Nicked the 240 volt Air conditioning wire
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Nicked the 240 volt Air conditioning wire
I accidently nicked the air conditioning wire running through the basement while drilling out a hole for a vent. Is it best to replace the whole wire now or is there an approved splicing method?
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You don't have to replace the entire length of the wire, as long as you mount a junction box, (waterproof if outdoors), and then use large wire nuts to rejoin the cables. But you probably won't have enough slack in the cable to do this, so you'll have to replace the one to the condenser unit, or the one to the electrical box, whichever is easier.
#3
Describe the "nick" more. Did you just nick the insulation? Can you see any bare metal? If you can see any bare metal, do you think the metal itself is nicked? Did you nick more than one of the conductors inside the cable?
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Nicked the 240
No, sparks flew as I nicked it and popped the breaker. It is way up in the rafters above a suspended ceiling. The concern I had was the draw on the circuit and using a junction box or should I run a new cable (about 60 feet ). The basement is finished in the electrical box area but I think I can fish tape through the rafters. The box would be accessible through the suspended ceiling.
Last edited by Did it again; 04-19-09 at 09:08 AM. Reason: Poor wording
#5
With supened ceiling then yes you can add two junction box and run short new NM cable { make sure they match the size of conductors } but if you feel it very easy to snake in all new cable you can go that route as well.
The fewer splices you make the less the situation will go wrong.
Merci,Marc
The fewer splices you make the less the situation will go wrong.
Merci,Marc
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Got it fixed
I was able to get enough slack to add a junction box and splice the wire together, after a sore neck and arms reaching into the cramped area. I did solder the connection to ensure connectivity and put connectors on each with electrical tape as a final seal. I'm still not sure that with two junction boxes in this line I shouldn't replace the whole line?
#8
Depends on what you mean by "enough slack". Your interpretation of "enough" may not match the code requirements for "enough".
Solder and wire nuts and tape! You're a real belt-and-suspenders guy.
Solder and wire nuts and tape! You're a real belt-and-suspenders guy.
#9
There's no need to replace the whole cable. The splices only marginally increase the chance of failure. Plus, if the A/C ever stops working unexpectedly, you'll know where to look.
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Answers to two questions
It is number 10 wire with thirty amp breakers and to question number two the wire was run under some of the original basement construction. By removing some staples and pulling the cable back I still have the box well up in the ceiling and can staple the cable to the areas above the suspended ceiling along the main I beam.