Splice a Romex
Nonmetallic sheath (NM) cable is often referred to as ROMEX®, a registered trademark of the Southwire Company. NM cable is the cable of choice for most household electrical circuits. The cable consists of two or more insulated copper wires and one bare copper ground wire, which are surrounded with paper insulation and covered with a plastic sheath. "Splicing" ROMEX® means joining two or more of these separate cables, which allows you to branch cables off from an electrical circuit to power multiple loads. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Place the cables flat on a solid surface. Starting at the end of one cable, make a 5-inch slice down the center of the sheath with a utility knife. Don't worry about cutting too deep; you'll just scratch the bare ground wire which runs down the middle. Peel back and cut off the sliced sheath and paper insulation. Repeat this step with the remaining cable or cables.
2. Strip 3/4 inch of insulation from the end of each wire. If your wire stripper isn't clearly labeled with wire sizes, use the slot that will cut into the insulation without cutting the wire underneath. Close the cutter over the wire and turn to cut the insulation, then pull the cut portion off the end of the wire.
3. Gather all the black wires from the separate cables and hold them parallel so the ends line up evenly. Hold the pliers at a 180-degree angle to the wires and clamp over the ends. Twist the wires together clockwise with four to five turns. Each wire should spiral around the others. Repeat this step with the remaining identically colored wires.
4. Twist a wire connector onto each spliced group until you feel resistance. If you don't feel much resistance, use a smaller connector. If the connector does not completely cover the uninsulated wire, either use a larger wire connector or cut off a bit of wire from the end of the splice so the wire connector reaches the insulation.
Tags: wire connector, ground wire, ground wire which, paper insulation, Repeat this
