Modern life cannot be imagined without electrical appliances: TV, computer, food processor, washing machine, iron, ironing machine, heater, fireplace, coffee grinder, kettle, refrigerator, etc. Well, it’s absolutely impossible to imagine our life without electric lamps that help us live comfortably in the evening, morning and night.
Entering the house at night, our hand first of all reaches for the switch. We vaguely imagine how people used to live without electricity. But in order to use electricity in our apartments, houses, garages, offices, it is necessary to supply this same electricity.
Wiring
Electricity is supplied to consumers by wires. It is important to know how to connect the wires for this purpose around the apartment. Wiring of wires in apartments and houses is done on the basis of what and where will be placed in the apartment, where lamps, lamps,floor lamps and all kinds of electrical appliances.
In order to install sockets and switches, so that life is trouble-free, wiring must be done correctly. The most common damage during the passage of current through the wires is usually an open circuit. Such a nuisance manifests itself, as a rule, at the junctions of wires (in twists, terminals, clamps). With such a breakdown, the consequences can be disastrous. Consider how to properly connect the wires. There are some peculiarities here. Failure to follow certain rules can lead to malfunctions in the power supply system and even to a fire.
How to connect copper wires
Copper wires allow connection in any way - twisting, soldering, screw, terminal blocks, etc. Switching from aluminum to copper wires improves the quality of connections. Since 2001, risers have been prescribed to be made only with copper wires and to switch to the same conductors everywhere. Aluminum wires are approved for use by consumers with a known, constant, guaranteed power. For sockets that ensure the operation of household appliances, where the load is constantly changing, only copper cables and wires are used. In construction, for external electrical wiring (underground cables, overhead lines, etc.), aluminum is used according to existing standards. Today, many houses are still equipped with aluminum wiring, and no one is going to redo it all to copper. But during repairs, for example, changes in the location of outlets occur in apartments. It must be remembered here that the contact of these two is unacceptable.materials.
Branch clamps
Tubing clamps are used to branch off a whole wire. Electricians affectionately call them "nuts" because of their similarity to the walnut case.
They are arranged as follows: these are two steel plates in which there are grooves for conductors and they are compressed by four screws, and between them there is also a flat plate that separates copper and aluminum wires. Such models are available for both home and outdoor work. They are mainly used for draining to apartments from an aluminum riser.
Connect two wires - how?
The simplest thing is to twist the wires and fix them by soldering, but it takes a long time. It is easier to use the terminal block, where the twist is inserted and tightened with one or two screws. In this case, it is important to press with a flat plate so as not to cut the strands. When there is no such plate, soldering or putting on a thin-walled tip on the twist is required - this prevents the destruction of the wires in the terminal. Soldering is carried out mainly on soft stranded conductors, and this leads to mechanical stress, displacement of the wire and a break at the end of the tinned section.
Getting away from simple twisting
Anyone who wants to do something with electrical wiring on his own: hang a chandelier, install a socket, a switch, asks himself the question of how to connect the wires? Previously, they simply twisted two wires (or more) and insulated, but this is often unsafe and clumsy.
The situation is changing for the better every year. When connecting rigid single-wire cores, they are fixed with caps, soldering, spring terminals, welding, screw clamps. In mass construction, connections were previously fixed with plastic caps. Now they are widely used and available to everyone. Inside the caps there is a special gel that prevents oxidation, or a conical spring that is screwed onto twisted connections, as if by a thread. Spring caps are used for a certain number of wires: two of 4 sq. mm or four by 1.5 sq. mm and no more.
The newer 3-wire circuit is now used, and it is safer than the 2-wire. The new implemented circuit is when no current flows through the protective conductor in the operating mode, and therefore, the connections made do not experience stress.
Nowadays, flexible, stranded PVA is preferred for electrical work ("P" - wire; "B" - insulation and sheath made of PVC - plastic compound (vinyl); "C" - connecting), which is produced in accordance with GOST 7399 -97. Designed for connecting electrical appliances, machines for household and similar purposes to power networks of rated AC voltage up to 380 V and for systems 380/660 V).
Insulating connections
How to connect two wires to ensure tightness? For this there is an insulating tape. According to the PUE, tape insulation must be performed with at least three layers of it, both cotton and vinyl.
Cotton tape is more heat resistant. It can withstand 70-80 degrees, vinylless stable and flows at 50-60. But over time, cotton material loses its water-repellent properties and begins to absorb water. In this regard, for greater tightness and heat resistance, the inner layer of insulation is made of fabric, and the outer layer is made of vinyl.
Spring terminal connection
How to connect copper wires with aluminum? For home use, spring terminals are very good. The stripped wire is inserted into the hole and there it is fixed with a spring. Such devices are available for soft and hard wires. In this device, it is easy to connect copper and aluminum wire, because they do not come into contact with each other, and this eliminates electrical corrosion. Moreover, the gel inside eats away the oxide film on aluminum. You can connect wires of different diameters and only the amount for which the terminals are designed. When connecting more than two wires (maybe of different cross sections), not only spring terminals are suitable, but also ordinary terminal blocks.
