<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">I was just called last week to a three phase Enphase system installed by others with three of eight strings that were exhibiting erratic voltages on random phases. First I checked the combiner panels and everything checked out. I went to the roof and discovered that wet rated wire nuts were used (red). The first of eight j-boxes that I opened, I just pushed a wire a little and heard crackling sounds. I didn't have to go any further... bad connections. Problem identified.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">So the question remains... what ARE you using? There is a recent thread about fine stranded wire and Polaris taps not being acceptable. There are also people using Alumiconn and Polaris black connectors, which are not rated for wet/damp locations. This all ties in together in terms of best practices in roof junction/transition boxes.</div><div class="gmail_extra"><br></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br></div><div class="gmail_extra"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">​Jason Szumlanski​</div><br clear="all"><div><div class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><span><br></span></div><div dir="ltr"><span><br></span></div><div dir="ltr"></div><div dir="ltr"><span></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>
<br><div class="gmail_quote">On Tue, Sep 6, 2016 at 3:19 PM, August Goers <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:august@luminalt.com" target="_blank">august@luminalt.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div lang="EN-US" link="blue" vlink="purple"><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">Are those wire nuts listed for wet locations? Most ideal outdoor (damp/wet) rated wire nuts are blue or grey in my experience.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">August</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">Luminalt</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"> </span></p><div style="border:none;border-top:solid #b5c4df 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in"><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"">From:</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif""> RE-wrenches [mailto:<a href="mailto:re-wrenches-bounces@lists.re-wrenches.org" target="_blank">re-wrenches-bounces@<wbr>lists.re-wrenches.org</a>] <b>On Behalf Of </b>Benn Kilburn<br><b>Sent:</b> Tuesday, September 06, 2016 12:02 PM<br><b>To:</b> RE-wrenches<span class=""><br><b>Subject:</b> Re: [RE-wrenches] Wire nuts</span></span></p></div><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">The reason i'm asking is that the only time i have seen a short, first-hand, in a wire nut, was because it appeared that one wire was pushed down rather than binding with the other wire, which would have happened if the wires were not held tightly when the nut was twisted on.  Also, it was a stranded wire (that was pushed down) being connected to a solid wire, which is acceptable, but care must be taken to do it properly.</span></p></div><div><div class="h5"><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">Also, on all the Ideal wire nut packages I have, the instructions say to twist the wire nut on until there are two visible twists in the wire.  I suppose this is to ensure the twist/connection is sufficient to make a solid connection and perhaps to keep the wires together if the wire nut is removed.</span></p></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">The ones in this photo do not look like they were installed as per the instructions, which brings how much attention was put in to installing them in the first place.</span></p></div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"">I've always questioned the why wire nuts are cautioned against, especially considering how many wire nuts are used in residential and commercial jobs.  I'm sure if there was a legit issue with them then insurance companies would insist they not be used, such as aluminum wiring?</span></p></div></div></div></div><div><div class="h5"><div><p class="MsoNormal"><br clear="all"></p><div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><strong>Benn Kilburn </strong></p><p class="MsoNormal">CSA Certified Solar Photovoltaic Systems Electrician, SkyFire Energy Inc</p><p class="MsoNormal">14515 – 121A Ave NW | Edmonton, AB | T5L 2T2</p><p class="MsoNormal">P: <a href="tel:780-474-8992" value="+17804748992" target="_blank">780-474-8992</a> | F: <a href="tel:888-405-5843" value="+18884055843" target="_blank">888-405-5843</a> | <a href="http://www.skyfireenergy.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color:#f08c00;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in;text-decoration:none">www.<wbr>skyfireenergy.com</span></a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="mailto:benn@skyfireenergy.com" target="_blank"><span style="color:#f08c00;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in;text-decoration:none"><img border="0" width="25" height="25" src="http://www.skyfireenergy.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/email.png" alt="email"></span></a> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SkyFireEnergy" target="_blank"><span style="color:#f08c00;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in;text-decoration:none"><img border="0" width="25" height="25" src="http://www.skyfireenergy.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/facebook.png" alt="facebook"></span></a> <a href="https://twitter.com/SkyFireEnergy" target="_blank"><span style="color:#f08c00;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in;text-decoration:none"><img border="0" width="25" height="25" src="http://www.skyfireenergy.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/twitter.png" alt="twitter"></span></a> <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/283735?trk=tyah&trkInfo=tarId%3A1408655033432%2Ctas%3Askyfire%2Cidx%3A2-2-5" target="_blank"><span style="color:#f08c00;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in;text-decoration:none"><img border="0" width="25" height="25" src="http://www.skyfireenergy.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/linkedin.png" alt="linkedin"></span></a> </p><p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify;line-height:13.5pt"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black"><img border="0" width="179" height="47" src="http://www.skyfireenergy.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/SkyFire-Energy-Logo_horizontal.png" alt="SkyFire Energy Logo_horizontal"></span></p><p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify;line-height:13.5pt"><b><u><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black;background:white">WE HAVE MOVED!</span></u></b><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black;background:white"> Please note our new address above.