atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums General General Telephone & Systems Information B connectors

To strip or not to strip?

We had this debut earlier after watching an alarm installer work. The question was do you strip your wire before using a b connector (BENNIE) or do you rely on the connector to pierce the insulation?

Any Thoughts???

I don't strip and haven't had any trouble.

it depends on how many wires your trying to cram in , there are teeth in there to peirce but if you jam to many wires in they may not all be periced .

Skip555 is correct. If you put like 5 26 gage wires, the one in the middle will probably not get pierced. I usually strip the wires if I am going to put in more than about 4 wires.

I also use the tool that is designed to compress the RB's. I know that most installers use thier pliers to press the connectors.

There is also a differece in the quality of connector. I also have a B presser, another time you should strip is on large gauge, or different gauges. I think Bilco has a pretty good rule of thumb for number of wires 26 or 24 gauge.

We stopped using them a long time ago around the time the telcos did. Reliability issues but that's probably because they never stripped the wires. We use Scotchlok UR and UY's.

Only time we will use B connectors is when we have to connect to stranded wire that some idiot alarm guy or electrician ran for somebodies phones. Yes, then I always strip and twist.

Around here if you see "beanies" you know an alarm guy did the work.

-Hal

Who uses those things anymore for voice? I can understand a simple alarm system, but beanines for voice? Open the wallet and buy Scotchloks. Telcos abandoned beanies decades ago for obvious reasons.

Now, on a more professional note, beanies, as with all IDC (Insulation Displacement Connector) splices are designed to be used WITH the insulation left in place, hence their name. "B wire connectors" were developed in the 1950's by the Bell System to eliminate the need for technicians to strip wires. They were never meant to be used in a stripped-wire environment, the "teeth" in the shell rely upon the insulation as something to grip and secure the wire. Without the insulation, the bare copper wire might "dodge" the tangs that bite the wire and it won't get secured.

Beanies really weren't designed for more than three wires, depending upon gauge. In general, more than two #22 or three #24/26 is all that can be accommodated.

Using the real cripming tool is the only way to ensure the best connection that can be maintained with these connectors. Nowadays, way too many people use pliers to crip them. What ends up happening is that they over-crimp them, flattening out the teeth that bite the wires. The criping tool limits the crimp pressure so that the teeth aren't bent.

On another note, a lot of people don't use the correct crimping tool for Scotchloks either. They just use pliers. Despite their design, Scotchloks can also be over-crimped, causing the wire to literally be cut by the blade inside the connector. Using needle-nose pliers doesn't apply full straight-on pressure to correctly seat the button.

Spend the money on the correct tools and save yourself some headaches.

I am much like Hal and Ed

I use uy's and ur's. if your going to do it do it right, there is no room for 4,5 or 6 wires in a chain like that. It makes it hard to trace wires when someone "BEANNIE's" a bunch of lines in the attic and you dont know were.

scotchloks rock the ur's especially with the silicone in it seals well and you dont have to strip the wire