bare wire and wire nut question

[Doug Miller]

You're getting smarter?

[Chris Lewis]

According to Stormin Mormon :

You run the risk of an inspector deciding that the tape is being used to hide sloppy workmanship, and tear it off to check.

It's better to avoid needing it in the first place. Lining up insulation ends, twisting, and then clipping the wires even is a good way to avoid this problem altogether.

[S. Barker]

Ok, so i suppose you've seen an inspector that actually opens an outlet or junction box??? I think not. And besides, the tape is perfectly acceptable procedure.

s

[SteveB]

dittos on that. Just finaled a project. The inspector inspected the panel when you could see the wiring. In other inspections, the wire was inside the boxes, first without nuts, second with nuts after trimming, and on the final, just pushed the button on the smoke alarm. I figured by that inspection, he had seen enough previously to lead him to believe everything was right.

I would say that IF an inspector pulled a plate, that it was from something he had seen on a previous inspection that said, "Check this work again before final!" Ours was a nice guy, even when things weren't quite right. He'd just tell us how he wanted it, and check it on the next inspection. It was always done, and voila!

Final passed.

woohoo

Steve

Steve

[Chris Lewis]

According to S. Barker :

I most certainly have. In fact, in my last inspection, the inspector noticed that the electrician forget to grease the aluminum subpanel feed connection in the subpanel (which required pulling two panel covers off to find out).

He was about to slice apart the tape and U-bolt splice at the other end's junction box before I told him that I was standing talking to the electrician when he greased it, "I didn't see him do the other end, but yes, I guarantee you he did grease _this_ end, and I'd rather not have to redo _these_ connections.".

Of course it's acceptable procedure. But if the inspector has reason to believe that you've been cutting corners elsewhere, the tape may be a red flag, and he may open up at least one to see if you're hiding. If he finds a sloppy connection, he may well start opening more.

At that, the wording I was using is partially paraphrased from P.S. Knight's books on electrical wiring (which are the DIYers bible for wiring in Canada. He also writes/publishes the primary training material for Canadian electricians) on _exactly_ this topic (taping wirenut connections).

See the electrical wiring FAQ on the same topic.

Of course, some inspectors don't do much. Others take things rather more seriously. And apparently some don't do much if you install a bottle of scotch in the main panel. I liked having this inspector out - not only did he find what might have caused serious problems later on, he also gave me some valuable advice for the wiring of the garage itself, and saved me a lots of work and money when it was done.