Using RTV Silicone to waterproof wirenuts

Hey y'all. I have an outside lamppost where I had to splice the wire leading to it. I was looking at the waterproof wirenuts but couldn't find the right size. I ended up buying RTV silicone and using a regular wirenut and filled it with RTV silicone and then gave it another shot of RTV after I twisted it. My question is, is there really a benefit from using the bought pre-filled wire nuts (what exactly do they use?) and also if what I did was actually OK. I know it's a bit late for that last question, but I kinda did this without thinking it out very thoroughly, needed to get it done fast.

 

Waterproof wirenuts are filled with grease.
If you cannot find the correct size wirenut for your application(not sure why), you can purchase what they call a 'grease pack'.

Instead of packing grease inside a wirenut, this is like a little capsule, filled with grease, with a cap. You use a normal wire nut to connect wires and shub it down the capsule and close the cap. That's all there's to it. This product will give you a little liberty to use different sized wirenuts.

 

Thanks. So I guess the question I have now is...what does anyone think about using silicone (quite liberaly I might add) in the wire nut? Is that cool or did I set myself up for problems in the near future?

 

I have never used silicone for household voltages, we do use them under trucks all the time, we fill the nut and twist wires first , then refill the nut after. Thet seal well, have taken them off years later with no corosion.

 

For $10 at Home Depot, you can buy a UF-B underground splice kit. It works perfectly. I'm not sure that even the "waterproof" wire nuts are rated for direct burial underground.

I don't think there's much point in losing sleep over this now. The cows are gone. If you have a problem in the future, try the UF-B splice kit.

 

John, you are correct in presuming that wet location wire nuts are not rated for direct burial.