Just discovered a dangerous shortcut with wire nuts on 12 gauge

I was doing a panel swap last Tuesday on a house built in 1978 in Portland. Someone had used the wrong size wire nuts on 12 gauge copper, just twisted them on without pre-twisting the wires. I broke three joints apart with barely any effort during my inspection. Has anyone else seen this kind of lazy work causing loose connections and fire hazards?

2 comments

2 Comments

kim_hart717d ago

I mean, "barely any effort" is basically describing how I do all my electrical work, so that's a little too real for me. Maybe it's just me but I'm pretty sure that's how you start a fire, not finish a job.

riverm4817d agoTop Commenter

Agree completely. I once patched a hole in my drywall with a paper plate and toothpaste because it was 11pm and I needed it done right then. It actually held up for like six months until I finally redid it properly. The scary part is that approach works just often enough to make you think it's fine until it really isnt. Have you ever had one of those half-effort fixes that stuck around way longer than it should have?