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Wire tip Ferrules

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Keith Finch:
Please vote on this to help out our installation departments difference of opinions.

I would also love to have any links to standards for and against their use. If I need to pay for the documents that is fine.

Thank you in advance

Ron Hebbard:

--- Quote from: Keith Finch on July 27, 2018, 08:09:25 PM ---Please vote on this to help out our installation department.

--- End quote ---
  When I was playing IATSE / IBEW Head electrician / department head in a shop building scenery and AC servo automation drives for Canada, Broadway, Offenbach / Frankfurt Germany and London England, we were using Pass & Seymour sleeves hand-crimped by Pass & Seymour's fast and convenient affordable hand tools on sizes from approximately 6 gauge to 22 gauge.  We had a few exceptions:  We weren't using sleeves on soldered connections and we were only using them on stranded copper conductors.  Initially we began with another brand name  ferrules but they were sold in small plastic bags of 100 per bag and we rapidly abandoned them because they cost FAR more per ferrule and we were sweeping far too many of them off the floors at day's end.  Pass & Seymour's method of packaging their ferrules in color-coded strips approximately 6 to 8 inches long per strip was  FAR more convenient to purchase, inventory, stock and use.  Pass & Seymour had two sizes of hand tools covering the range from 6 or 8 gauge to 22.  All of our wire-persons were soon Pass & Seymour fans. 
Toodleoo! 
Ron Hebbard

Ron Hebbard:

--- Quote from: Keith Finch on July 27, 2018, 08:09:25 PM ---Please vote on this to help out our installation departments difference of opinions.

I would also love to have any links to standards for and against their use. If I need to pay for the documents that is fine.

Thank you in advance

--- End quote ---
Hi Keith; Another comment based upon my experiences in the aforementioned scenery and automated AC servo shop.  If we had two, or even three, stranded copper conductors to land on a single connection point, we'd often strip each conductor a little long, untwist each conductor's strands, line up each conductor's insulation then twist them together to form one larger diameter conductor which we'd enclose within a single, appropriately sized, ferrule then crimp the ferrule in place, trim any excess strands extending out past the length of the ferrule before inserting the ferrule within the contact and torquing the screw.  As previously stated, we all became quite fond of using Pass and Seymour's color-coded and insulated ferrules.  No, I'm not affiliated with Pass and Seymour and never have been. 
I'm interested in hearing your thoughts and opinions. 
Toodleoo! 
Ron Hebbard

Nathan Riddle:
At my day job we use the Phoenix Contact tool kits.

We terminate hundreds if not thousands of 26-16awg wires with them. Really makes for clean installs, no shorts, easy to troubleshoot, etc.

https://www.phoenixcontact.com/online/portal/us?uri=pxc-oc-itemdetail:pid=1202072&library=usen&tab=1

Keith Finch:
Ron

I have used Ferrules for at least 18-years possibly 20. I use them on stranded wire connections that have small gauge wires, or thin strands. I find that the Insulated type keeps those peaky whiskers from causing shorts. You know the ones on that 26g wire you put in the euro block behind the rack in the AV closet with no lights using a mini mag in your teeth. Also all my captive screw connections on install equipment like Soundweb, Symetrix, Extron, AMX, Yamaha MYx cards, QSC amps, and many others.

The pole I placed in this thread was in hopes of seeing how many installers here have the same opinion I have that it’s a “better” way to do a professional job. I am not saying that not using them is unprofessional just in the long run it cost so little for parts and takes such a small amount of time to install. Build time adds up on any job. But that time is offset in a possibly better end product, and less troubleshooting and call backs from wiring errors. This really adds up on jobs with non-professional or new workers. And modifying things like serial cable send/return pinouts are a snap.

On my current job the lead tech believes it takes too much time to do, and he does not see the benefit or value in their use. I would love to be able to persuade him otherwise, but from the poll I don’t think PSW is the best place to get feedback on this one, even with the large amount of knowledgeable readers.
Keith

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