Thanks to all who replied on this subject. I guess I will have to try some
experiments to prove this to myself. I have always held the statement "A
properly soldered connection is a _reliable_ connection" in my mind,and its
hard to shake it free :)

I kinda find it hard to believe,too,that an average copper-copper twisted
connection has less resistance than a properly twised-and-then-soldered
one.  Solder may have a higher resistivity,but it seems to me that since it
fills in all the gaps in the connection,there is greater contact area,and
the total resistance is lower.

I also find it kinda hard to believe that wires in a 15 to 20 amp circuit
get hot enough to soften solder significantly. Since the wires are (or
SHOULD be) twisted together before soldering, the combination should be al
least as mechanically strong as if it weren't soldered (unless solder acts
as a lubricant at temperatures permissible in a junction box).

Sean

At 03:02 PM 9/19/99 -0600, you wrote:
>>Why DON'T they solder household connections? Is it because they would not
>>be as easily disconnected and reconnected? It seems to me that things would
>>be safer,more reliable, and there would be less voltage drop.
>
>
>Actually, LESS reliable!  Solder has a much higher resistance than copper
>which becomes significant at the currents that some household appliances
>require.
>
>I actually have come to believe that the spring type wire nuts (Marettes,
>Murettes) are FAR more reliable than any other connection I have used in the
>past.  They just have to be installed correctly.  I used to do a lot of
>electrical work (1 year between high school and college) - we used to use
>T&B Sta-Kon crimp splices.  I have since seen many of those splices fail
>over a period of 15 years or so because they became loose (copper cold flow,
>I think).  I have not seen this happen with a wire nut - the spring
>stretches while being tightened and keeps the connection under tension.
>
>Note: I have seen other brands of wire nuts without the spring - I don't use
>them and do not know how reliable they are.
>
>dwayne
>
>
>Dwayne Reid   <dwayner@planet.eon.net>
>Trinity Electronics Systems Ltd    Edmonton, AB, CANADA
>(780) 489-3199 voice          (780) 487-6397 fax
>
>Celebrating 15 years of Engineering Innovation (1984 - 1999)
>
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|
| Sean Breheny
| Amateur Radio Callsign: KA3YXM
| Electrical Engineering Student
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