Shrink tubes vs Basic block

If it's something you don't move around or look at, terminals are much easier to use.

I use heatshrink when it's something visible or when it has be moved around because I always worry about accidentally shorting the exposed parts of terminals.

>>1063783
just crimp it and wrap it in duct tape

get decorative duct tape if you care how it looks

>>1063784
Do you know if one or both have a security flaw that one should be aware of?
Sure 20-50W shit is probably safe either way unless short-circuited but a pleb like me don't know

>>1063794
They are both pretty secure, and you would have to be really unlucky to accidentally short a terminal block. I personally recommend terminal blocks because they are nearly impossible to fuck up, while it is possible to fuck up heatshrink by heating it too much etc.

>>1063800
Kek how would you know if you fucked up a heat shrink with HEAT?

>>1063807
Damn phone.. Would 2 or more tubes secure it better?

>>1063783
Heat shrink sleeve isn't an electrical connection, neither is it a mechanical fixing, it's usually just used as insulation to stop things shorting out.

Terminal strips are great but there are limitations. You shouldn't use stranded wire in a screw clamp because the stands will separate and make a poor connection. Current causes heat, a bad connection heats and cools, expands and contacts and works itself loose, if you clamp strands you are starting off at a disadvantage by reducing the contact area and increasing resistance for each loose or broken strand. In the same vein be weary of clamping too many wires under a single screw, most competent people will tell you not to clamp more than one wire per screw unless its designed for it, some screw terminals like in a junction box the screw is the entire width of the bit where you put the wire so nothing can slip up the side and not be clamped.
If you want to use stranded wire get a crimper and crimp a bootlace ferule over the conductors before screwing down.
Use a ratchet crimper.
If you are crimping things anyway you can just use crimp connections which can be considered electrical and mechanical connection, but you should still provide strain relief to the wire, cable tie or clip it to something.
There are loads of crimp connections available but they are a little less friendly for someone else modifying later because you have to cut off and throw away the crimp instead of undoing a screw.

You can get maintenance free connectors for mains wire but they cost a little more. Check out wago connectors for example.

You shouldn't need to wrap a screw terminal but if you do use heatshrink not electrical tape. Don't use electrical tape for anything long term.

Don't expect solder to be a mechanical connection. Don't tin any wires for anything unless its explicitly required, never tin a wire for screw terminals or crimp terminals.

Give all your wires a gentle tug to make sure they are secure

>>1063783
>what are butt splices

Why is /diy/ always trying to reinvent the wheel?

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>>1063822
this guy knows what's up.

Let me provide a short TL;DR for newbs:

Use crimp on butt connectors with integrated heat shrink. Buy a dedicated crimping tool. Ratcheting is best, but if you're a jew you can get away with a Channellock 909 or Klein 1005. Stay away from GB or other off brand crimping pliers.

Don't used normal pliers or wire strippers to crimp, you'll fuck up the insulation.

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>>1063847
What iz dat?

>>1064004
metal tube with plastic outside. put a stripped wire in each end, and squeeze together the tube, fixing the wires in there.

>>1063852
My wire strippers have yet to fuck up the insulation on those.

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>>1063793
Duct tape (you probably mean electrical tape) eventually loses it's stickiness and starts to unravel, and dust accumulates on the glue, which isn't aesthetically pleasing.

>>1063783
This is like comparing hammers and drills. They are different tools for different applications.

>>1064004
Butt splice wire connectors.

>>1063822
>never tin a wire for screw terminals

Y?

>>1064225
It's pure autism but the belief is that the change in materials, from copper to tin to whatever the screw is made from, causes distortion and inhibits the electron flow.

>>1063793

Ya, do this if you're sloppy and you want your work to eventually fall apart.

This is the kind of shit you see in south america and africa.

Don't be a nigger with electricity.

>>1064225
You won't get as much surface area after you tin it because solder is hard and won't compress like stranded wire. That being said, neither should go into a screw terminal. Best way is to use spade connectors.

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>>1064225
The real reason is that tin responds to mechnical load differently than other metals. Tin creeps under load, it slowly deforms, until there is no force left. So even if you tighten the screws of the luster terminal, the tinned wire inside will creep and the connection will become loose after a while. This means higher resistance, unreliability, and dangerous heat. I experienced this myself long before learning about the metallurgical background.
Long story short, use crimped wire-end sleeves or the bare wire, everything is better than tinned wire ends.

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In general, soldering is better when you want a pleasing look, have space constraints, need the joint to be watertight (use shrink wrap with glue inside) or your time is worth really little and you shun the cost of a terminal.

Terminals are good if you can't really operate a soldering iron where you are working, like balancing on a latter and not having 4 hands, when you cannot into soldering, or when the connection should be loosend again some time, like when you install a different lamp on the ceiling.

Luster terminals are also outdated. Wago terminals are the real deal, I just got myself a couple dozen of every size and I love them.

>>1063822
Would you ever use a wago in a box when hard wiring a house? These is something about wire nuts that just makes me feel like they aren't really secure or make good connections

>>1064490
no
>>1064534
possible i guess
>>1064697
yes exactly this. solder is soft and low melting point. its bad juju to try and clamp it it will creep and make high resistance connections and burn down your house or whatever.

>>1065786
i have personally never used them however they are tempting. electrical code here means all connections requiring maintenance must be accessible but lots of old houses have lighting junction boxes etc hidden under floors which is hardly accessible when you have to empty the room, pull up the carpet and sometimes cut a hole in the floor. wago (and others) are 'maintenance free' so you can keep a guilt free conscience.

I have replaced ceramic wire nuts where they were used previously when its just two wires but i have come across a wire nut with 8 or 9 wires that i needed to add another wire to and unless you have about 5 hands its very difficult to get all the wires in properly and make a good connection.
I feel ok with twisting wires together and then putting the wire nut on (how i always find them) but i understand this is not how you are supposed to use them. i don't know, i have never bought any or read any official documentation. either way doing this with lots of wires is fucking misery. wago do a connector for like 8 1.5mmsq wires which seems like a pretty fucking good idea, terminal blocks and crimpers won't save you in this situation without some effort too. so yeah next time i will have some ready to try out.

>>1063804
it melts....

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>>1065786
Do not worry, Wago exceeds the standard requirements by a large margin:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ji1Yz8Nluc

I personally tested both the 222 and 221, and the transparent 221 has even lower resistance.

>>1063847
Those are great for car wiring, but if used outside the body of the vehicle or trailer, still use heat shrink tube over those connectors to keep water out. Important if living in rust belt where winter salt water can get everywhere.