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Wiring the hub

8K views 48 replies 11 participants last post by  Ruben Rocha 
#1 ·
If I was going to have five or six 10/2 lines coming off my home run at a hub, what would be the best method to make that connection? Do I use a series of wire nuts? Is there some product for this application like some sort of distribution block? Should I solder it and apply some form of weatherproofing to it? I want to do this right.
 
#2 ·
Seriously? Or do you mean you are going to have a 10/2 or 8/2 Home run that feeds 5 or 6 12/2 runs to the fixtures?

In any case, the ACE Connector from Nightscaping is the best of the best. It comes in standard and LARGE (Big ACE) sizes.

Regards.
 
#3 ·
Seriously? Or do you mean you are going to have a 10/2 or 8/2 Home run that feeds 5 or 6 12/2 runs to the fixtures?

In any case, the ACE Connector from Nightscaping is the best of the best. It comes in standard and LARGE (Big ACE) sizes.

Regards.
First of all, thanks for the Ace Connector suggestion, I will hunt some down. As far as the use of 10/2 goes, do you ask if I am serious because my proposed setup would be overbuilt or is there a problem with it that I am not aware of? I can live with with overbuilding my witing. I am using 10/2 for the entire wire run because I have 500 feet of it and might as well use it up rather that spending more money on lighter gauge wire and have a bunch of 10/2 left over. On the other hand, if there are issues with my plan I certainly want to know about it.
 
#4 ·
10/2 for a fixture wire lead is a bit overkill but wont hurt you at all. You will just need to be able to make up a LARGE connection. ACE connector will work or possibly a large Buchanan Crimp. Worst case scenario and not one I recommend would be a large blue wire nut, filled with di electric grease. Much better off using the ACE or Buchanan.
 
#10 ·
Do any of you guys know where I can I can buy the large Ace connetors on-line or locally in the Dallas or Fort Wort areas? My web searches aren't turning up anything.
If you are a contractor then Call Nightscaping and they will find your distributor for you: 1-800-544-4840

If you are a DIY'er then you will have to contact a local contractor who would be willing to sell to you or find them retail online.
Online you can check out Terradek, or CLL (California Landscape Lighting). Im not sure if FOLD carries them or not.

Regards.
 
#13 ·
I just ran into the same issue on a subdivision entrance. I had 8/2 lines split into 5 10/2 leads in hubs. I eneded up using copper split bolts you can get anywhere for a buck. Then covered them with grease and shrunk them in 2" heat shrink.

Worked great... I looked at the 3m epoxy mentioned previously but I wasnt sure if all my wires would fit in it properly.

On another note... Has anyone used the new kichler blazing connector. I used a bunch on a job last week and they worked great! I just order a couple hundred. There are holes to test voltage and the connection seemed super solid... Kichler might end up finally getting rid of the quic disc!
 
#14 · (Edited)
That new "kichler" connector is actually by Blazing Products. Specifically the BLS-10. I haven't tried it out so no review yet, but it looks mechanically complicated. They are also rather limiting on how many wires and of what gauge size they will accept. The BLS-10 will only accept one to two of #12 or #10 and only of #16 or #18. (Not exactly great for use in hubs or T's)

In any case, I would suspect you can get them a whole lot cheaper from an electrical supplier than you can buying them through Kichler.

It is also interesting to note that the BLS-10 is NOT UL or ULc approved, only the smaller BVS-1 and BVS-2 are. Not sure why this is, but if you are running a professional operation, you might want to wait for those approvals to be applied before using the product.

http://www.blazingproducts.com/products/connectors/index.html
 
#15 ·
I got a bag of blazing connectors here as a sample and im not all that impressed.

I have never had the need to connect a number 8 wire and 5 number 10's together in a single connection. If I did I would probably solder them then shrink boot it with industrial shrink booting or try to find a larger grease tube.
 
#16 ·
Which Blazing Connector do you have there Billy... They make a bunch of different models. The new BLS-10 is brand new to market.

The L9500 has been around a while now but is not rated for the combination of wires that you suggest above. The L9000 is sized more for irrigation needs than lighting.
 
#17 ·
Hi James, Kichler had Blazing redesign the BLS-10 for them. It is super strong and is UL Listed. Kichler is the only place you can get theses. Don't diss what you don't know.

And I'm sure Billy is using the old blazing connectors.

They are great at the fixture where most likely you are using 10 or 12 and 18 or 16.

http://www.landscapelighting.com/portal/products/detail/15529BL
 
#18 ·
I just ran into the same issue on a subdivision entrance. I had 8/2 lines split into 5 10/2 leads in hubs. I eneded up using copper split bolts you can get anywhere for a buck. Then covered them with grease and shrunk them in 2" heat shrink.

Worked great... I looked at the 3m epoxy mentioned previously but I wasnt sure if all my wires would fit in it properly.

On another note... Has anyone used the new kichler blazing connector. I used a bunch on a job last week and they worked great! I just order a couple hundred. There are holes to test voltage and the connection seemed super solid... Kichler might end up finally getting rid of the quic disc!
When you say you covered them with grease, what kind of grease would that be? I think this route may be the way to go for me.
 
#23 ·
Which Blazing Connector do you have there Billy... They make a bunch of different models. The new BLS-10 is brand new to market.

The L9500 has been around a while now but is not rated for the combination of wires that you suggest above. The L9000 is sized more for irrigation needs than lighting.
I dont know off hand. They are buried someplace in a box in the shop now. I wasnt sold on just twisting wires together and snapping them into a tube. When I use grease tubes I get the suresplice ones.
 
#24 ·
After changing my mind five or six times on how to wire my hub (some of the changes were due to not having easy access to some of the products you pros use), I am now leaning toward soldering my hub connections, greasing them and shrink wrapping them. Any reason this is not a good idea? I was going to use lithium grease to do this.
 
#25 ·
After changing my mind five or six times on how to wire my hub (some of the changes were due to not having easy access to some of the products you pros use), I am now leaning toward soldering my hub connections, greasing them and shrink wrapping them. Any reason this is not a good idea? I was going to use lithium grease to do this.
How are you planning to heat your shrink boot ? Torch ? Heat Gun ? Is there a flash point to your grease ?

How are you planning to solder it ? Do you have a soldering pot and liquid flux ?
 
#26 ·
How are you planning to heat your shrink boot ? Torch ? Heat Gun ? Is there a flash point to your grease ?

How are you planning to solder it ? Do you have a soldering pot and liquid flux ?
I was going to use a pencil torch to shrink the shrink tube. As for the grease's flash point, I had that thought of that as well and had planned on using the torrch at a distance where and only applying enough heat to slowly shrink the tube. I had planned on using rosin core solder.

Is there any problem with this game plan?
 
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