I’m doing GFCI replacement of (mostly) ungrounded electrical receptacles a few at a time in a couple of homes built in the 1950s. It’s been entertaining so far. I found a 3 connection splice in my parents’ home that was twisted around one wire, soldered, wrapped in electrical tape, and then put into the box that way. I cut it all off and used a 3-port WAGO 221 on what was left, which was barely enough to stick out of the box.
However, this was a really weird 3-wire splice that I cut off. The wires were one pair upstream, one pair down, and then to the receptacle. I removed the electrical tape that was covering it in the box. I replaced the setup using two 3-port WAGO 221 connectors to bridge the wires and connect to the receptacle. It was twisting three wires in this really odd way. It wasn’t soldered like the other pain in the posterior that I dealt with earlier, but this one used a copper crimp sleeve. Some of the electrical tape residue is still there. Something tells me this probably wasn’t up to code even when it was originally done, since it was only covered with vinyl electrical tape. Looking up what’s acceptable to cover bare wire in a box seems to be self-bonding rubber tape, then electrical tape to cover it up.
The other thing I’ve noticed with older homes is how different insulators were back then. Some used really thick plastic insulators (might have been from 1960s or later work), but I think some might have even been made of rubber. When I need to strip the insulator it could be tough and some didn’t want to fit easily in my lever connectors with how hard and thick the insulators were.
However, this was a really weird 3-wire splice that I cut off. The wires were one pair upstream, one pair down, and then to the receptacle. I removed the electrical tape that was covering it in the box. I replaced the setup using two 3-port WAGO 221 connectors to bridge the wires and connect to the receptacle. It was twisting three wires in this really odd way. It wasn’t soldered like the other pain in the posterior that I dealt with earlier, but this one used a copper crimp sleeve. Some of the electrical tape residue is still there. Something tells me this probably wasn’t up to code even when it was originally done, since it was only covered with vinyl electrical tape. Looking up what’s acceptable to cover bare wire in a box seems to be self-bonding rubber tape, then electrical tape to cover it up.
The other thing I’ve noticed with older homes is how different insulators were back then. Some used really thick plastic insulators (might have been from 1960s or later work), but I think some might have even been made of rubber. When I need to strip the insulator it could be tough and some didn’t want to fit easily in my lever connectors with how hard and thick the insulators were.