Can you solder house wiring

These joints were then wrapped in electrical tape. Is that something that need to be concerned about? Would it count as being up to code on an inspection? I am in rural Minnesota, outside city limits, in an un-incorporated township. I do see several inspection stickers on the breaker boxes in the house, so something was inspected at one point. Update: Just to add a bit more context.

The house was constructed in and was a Gold Medallion home and as a result had lots of fancy electrical features for the day. Much of that original wiring has been replaced with modern NM cable, however the switch I replaces was on an older circuit with wires that look similar to Romex but have a braided outer sheath and instead of a single ground there a several smaller grounds that are wound around the the other wires.

The solder joints in question were on both types of cables in the box. So, they would have been done as part of later work. One of the previous owners was big into Ham radio, this junction box was right outside his radio room.

In another conversation someone suggested that this was done to reduce interference, could that be a thing? A wide variety of reliable splice techniques now exist. The reason for soldering "back in the day" was that manufacturing wasn't really up to making "wire nuts" and "Alumiconns" in billion quantity. And labor was a lot cheaper. Today, it would be nuts to use that technique, but I wouldn't condemn old work that has stood the test of time.

I expect your electrician will see it the same way; if you presented new solder work done this way, forget it, but old work would be grandfathered. Actually, the ancients used layers of both "friction tape" tar impregnated cloth tape and rubber or plastic tape. The friction tape's job was to protect it from physical damage, notably bare corners or burrs from punching through the tape.

This is complicated enough that I don't advise it; in fact, I don't even like using split bolts or other uninsulated splices. When solder was used in mains wire, this work was done or overseen by a master electrician, and the electrical inspector relied as much on personal experience trusting that master. The layers of insulation also make the joint uninspectable. If an inspector saw a soldered rattail splice today, he'd have good reason to either assume it wasn't soldered, or that it was not properly insulated.

In mains wiring a lot of engineering is done to assure we're not wasting copper. Wires are intended to heat up , and are generally run at sane thermal limits. Now look at how modern soldering is done. Here's a surface mount power jack.

You see the tiny tabs meant for the solder connection? This is the mentality of modern, electronic soldering. Put a tiny dit of solder there even if you drown that tab in solder, there's just not that much tab there and call it good. That works because currents are small - that connector is rated for 1 amp, the limiting factor being the surface area of the solder.

It's "tack soldering", as distinct from a thorough splice like you have there, or a Western Union splice. The problem is, when you say "soldering", everyone hears "tack soldering, like done in electronics".

That is not nearly acceptable. Yes, Western Union etc. They are also a "lost art". I don't believe the Western Union splice is a lost art you should be re-creating , because there are better ways to do this today, and it would be difficult to re-create it properly without apprenticing under an experienced master. B Splices. Conductors shall be spliced or joined with splicing devices identified for the use or by brazing, welding, or soldering with a fusible metal or alloy.

Soldered splices shall first be spliced or joined so as to be mechanically and electrically secure without solder and then be soldered. All splices and joints and the free ends of conductors shall be covered with an insulation equivalent to that of the conductors or with an insulating device identified for the purpose.

Wire connectors or splicing means installed on conductors for direct burial shall be listed for such use. The sentence about splicing or joining first could be as simple as twisting the wires together. It's not saying there needs to be a wire nut or other connecting hardware. The most common method seen in junction boxes is the rat tail splice. There are other parts of the code that prohibit soldering on service wires and on ground conductors, so this isn't a blanket OK for all splices.

However there may be places in existing electrical installations that would not be code compliant today, but were code compliant when installed, and therefore legal now. This has been in the electrical code a long time. These days, nobody splices connections.

I am not sure you'd find a solder that's "identified for the purpose" available today, and At one time solder was the main way to splice. As far as I can tell, workmanship was impeccable in those days. Or maybe it's only the really good work that has lasted all these years. At any rate, my experience has been the same, soldered splices are rock solid even years later. But that was a long time ago. When you see soldered taped connections, it's usually best not to touch anything if you don't absolutely have to.

The insulation is likely brittle and fragile with age, and if you start messing with it, you could wind up with a much, much bigger project than you started with. I don't have the NEC at hand, but this is my understanding. The third point there is key. Electrical tape is not an ideal insulation technique it's a bit cumbersome and ends up gooey over time , so you're left with nuts or something else.

If you're adding a nut, just use a nut. Modern, machine-assembled electronic equipment is built with crimp-on connectors, screw-in terminal blocks, and other pressure-based connections.

Similarly, the AC wiring feeding many old houses terminates into a screw-in terminal block. The purported benefits of a soldered connection over simply twisting two conductors together — or even professional crimping — include longevity and increased reliability.

For example, without adequate strain relief, solder joints tend to fatigue, and it takes a relatively high level of skill to properly crimp a multi-pin connector. For example, is it imperative that the soldered connections in your next prototype outlive you? By then, speaker wires will likely be a thing of the past, probably replaced by wireless connections to studio monitors. The computer hardware will be worthless, compared to the computers equipped with 1, processor multi-core chips.

Perhaps the value of longevity is gravely overstated. What I have done is cut back the insulation too aggressively, nicking the underlying copper wire. But this sort of failure is generally immediate, and not something that will surface years later.

Furthermore, I can usually prep a wire and place a crimp-on connector faster before my Weller stabilizes at the appropriate temperature. If you have practical experience, or know of any formal studies comparing soldered and crimped connections, please share your information here in the comments, so other readers can benefit.

Never rely on just solder to hold things together, especially when dealing with lethal currents. Home improvement stores will sell crimp-on style connectors that will let you splice 12 or 14 ga.

Combining soldering with one of these mechanical methods will yield the best electrical connection. It must be done in a junction box using appropriately sized wire nuts. Be sure to insulate your splices!

I am building my own CNC and i need to solder some wires from my wall plug to multiple components that require vAC, and i wasn't sure if it would pose a resistance to the electricity flowing thus melting the solder.

Introduction: Soldering Wires Together. By golond Follow. More by the author:. Did you make this project? Share it with us! I Made It! Retro Arduino Radio by exposedwire in Arduino. YoungmokY 5 years ago.

Reply Upvote. CristianT15 5 years ago. Hello, Have a very important question: can you solder the same way as you mention above for big wires that will transmit vAC? Thank you very much. CristianT15 golond Reply 5 years ago. Thank you very much, this is exactly the answer i was looking for!