How to Splice Thermostat / Control Wire with the "NASA Splice"

[@Dave_Thomason]

Nice video. I definitely learned something new. How ever I will never be busting out eye protection much less a soldering iron with a full work load in the dead of summer laid across ceiling joists where the roof meets the wall in the attic to make a low voltage splice. It just ain't happening.

[@RodneyFisk]

This was a good explanation of a Western Union splice. This is impractical for field work. I use butt connectors and shrink wrap. I then zip tie the cable to the suction line, snugly, on both sides of the splice. I've never had one pull apart. If anyone wants to insist on doing this in the field, Amazon carries butane soldering irons. They are super convenient.

[@sinistersparky9657]

To the folks who say "it takes too long" to do this type of splice - It *doesn't take too long*. This is the appropriate splice to use OUTSIDE or any WET LOCATION. the heat shrink tubing isn't necessary in an attic, this splice can be done with electrical tape indoors. I have used this splice literally thousands of times and it can be done MUCH faster. The point is that this repair will take about 15 minutes for a skilled journeyman to do. Assuming the customer hit the t-stat cable with a string trimmer (a relatively common problem), a competant service technician will spend about a half hour onsite to troubleshoot, repair, and test this problem using a good butane soldering iron (I use the Master Appliance Ultra-Torch UT100SI) and being mentally organized for the task. The UT100 has a hot air tip to shrink the tubing also. However, a ball of wire nuts and a wad of electrical tape will ONLY KEEP THE MOISTURE IN THE CONNECTORS. Electrical tape is the worst thing to use in a wet location! This will be ANOTHER service call, an UNHAPPY CUSTOMER, and YOU earning the label of a HACK. Good workmanship doesn't take too much time, at takes exactly the right amount of time, so use the appropriate type of connection for the application! In an attic, a splice can be done with wire nuts, B-caps, Bean crimps, UR connectors (up to 19 AWG) and a host of other methods, including soldering. Soldering is the most secure, permanent connection you can make. Period. Take pride in your work please, it costs about 10 times more money to send a service technician out to fix your crappy work than it does for you to do it right in the first place so please take pride in good craftsmanship, it's cheaper I. the long run

[@michaelbearse4733]

That's the attitude to have!! Stand by everything you do!! Own it. Cause your names on it!!

[@curtisroberts9137]

Incredibly professional way to repair wires. Time consuming but the right way to do it.

[@davidswalec3598]

I never felt my splices were good enough, now I understand I have not been cuing the happy music while working. Thanks. Also nice explanation.

[@ShadowGamer-sg7ix]

This is a great way to splice wires... just not on the clock! I would get fired for doing this! Lol love the video tho! But seriously, at some point the time it takes is to do something like this makes it totally impractical.

[@secondwindmusicproductions]

I learned this splice in HS shop class back in the 50s. It was used for home electrical wiring before roamex. We didn't have shrink tubing though, just old cloth electrical tape.

[@dleyba4945]

I still have cloth wiring in my house lol

[@doogiemcdougster6740]

Thanks for making this video. My thermostat keeps throwing an error about communicating with the condenser, so I guess it’s time to actually fix the weedeater damage I created years ago. Now I know how to do it properly thanks to your video.

[@willardearl76]

next time do it at 3 pm on a friday in the rain on a ballasted roof, seriously, great video, thanks!

[@mechacc2000]

Good information on splicing. Wish that folks that like to wire nut splice in areas that become inaccessible without tearing out walls etc. would do these splices. Another Video on NASA splicing showed that the wires are to be tinned prior to splicing then soldered again. They even showed a copy of the NASA requirements for the splice.

[@burtwallace841]

Stagger the splices, so that you don't get a big knot. The splice will be next to an unspliced, insulated wire. Just strip the wires a little more.

[@geoffhoweth]

I would use Solder Seal Heat Shrink Butt Connectors

[@rpsmith]

Total Junk!

[@daviddelgado475]

Awesome video! But I was born with one hand and am planning to attend HVAC school and was feeling hopeful about wire nuts and e-tape. This scared the crap out of me hehehe, nah anything is possible great job it's just something I would do for my family or friends i guess cause i think it's solid. But I imagine on the clock the company would not be happy. You are very gifted sir!

[@neilcomparetto5282]

This is best practice, no doubt. I appreciated you throwing in some alternative methods that might be more practical.... If the wire is concealed this is the way to go. Otherwise probably cost prohibitive, IMO. Great tutorial, well done!

[@HVACS]

I would say it's not going to practical in most cases. Heat shrink butt crimp connectors staggered with shrink over the top is the next level down I would think and prob would take half the time.