Terminal block connections
Professional electricians most often use terminal blocks. They have many insulated sockets with screws (usually two). Under one in the socket we bring the wire, and with the other we press the comb, which connects all the sockets of the block together. The required number of cells is cut with a knife or hacksaw.
Very comfortable single clamp pads. Two wires inserted into the hole are fixed with a screw. There are terminal blocks that, with one screw, press two wires at once, locatedin parallel.
Another very convenient option is to fix the wires not with a screw, but with a special lever. Terminal blocks are made in such a way that additional insulation is not needed. It is impossible to touch current-carrying parts. Their degree of protection is high and equal to IP20. Another frontier of protection is the plastic housing of the junction box.
Connecting wires with terminal blocks
To connect several conductors (as many as you like), it is easier to work with a terminal block. This is a copper bar with holes and screw clamps. Such structures can be mounted in distribution cabinets in several pieces. With this design, it is very easy to connect the wires in the junction box. This design is especially good for rigid conductors. But the terminal blocks must be firmly fixed in the junction box so that they do not touch each other.
How to connect wires in mixed installation when they are hidden in wall strobes and behind plasterboard structures with built-in lights? A flexible wire is used for such light sources. In this case, the quality of the connection of flexible wires should be treated with particular care.
Junction box options
Desoldering, disconnection is a connection of wires in order to distribute current flows. Twisting wires with their further desoldering, welding or without it is desoldering. Connecting wires or cable cores to terminals, connectors isdisconnection.
According to the method of installation, junction boxes are divided into the following types: for hidden and open installation. Accordingly, some are used for hidden, and the second - for open wiring. You can use boxes for exposed electrical wiring to wall in when making hidden wiring. But the hidden wiring box cannot be used for outdoor wiring.
Metal boxes must be grounded. These boxes are only used when laying electrical cables in metal pipes, such as in wooden houses.
Connecting the wires in the box
For the convenience of monitoring connections, they are made in junction boxes. Any craftsman knows how to connect the wires in the box. Usually there are terminal blocks inside the junction box. Box models are available with different numbers of inlets and outlets. In accordance with the number of wires and their cross section, the size of the box is selected. Above in the text there are recommendations for choosing a method for connecting wires. All of them are equal, have their own advantages and disadvantages.
For example, a method such as soldering takes too long to connect even two wires. Instantaneous connection is provided by spring terminals. They are good for everyone: compact, reliable, but they are intended only for single-wire conductors (there are models for stranded wires, but they serve to connect one rigid wire to one flexible) and for a strictly defined number of them (make one morebranch is not allowed when all seats are occupied).
The wires in the box are connected according to their purpose: phase, common and ground. For installation, a three-core or two-core cable is used, in which the cores are marked with different colors of insulation. As a rule, they observe the binding of the purpose of the wires to their color: phase - white, common - blue (light blue), earth - yellow-green. In any case, how to connect 2 wires (by color), the master decides in a particular situation. The main thing is that he is well versed in the issue.
How to connect aluminum wires
You need to know that aluminum is not only brittle and can break after a few bends, but also softens from a slight heating of the contacts when current flows out from under the screw. In this case, the pressure is significantly weakened, and the temperature rises even more.
The ideal rule for an installer: assembled today, tightened tomorrow, and a week later - again. In the future, another check with a tightening is arranged every six months. This is the answer to the question of how to connect aluminum wires. However, it is advisable to inspect screw connections and copper wires at least once every two years. Connect the wires in the junction box so that they are accessible for repair or inspection. These rules exist to avoid electric shock to people, to eliminate the possibility of a fire. Violating them increases the likelihood of accidents, which can lead to death.
Headphone problem
How to connect the wires of the headphones if they are torn? How to solve the problem correctly so that it is accurate and quality is not violated? Here the wires are very thin. Twist them simply with each other - the quality of the perceived sound will be disturbed. Solder? But for this it is necessary to get rid of the varnish that covers the wiring. It is necessary to remove it, but the wires are very thin and it is not easy to clean them with a knife - they are torn.
So, which wire connection method to choose? There are "pros" and "cons" to each method. Each of the masters knows how to connect the wires correctly, and does it in the way that is more convenient, familiar and easier for him. There will be no problems if the work is done efficiently and in good faith. It is not for nothing that it is believed that the safety of electrical wiring in the house depends on the decision of how to connect the wires correctly. Therefore, it will be useful to think through all the options and repeat again.
So, how to connect the wires? We take four-hundred sandpaper, drip rosin on it, put one wire on the rosin and with a soldering iron and solder, we begin to carefully remove the varnish from the wiring. Having spent two or three times, we will see that it has been removed and the wiring has become irritated. Then we do the same with the rest of the wiring. Everything, the ends of the wires are prepared, they can be soldered by connecting to each other by color.
