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Have you ever lifted up the cover of your sprinkler box? The first thing this handyman notices is all the bugs that scatter when they see daylight. You might also notice a tangled mess of wiring that may or may not be laying in water. This water can be a big source of problems for the wire connections, not to mention the fact that you have a leaking sprinkler valve.
When sprinkler valves are wired together, it is common for most homeowners to use regular wire nuts. These do a great job of holding the ends of the wires together, but not so good at keeping water out of the connections. For this you can use water-proof wire nuts.
Water proof wire nuts are larger than standard wire nuts and are filled with silicone to form a barrier against water infiltration. With standard wire nuts there is a female threaded fitting inside the wire nut and all you need to do is stick the wires inside the nut and screw it on. This twisting action joins the ends of the wires and hold them for a good connection. With water proof wire nuts, I generally hold the ends of the wires together with pliers and twist them together before sticking them into the wire nut. At least in my mind, I want to disturb the silicone filled wire nut as little as possible. Once inserted into the wire nut, I will give it a gentle twist and then use black electrical tape at the base of the nut to hold it to the wires so that nothing moves. This will also form another barrier against water.
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