by side. You can tell this by the illustration, the lack of apparent thickness of the “adhesive” and the fact you can almost see through it. Both say “thin coat of adhesive”.

Look at this site… scroll down to “heavy duty adhesive lined”… https://crimpsupply.com/shrink-tubing/adhesive-lined

That black “heavy duty” stuff would work, it has a lot of “goo” inside it… look right below, and you will see your yellow butt connectors, and that they do not say you can use multiple wires, while the black stuff says explicitly.

That’s why you either have a connector with multiple round ports, or you use the ScotchCast “bag of epoxy” or get the really heavy duty stuff… …

That connector will probably be waterproof if you put a single round wire in each end, but in my mind, the amount of “adhesive” is questionable except for very smooth and round insulation and one wire each end.

(by the way, living in San Diego, I have been to West Marine many times, since 1972)

I’ve done electronics on boats, buried lots of landscape wire connections (I have about 12 separate landscape circuits, all buried in ground that actually gets wet and has lasted 20 years), and done a lot of wiring on the tops of amateur radio antenna towers.

The bottom line, water will work it’s way into any gap eventually.

Greg