[@neilcomparetto5282]

That would be a good alternative. I'm OCD/Best Practice boy, you definitely have me thinking about my methods.

[@TPINSC]

That's a very nice splice. We were taught that way in tech school a long time ago.

[@aostrovskyy]

Customers gona pay NASA price! They love astronomical bill

[@pingpong9656]

My favorite splice is to tin the ends of the wire, place tinned wire ends together in parallel and run some solder joint between them - rock solid and easy to de solder if need be.

[@brettknoss486]

NASA spec is 5 turns each side for a Western Union splice, and splices are to be staggered, to minimize overall thickness of the harness.

[@rodgraff1782]

Heat shrink butt connectors, they are used for underwater well pump motors at line voltage, so they would be good enough for stat wire. The marine type are best as the also have glue, and can be had in very small sizes

[@eric4467]

Looks alot better than a ball of wire nuts. Have a feeling My boss would be calling to check on me though!

[@papoloco34]

Nice video Bryan 👍 👍 👍 keep the ball rolling man!!!

[@jimgill5706]

On small jobs like this I solder and heat shrink with a Dremel brulee torch. Good video.

[@rpsmith]

Most pros don't solder wires or shrink tubing with a torch. You probable picked that up from one of the reality car shows on cable TV.

[@gyrgrls]

Shorted wires are why I usually stagger the splices. Then only every other splice needs the small heat shrink covering (wherever the splices actually overlap. It goes faster and leaves a much slimmer bulge. On four conductor cables, or on speaker cables, you only need one or two pieces of HST over the whole splice area. Since the wires are being soldered, they're not moving or coming apart...

[@rexjames4038]

Have never seen that done with t stat wire but I like it it’s a more professional looking connection

[@corymosiman9426]

I just used some solder seal wire connectors the other day and they worked very nicely for splicing. Maybe a good follow on video?

[@kennethward5008]

Great job Bryan!

[@jasoncurtis4404]

I can run a whole new wire in this amount of time.

[@416RG]

😂

[@SoutheastTx]

1yr later lmfao 😂

[@pierceh785]

Ahh yes so this is what my company I work for just bought and wants us to use, I’ve still been using good ol wire nuts but maybe when things start cooling down I’ll start using it

[@ramirezmanuel117]

I wanna carry this stuff so i can charge customers for "optimized splice" lol

[@RobHVAC]

I always try to pull a whole new wire when possible. Nice vid

[@TimothyNaugher]

Rob HVAC Yes. This is a great video for splicing. But in my area where we have basements, it's likely quicker to run a new wire. Still a very good practice to learn and have if ever needed.

[@croutside8386]

Great idea, but ain't nobody got time for that! Maybe on my own home.

[@jagboy69]

Nothing makes my wallet smile more than a call where the home owner wrapped his wires around the head of his weed eater. I now place all low voltage wire inside a piece of 3/8 copper pipe. Never to need splicing again. Why is this a hard concept for companies?

[@mattprocious4631]

That is an actual good idea in the KZbin comments.. you should be making videos.

[@jagboy69]

@@mattprocious4631 I do have a channel... NO one watches it. Not that I really care. I refuse to ever monetize it as I hate commercials and begging for subs and likes. ;-)

[@michaelbt6777]

Nice work. But is not going to happen.

[@MrNaildriver01]

I've done this before but not for hvac application. However if putting it out in the weather I would use marine grade shrink tube its much thicker and made to resist sun and salt damage. Normal shrink tubing will not last long in the sun and weather.

[@DJV94022]

Its the same thickness at the brown cover 🤷‍♂️ people just think about stuff too much

[@zlee11]

Thank you for the video. Why is it necessary to solder the wires? Wouldn’t twisting and heat shrink be sufficient.

[@rpsmith]

No! copper corrodes over time and the joint starts acting like a resistor. Also, the main reason to twist the wires together is to keep them from moving while you solder them. So only a few twist is all you really need.

[@sfalvellag]

Can you splice together additional length of wire to move thermostat to a new wall with wire nuts if just inside?

[@jbecker386]

I use staggered small blue wire nuts turned up, and pull the whole length of wire including the splice through 1/2" LFNC which is how it should've been installed in the first place. One stipulation - the conduit must be configured so it can drain.

