Splicing Ballast Cord

[Guest]

I bought a Super Sun 2 which already has a cord and i wanna use my old ballast that has different plugs. I opened up the old core & coil ballast & decided i'm not messing with anything inside, so i cut the output cord about a foot away from the ballast. I wanna cut the plug off the end of the SS2's wire and splice it together with the ballast output wire. Would wire nuts & good electrical tape work ???


Thx

 

[basement420]

Yes, but make sure you get the heavier duty wire nuts that are rated for the current and the high heat associated with it.

 

[PharmaCan]

Yes, but make sure you get the heavier duty wire nuts that are rated for the current and the high heat associated with it.

Huh????

First of all, wire nuts are rated by size, not by duty. Secondly, if the connections are made properly and the wire is the correct size, there is no heat. If there is high heat, there's a problem and it isn't the wire nuts.

LittleBigMan - Once you take the individual, bared wires from your cords and twist them together, that is all the connection you need. Everything else is just keeping the connection together and keeping it safe.

Wire nuts will keep the connections together, but wire nuts aren't designed to take any strain, so you would use the black tape to a) hold the two cords together and b) provide a little insulation around your connections. (Wire nuts are designed to be used inside a box and really aren't ideal for your purpose, but they will work.)

A cleaner, easier way to do this would be to buy a set of cord ends (male & female plugs), put the male plug on the light fixture, the female end on the ballast and you'll have a nice, sanitary connection. Personally, I'd solder the splices, use heat-shrink on the individual wires and tape on the splice, but that's just me.

PC

 

[basement420]

Yes I know that wore nuts are listed by size, that was obvious I thought. I am talking about a wire nut that is purpose built for high wattage lights. Like this one:

http://cableorganizer.com/wire-connectors/

The thermoplastic shell was designed specially to withstand extreme heat build-up found in high-wattage light fixtures and signs

 

[PharmaCan]

Yes I know that wore nuts are listed by size, that was obvious I thought. I am talking about a wire nut that is purpose built for high wattage lights. Like this one:

http://cableorganizer.com/wire-connectors/

The thermoplastic shell was designed specially to withstand extreme heat build-up found in high-wattage light fixtures and signs

OK - I see what you're saying, and your absolutely right about the wire nuts used in extreme heat applications. But the OP was talking about splicing a cord outside of any container and, in that particular application, heat is not a factor.

PC

 

[basement420]

Thank you, I as well agree with you about the soldering and heat shrink. I had previously thought that the OP may be splicing near the socket which in my case get pretty warm.