Hall of hacks & pikers Photo's please.

[grassman177]

i use wire nuts, but a different brand and have very few issues, almost too much sealant in them, but was looking at those ones on sprinklerwarehouse .com and they seem way more secure. everyone has had to go back i am sure with wire nuts and that does get old and i think those ones snap together or something fo a secure fit and are also clear to see

[Wet_Boots]

Best ever wire nuts, waterproof-ness aside, are those that are a hollow brass cone with a set screw in the side. They look like any ordinary wire nut, until you unscrew the plastic cover and expose the all-brass innards. The set screw mashes down on the wires and never lets go. It's a junior version of the same arrangement that connects the overhead power wires to a home.

[WalkGood]

Originally Posted by koster_irrigation

If your valve box has water in it constantly .....

..... then solve the flooding problem. Duh.

[ARGOS]

Originally Posted by grassman177

i use wire nuts, but a different brand and have very few issues, almost too much sealant in them, but was looking at those ones on sprinklerwarehouse .com and they seem way more secure. everyone has had to go back i am sure with wire nuts and that does get old and i think those ones snap together or something fo a secure fit and are also clear to see

They are called Blazing wire connectors. I have used them for a year now. They appear to be holding up pretty good. I haven't had one fail yet. I recollect that Hoskm01 uses them too.

[Mike Leary]

We used King "blues" for years and had problems with hardening, but the newer ones seem to have the sealer modified and work well.

[grassman177]

that is what we used, king blues. they seem fine and have not had them fail, except where i have not twisted in good enough or too much to where the wire breaks.

yes, blazing wire connectors. i might be giving them a try next season. are they reusable?

[ARGOS]

Originally Posted by grassman177

yes, blazing wire connectors. i might be giving them a try next season. are they reusable?

I reuse them if I accidentally snap them shut. I carry silicon and just reapply it. I am pretty impressed with these wire connectors.

[tallrick]

For outdoor wiring I prefer soldering and wrapping with rubber tape. Alternatively I have soldered then slipped vinyl tubing over the joint then squeezed with heated drilled out pliers. Neither method has failed in over 20 years. Heat shrink tubing was what we used for traffic signal cable. Wire nuts in the ground just seemed wrong to me...

[Buck_wheat]

Originally Posted by tallrick

For outdoor wiring I prefer soldering and wrapping with rubber tape. Alternatively I have soldered then slipped vinyl tubing over the joint then squeezed with heated drilled out pliers. Neither method has failed in over 20 years. Heat shrink tubing was what we used for traffic signal cable. Wire nuts in the ground just seemed wrong to me...

Seems like a lot of extra work especially for smaller applications, but it sounds like a good system if I have to pothole a wire trace and leave spliced wire in the ground.

I have used Drycon's for nearly a decade without problems. I read here somewhere that people re-used them, not a good idea... they are not designed to be re-used.

[Wet_Boots]

Soldered connections can possibly self-destruct over time depending on the rosin used. Prior to all the modern high-tech solutions, good wire-nutted connections (proper wire nut size, please) could be "potted' in silicone caulk.