[@itsGreghere]

lol "put this in your mouth immediately in order to cool it"

[@accurateoneelectrical3502]

Holly hell that is some extreme half-hot work. Lol I like it though cant wait to see an apprentice get caught spending all day trying it🤣

[@hvacslayer2929]

Unit is down, customers are getting hot! “Hey so what’s the eta on getting the unit back up and cooling” Me- “oh I’m just waiting on my heat gun to warm up and then I can solder and then heat shrink” Boss- “Get the fuck off the roof and go home for the day”

[@rpsmith]

The best soldering gun you can get your hands on is a Weller GT7A Gun with a 120V, 150W, 700°F Power Head. It's temperature controlled so you can just keep the trigger pulled while you are soldering and it weighs less than a pound. Once you use one of these you will never go back to one of those 10 pound burners your grandfather used. They are a little hard to find but the best place to find one that I have found is eBay.

[@skirnir-atf]

Nice. I use this splice before, but even don`t know IT`S THE NASA SPLICE )))) (realy wery strong and good splice)

[@barberhvac3438]

Nodoubt the best way to do it. But I can just imagine dispatch calling me and ask me why it's taking so long

[@ChiDraconis]

Foam insulation wrap painted white on the return? I kept one good roll of aluminum HAVC tape from my 3 years at a shop and nothing else is as strong for many DIY that I have to do to survive; I forgot what the low-pressure return is called on the condenser but aluminum HAVC tape should not only last longer but provide shielding from a few common vermin;

[@2011JRM]

Soldering with a different metal (than the copper conductor) won't become an issue? Well done video, btw, Brian... Thank you!

[@DJV94022]

I work in new construction hvac-r and here the townhomes that are in within city limits they tend to steal the copper and they cut the thermo wire of course ive thought about just soldering but the company always just wants new wire in the rough stage its faster and easier to just run new wire times that by 8units per building so yeah i would do this if the house is trim stage

[@Silky_boi]

How well does this work for communicating systems that use DC voltage?

[@CertifiedGasSystems]

How about wire ties and liquid tape inside each tie.

[@DBYNOE]

All fine and good but HVAC folks charge $95/hr, there's got to be a more cost effective way. Do they have small weather and UV resistant splice boxes? Cause that looked like $200 worth of labor.

[@DigitalRaider1]

Do spliced wiring in Attic on furnace need to be in a junction box?

[@driftingabstract4076]

High voltage needs to be in JB

[@peterdarlington4117]

What’s that a $300 splice?

[@StephenRardon]

People think using the iManifold takes forever! LOL

[@HVACS]

Yes... This is NOT a time saver :-)

[@StephenRardon]

HVAC School the iManifold doesn't take that long though.

[@neilcomparetto5282]

Stephen, I think when someone doesn't want to do something, "it takes forever". I tried to get our service guys to check static pressure and system capacity. They tried for about a day and a half and ran back to my boss screaming "it takes too long". If they would of given themselves a little time to get proficient at it they would be better techs today... some dogs don't hunt.

[@badbanano]

Ya know, all respect considered, it's a Western Union splice, and always has been. Stop changing things. I see it everyday and it's just not necessary to reinvent the wheel.

[@meyerjeff]

I hope some day you will reshoot this video with you sitting and the camera held still as you do the various steps. Narrating more of the sub-steps would be great. (We can’t read your mind.). Thank you for hearing me - I really want to learn this technique.

[@AndrewsRChelis]

Hold the trigger heat the tip up first then heat the wire.

[@sassyg1962]

Except whatever southwire uses to insulate these wires instantly softens and disintegrates when solder touches the bare wire within a foot of it.

[@f1reguy587]

..or you can use the heat shrink insulated crimps because in an appliance there’s no spare 8 inches of wire. Or a decent amount of space to fit a soldering iron. But I get it.

[@whitesheatingairappliancer7101]

nice video thank you. I don't know if there's a RURAL King store in your area, Rural King Sales a box of shrink tape for $4.00.

[@damonjenkins2185]

I think we should just use double insulated control wiring to make it less likely to need splicing

[@hangngoaigiare]

Underground and exposed? May not meet NEC code.

[@HVACS]

It’s control cable NEC doesn’t care

[@kennethdandurand3472]

Having done a lot of these, I immediately noticed at 6:00, the heat shrink is hot and compressed on the wire. But you cut away (maybe to fix the heat shrink?)..... Opps, at 9:00 you cover it. Sorry!

[@stanwei157]

If you want to splice the wires with 24 v power alive cut one wire each time. Otherwise, turn off power to 24-volt control transformer before you cut cable all at once you will burnout fuse or transformer.

[@jackwgn]

The time it takes to splice and solder each wire. I would have already ran new thermostat wire, I wouldn't recommend this, unless it's the last job on your schedule and you want to milk the clock or something

[@dgsrks102030]

If I am invited on the space shuttle , this is going to be a need to know .

[@ClimatronACInc]

After hourly wage and materials it would've been cheaper to run a whole new wire...also, if it was of any importance, ex: used for an inverter or as a communication cable it would be run in a conduit or would have to run a waterproof insulated cable. Especially if it goes underground.

