Stray electrical wires underneath interior walls or ceilings in any kind of building is not a good practice since it might be a threat to your safety. However, if you are unable to remove them at the moment, there is a way that saves your day! It is possible to terminate electrical wires using wire caps by yourself in a few minutes. It ensures your safety because all electrical wires are capped and hedged in a surface-flush electrical box. So, how to cap off electrical wires? The precautions and the procedure will be thoroughly explained in the article.
How Do You Terminate Unused Electrical Wires?
It is vital to pay attention to any unsafe electrical wire in your house because those might be a cause for accidental electrical fires or shocks. So, if there are unused electrical wires, choose any method from the below-mentioned list and terminate those without putting yourself in danger.
- Wire Nuts – When you want to cut the power off on a particular circuit, especially during a repair, wire nuts can be used.
- Junction Box – This method is beneficial if you want to use the wires again because it does the duty without pulling the wires off the drywall.
- Electrical Tape – You can use electrical tape for loose live wires or already capped wires for extra protection.
- Screw Connection – After bending live wires, the screw can be used to fasten, and it will counteract any wire strands to be missed.
- Wire Caps – Last but not least, the wire caps can be used to hold the wire firms, so it can prevent them from falling off.
Can You Cap Off Electrical Wires?
For your safety, there are some actions that you can take to terminate wires, as mentioned above. Among them, capping off electrical wires is also a great method. You can easily cap off wires, although you have not reached the knowledge of a professional within less time, around 15 to 30 minutes, using some widely-available gadgets that cost approximately $5 to $10.
Do Wire Caps Work?
There are two types of popular wire connectors in the market, wire caps and twist-on connectors. The connector, which comes with a cap-like/cylindrical design along with a hollow body, is called a wire cap, and they do work effectively when you want to connect two or more wires. It is possible to connect even small wires with these caps. It will take the responsibility to maintain the electrical conductivity between the wires and supply space with tension for the wires to remain secure. That is how it works!
Make sure to have a kind of crimping tool along with the caps in order to join the wires. Crimping helps the inner body of the cap to secure the end of wires.
Are Capped Wires Safe?
It is totally safe to cap wires, but only if you follow these precautions with relevant equipment.
- Choose wire caps that are congenial with the wire dimension; Avoid oversize or undersize wire caps. The reason why, if the wires are not tightened well, they may fall off.
- Select wire caps in suitable colors according to the polarity of the wire. For example, green wire caps are compatible with ground wires.
- Use a voltage tester for testing the wiring before starting to cap off.
- Always make sure to turn the power off before you cap off the wires.
One compulsory thing to remember – there may be some rules regarding these kinds of technical tasks in your country or state, such as standard equipment that have been recommended. Therefore, make sure to find out the information about terminating wires before you do it to avoid any future unease.
How to Cap Off Electrical Wires?
Before installing the drywalls, you should cap off electrical wires since it will be easy for you. First, you will have to gather the below-mentioned items in order to do this duty.
- Non-contact voltage tester
- Wire stripper
- Electrical tape
- Flat-head screwdriver
- Electrical box and a blank wall plate
- Knife
- Wire caps (They should be congenial with the wire dimension)
After adhering to the already-discussed precautions and finding the necessary equipment and materials, you can follow the method below to cap off wires. Before starting the task, provide proper lighting using a flashlight since this is a subtle job.
- First, test the wiring using the voltage tester.
- Secondly, use the electrical stripper and cut the ends of the wires.
- Thirdly, take off the plastic insulation to seize at least ½ inch at the tip of the wire.
- Next, place the compatible wire caps and capsulize the wires. Take the plastic cap and keep it on top of the wire strands. At the same time, you will somewhat twist it clockwise. Here you should use the correct size of caps because a loose grip may cause expose the wires, and it will be dangerous.
- Then, use tapes to tighten the wire caps. This step will be essential to prevent the caps from falling off and exposing wires because, with time, they may slip gradually and eventually will separate from the wires.
- After that, place all the capped wires in the electrical box. Remember to check twice whether all the connections fit properly or not.
- At last, set the blank wall plate onto the box with the help of screws. Now you can turn the power on.
Conclusion
Electricity is a giant need in our lives, but we cannot put ourselves in danger because of lighting appliances like wires. Whenever you want to terminate electrical wires, you have several methods but capping off the wires is the easiest method since it does not require ultimate professional knowledge. With the help of this article, you can smoothly do that duty if you follow the precautions as well. And you will only need a few materials and equipment which are mentioned above for this task.
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