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Snap of a wire nut from 2008 finally gave out last Tuesday
I was finishing up a retrofit install in an old house near Springfield and the power supply just died mid-test. Opened it up and found one of those cheap tan wire nuts from the late 2000s completely cracked and the connection had arced. Whole thing took me an extra 2 hours to redo the wiring and replace the supply. Anyone else seeing these old plastic nuts fail more often now?
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joseph_adams661mo ago
Down near Springfield or up by Springfield?
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grantschmidt1mo ago
Had a similar one two winters ago on a thermostat wire in a crawlspace. The nut wasn't even cracked on the outside but the spring inside was rusted to nothing and the plastic just crumbled when I touched it. Took me forever to figure out why the furnace kept cutting out.
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Honestly that "plastic just crumbled" part got me. I used to think wire nuts were basically indestructible unless you physically broke them. Never crossed my mind the plastic or the spring could just give out like that from age or moisture. Changed my whole view on how I check those things now.
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