[@ditch9802]

Yes. It did hurt.

[@alfredo8431]

Lol the kid flyby

[@howardhoward5694]

Give me some blue wire nuts and no tape and I'll get the job done lol .

[@cameltoast]

Flux can work magic!

[@Patnaples5881]

Your company is in Florida, I assume you live in Florida, and I don’t see any Palm trees, what’s wrong with this picture??

[@randymack1782]

NASA HUMPH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I may just be studying this trade, but both of my parents were Western Union, & my dad was in Signal Corps in Army during Korean Conflict. then WU for 33 years until his death in the 1980's my mom was WU until I was born in the late 60's, WU invented it around 100 years before NASA, which was started in 1958, WU was 1851. I actually been doing WU connections since I was a kid in single digits, & solder it, thats the way my parents insisted. next if you have the room, you did it wrong! I just saw your typed comment on expert level of splicing like this, splice 1 wire every 2" if possible so you do not have a big pregnant section of wire, & I know, not always possible, but looks so much more professional. did that many times putting taller bars on motorcycles, many times adding 12" or more to wiring for ape hangers. also those gloves are bad. let a drop of solder hit & melt through the cloth section, I had spark from welding just tacking melt right through a few years ago. but otherwise great video, & I had to give you a little Hell over the WU since I was raised in the old days and saw & was around old machines.

[@deadmanswife3625]

Great post Randy

[@addison2416]

If Zach doesn’t do it I’m not doing it.

[@MarkJones-no2zf]

Not supposed to use crimp connectors on solid wires

[@veijolalli326]

That kind of shrink tube is no good - you must use one with glue inside.

[@thecurious6721]

I am wondering if any hvac tech ever splice wires that way 🤔

[@eag21tx1]

They teaches that an electrical school that's nothing new but you don't need to solder a you

[@witchcult_666]

When you’re paid hourly

[@tairdudeusa7981]

I'm sorry but I would use a jelly crimps and ran 2 more calls that day. I would have a much better waterproof connection.

[@philliplopez8745]

There are a million ways to skin a cat , it is easier to lay the wires parallel , tape them together , strip twist and solder conductors , slip shrink over ends and wrap with tape .

[@JohnH1370]

Old western union splice

[@scottriddle5468]

Cool , but most guys are not having it.

[@saywhatnow8189]

Crimp connection and e tape is fine I would be fired for spending this much time on a wire short time is money my friend great job but just a little over kill if you ask me

[@ahmetkrasniqi2430]

Just turned a 2min job to a 2hr job 😳

[@fludrbywest3886]

Great work ❤ my thumbs suck the are starters

[@jimbola77]

solder is the best iv'e seen guy's put butt connector's.

[@ThisIsWhyWeCantHaveNiceThings.]

Alright now do it in a crawl space

[@joselanda8316]

Who in the world has a whole hour to splice some low voltage wire on the job though? 🤔

[@jerry_phillips]

Apparently time is not money in your neck of the woods.

[@natep1661]

Looks good. But not feasible in reality.

[@tyhuffman5447]

That's really cool, I had seen that splice before and even used it once or twice but I never knew the name. Thanks. If you want to mod your soLdering iron (no more waiting for heat) check out Mr. Carlson's Lab episode: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bWrYdWmOrKeaa6c You appear stressed, if you get your coffee fix just right the jitters go away.

[@jewdali1]

Why you call it NASA splice ? This is what all electricians do in other countries

[@HVACS]

It's just what NASA specs so a lot of people call it that

[@jewdali1]

Thank you

[@ivanenriquez4564]

Actually NASA has specifications for more splices than this lineman splice

[@ivanenriquez4564]

Failed to met NASA SPECS . According to NASA-STD-8739.4A - 19.7.1.a The conductors shall be pre-tinned

[@ivanenriquez4564]

In addition workmanship counts . Standard dictates that there shall be at least 3 turns around each conductor and the wraps shall be tight with no gaps between adjacent turns .

[@armentasheatingcooling7314]

You must charge an additional $175 to reconnect a shorted low voltage wire. SMH!!! I can't imagine trying to do something like that in a crawl space or attic. Lol!

[@DJV94022]

Soldering and heatshrink is easy its just the gun he used is the worst to ever use in life

[@awesomeaustin2348]

NOPE !!!

[@chriswalker2393]

NOT happening in the real world

[@jcaleca60]

In the real world this place is never going to happen people don't want to pay as it is the other way seems to work and it's cheap and people like that if I did that my boss would fire me takes too much time unless we're getting paid by the hour laugh out loud