During the operation of any electrical appliances, situations may arise that can be solved by increasing the wiring. The need may arise if the wire in the outlet breaks (how to extend the aluminum or copper wire will be described in this article) or it will not work to put an electrical appliance next to the outlet. There are several ways to build wiring with your own hands.
How to extend the wire in the outlet using the terminal?
This method is suitable for splicing conductors of the same or different metals. In this case, it is recommended to observe the following rule: only those circuits can be connected in which the current will not exceed the rated current (it is indicated on the terminal block). Therefore, it is advisable to purchase these items only in trusted stores with a good reputation, otherwise there is a risk of getting a fake that can melt and burn.
For this purpose, you can use:
- WAGO terminals (suitable for connecting stranded wires);
- polyethylene terminal blocks (cheaper alternative, not suitable for connecting stranded wires).
When using the second option, you need to be prepared for the fact that with a strong tightening of the monolithic core, the metal part of the element may crack.
Twisting strands
This method is the most unsafe, but at the same time the most popular among experienced electricians (at home it is recommended to resort to it only in exceptional cases). Before you extend the electrical wire in the outlet in this way, you need to evaluate the possibility of twisting. To build in this way, it is necessary that the broken end be longer than 3 cm. Only in this case can reliable splicing be ensured. It is also not recommended to use this method in its pure form, since it is prohibited by the rules for electrical installations. Therefore, it is recommended to combine it with sleeve crimping or soldering.
Soldering
This method is considered universal, because it allows you to find a solution to the question of how to extend the short wires in the outlet, increase the cable of sufficient length. Suitable for extending the cable in the outlet only with a soldering iron and relevant experience. The advantages lie in the high quality of the result and the possibility of using large conductors (4-6 mm2).
For soldering wires, you need to equip a special place. All tools and materials must be laid out in such a way as to preventthe possibility of getting them under the sting. To extend the wire you will need:
- rosin;
- tinol;
- flux;
- soldering iron and stand for it;
- a sponge that can be used to remove dirt from the sting.
Soldering is performed in the following sequence:
- First you need to tin the wires. If you are soldering a multi-core cable, you must first twist it. This must be done in such a way that the rosin completely covers the surface of the wire.
- Now you can cover the cables with solder (tinol). To do this, you need to melt the solder a little with the tip of the soldering iron, and then move the tip over the intended area.
- After that, you can twist the wires if they are of small section. If the cross section is large, then they are first twisted, then immersed in rosin for tinning, and then soldered.
Crimping with sleeves
To solve the problem, during which there is no idea how to extend the aluminum wire in the outlet, you can choose sleeves. It is not always advisable to use this method if the cable was broken in the outlet itself, there may not be enough space for this. The following tools are required for crimping:
- press tongs (manual for sleeves with a section of less than 1.2 sq. mm and mechanical with hydraulic drive);
- pliers with a matrix for crimping several cores of various sizes, the matrix is regulated by a punch.
There are two crimping methods:
- local indentation (the quality of crimping is normalized by the depth of the pits, which is measured with a special caliper);
- solid compression (the quality criterion is the size of the resulting section).
The execution technology itself is almost the same:
- Treat the sleeve (if it is aluminum) and the wire with special grease. It will reduce the risk of damage to the core during crimping, as well as reduce friction.
- Crimp the ends of the wire with a special figured press until a round shape is obtained.
- Now the cable must be inserted into the cartridge until it stops, and then into the pliers.
- After that, you need to create an outer insulating layer, for which you can use electrical tape or elbow cloth.
- Finish the job by folding the wire and cable into the junction box.
Use branch clamps
Sometimes the problem arises how to lengthen the wire in the outlet without cutting the cable. To extend the wire, you can use various branch clamps, such as a walnut. Used to make branches without breaking the main line. This part is installed at the junction of the main cable with branch wires, and the first is not cut. The connection is made after removing part of the outer insulation. The clamp with the wire just needs to be fixed.
In this way, copper and aluminum electrical wires can be connected, and if cables from different materials are connected,requires the use of a brass intermediate plate. It will prevent oxidation.
Such clamps consist of:
- dielectric housing (most often made of polycarbonate);
- metal core. It, in turn, consists of two dies (there are grooves in them where the wires are inserted) and a plate between them.
All parts of the clamp are bolted together.
Using scotchlocks
They can be used to connect circuits in an outlet, but they are more effective at connecting information wires. Scotchlok is a clamping terminal block. In this case, the core is fixed by compression in the knife-type contact.
The entire structure of the terminal block is in a housing made of dielectric material (polypropylene or flame retardant nylon). This allows you to isolate the connection. A special U-shaped contact is located inside the case, which is able to cut through the wire insulation, which ensures the connection of the cable.
Among the advantages of such a connection are:
- moisture protection;
- long-term operation of such a wire;
- high connection reliability.
Building a wire if a core breaks in a wall or ceiling
Often the cores can break in the socket (or at the place where the chandelier is attached). Unfortunately, restoring the wiring in this case is not so simple. Often the problem is that during stripping it is found that there is not enough distance to connect the veins, which is why it is not always possible to understand how to lengthenwire in socket.
A similar situation can happen if you need to move the socket or switch to another place, but one of the wires broke during electrical work.
There may be several solutions:
- if the length of the wiring is sufficient, then you can install a terminal block, thanks to which in the future to extend the short conductor;
- if the question arose of how to extend the wire in the socket from the wall, and if too small a piece of wire sticks out of it, then part of the wall will need to be broken so that a sufficient length of the cable can be released, then strip the core (then the strobe will need to be sealed with putty).
Cable extension in water
It may be necessary to extend the cable, which will later be located in the water, for example, when using a submersible well pump. In this case, the answer to the question of how to extend the wire in the outlet can be only one solution: you need to connect the wires using a terminal block. After splicing, the joint must be insulated. For this purpose, it is recommended to take a heat shrink tube. To do this, cut off a piece of the desired length (10% more than the size of the terminal block), pull this piece onto the wire, and then warm it up with a lighter (or other source of fire), moving from one end to the other.
The heating rate and the required temperature are most often selected empirically, so it is recommended that you first experiment on an unnecessary piece of wire. This iswill avoid possible insulation problems in the future, which is very important, because the cable will be in the water.
How to extend the wire in the socket for a powerful electrical appliance?
There is another situation that needs to be taken very seriously - the extension of the wire that will be used to connect powerful household appliances. For example, for an oven, air conditioner or electric stove. A similar situation may arise if the device itself cannot be installed near the outlet, or the copper wire has broken off at the input.
As a rule, the cable section is not less than 6 square meters. mm, so the terminal block will not help in this case. This is due to the fact that the current loads will be large, and the terminal block simply cannot withstand them. In this case, it is recommended to choose the soldering method. After that, the junction must be insulated.
It is also allowed to connect wires with sleeves or welding.
Lengthening the wire with your own hands is not so difficult. The main thing in this matter is to choose the right method and strict adherence to the extension technology. Regardless of the method of connecting the wires, one must not forget about the need for insulation, which is one of the requirements for the operation of any electrical appliance.