</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black"></span></p></div></div><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><div><p class="MsoNormal">On Tue, Sep 6, 2016 at 12:47 PM, Jerry Shafer <<a href="mailto:jerrysgarage01@gmail.com" target="_blank">jerrysgarage01@gmail.com</a>> wrote:</p><p>All the other nuts are tight so l cant not say it was or not but l see this alot and this was one that was caught just at the right time. <br><span><span style="color:#888888">Jerry</span></span></p><div><div><div><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><div><p class="MsoNormal">On Sep 6, 2016 8:44 AM, "Benn Kilburn" <<a href="mailto:benn@skyfireenergy.com" target="_blank">benn@skyfireenergy.com</a>> wrote:</p><div><div><p class="MsoNormal">Jerry,</p></div><div><p class="MsoNormal">Can you confirm that this was caused by a failure of the wire nut, itself, and not due to user error (not properly stripping enough jacket,  inserting even length wires and sufficiently twisting on the wire nut)<br><br>Benn Kilburn</p><div><p class="MsoNormal">SkyFire Energy Inc. </p></div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="tel:780-906-7807" target="_blank">780-906-7807</a></p></div></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt"><br>On Sep 6, 2016, at 12:32 PM, Jerry Shafer <<a href="mailto:jerrysgarage01@gmail.com" target="_blank">jerrysgarage01@gmail.com</a>> wrote:</p></div><blockquote style="margin-top:5.0pt;margin-bottom:5.0pt"><div><p>Wrenches<br>Better pic</p><div><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><div><p class="MsoNormal">On Sep 5, 2016 4:52 PM, "Jerry Shafer" <<a href="mailto:jerrysgarage01@gmail.com" target="_blank">jerrysgarage01@gmail.com</a>> wrote:</p><p>To my fellow wrenches<br>It comes up every so often and with DC, I will not use, approve or pass any wire nuts on any DC side. Some say its OK but the facts are they will fail, this connection was just six years and when l opened the junction box it was glowing and by the looks of it has for some time. There are 8 strings 2 per string and thats a 12.5 % failure rate (the other one was completely distroyed) not to mention the fire hazard in a PVC junction box.<br>Please pass this along and tell everyone to stop using these. <br>Jerry</p></div></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="margin-top:5.0pt;margin-bottom:5.0pt"><div><p class="MsoNormal"><2016-09-06 08.29.40.jpg></p></div></blockquote><blockquote style="margin-top:5.0pt;margin-bottom:5.0pt"><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt">______________________________<wbr>_________________<br>List sponsored by Redwood Alliance<br><br>List Address: <a href="mailto:RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org" target="_blank">RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.<wbr>org</a><br><br>Change listserver email address & settings:<br><a href="http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org" target="_blank">http://lists.re-wrenches.org/<wbr>options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-<wbr>wrenches.org</a><br><br>List-Archive: <a href="http://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/maillist.html" target="_blank">http://www.mail-archive.com/<wbr>re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.<wbr>org/maillist.html</a><br><br>List rules & etiquette:<br><a href="http://www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm" target="_blank">www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.<wbr>htm</a><br><br>Check out or update participant bios:<br><a href="http://www.members.re-wrenches.org" target="_blank">www.members.re-wrenches.org</a></p></div></blockquote></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt"><br>______________________________<wbr>_________________<br>List sponsored by Redwood Alliance<br><br>List Address: <a href="mailto:RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org" target="_blank">RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.<wbr>org</a><br><br>Change listserver email address & settings:<br><a href="http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org" target="_blank">http://lists.re-wrenches.org/<wbr>options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-<wbr>wrenches.org</a><br><br>List-Archive: <a href="http://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/maillist.html" target="_blank">http://www.mail-archive.com/<wbr>re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.<wbr>org/maillist.html</a><br><br>List rules & etiquette:<br><a href="http://www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm" target="_blank">www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.<wbr>htm</a><br><br>Check out or update participant bios:<br><a href="http://www.members.re-wrenches.org" target="_blank">www.members.re-wrenches.org</a><br><br></p></div></div></div></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt"><br>______________________________<wbr>_________________<br>List sponsored by Redwood Alliance<br><br>List Address: <a href="mailto:RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org" target="_blank">RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.<wbr>org</a><br><br>Change listserver email address & settings:<br><a href="http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org" target="_blank">http://lists.re-wrenches.org/<wbr>options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-<wbr>wrenches.org</a><br><br>List-Archive: <a href="http://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/maillist.html" target="_blank">http://www.mail-archive.com/<wbr>re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.<wbr>org/maillist.html</a><br><br>List rules & etiquette:<br><a href="http://www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm" target="_blank">www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.<wbr>htm</a><br><br>Check out or update participant bios:<br><a href="http://www.members.re-wrenches.org" target="_blank">www.members.re-wrenches.org</a><br><br></p></div><p class="MsoNormal"> </p></div></div></div></div></div>
<br>______________________________<wbr>_________________<br>
List sponsored by Redwood Alliance<br>
<br>
List Address: <a href="mailto:RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org">RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.<wbr>org</a><br>
<br>
Change listserver email address & settings:<br>
<a href="http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">http://lists.re-wrenches.org/<wbr>options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-<wbr>wrenches.org</a><br>
<br>
List-Archive: <a href="http://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/maillist.html" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">http://www.mail-archive.com/<wbr>re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.<wbr>org/maillist.html</a><br>
<br>
List rules & etiquette:<br>
<a href="http://www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.<wbr>htm</a><br>
<br>
Check out or update participant bios:<br>
<a href="http://www.members.re-wrenches.org" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">www.members.re-wrenches.org</a><br>
<br>
<br></blockquote></div><br></div></div>