Lighting, Light Fixtures, Ceiling and Exhaust Fans - junction/mounting box for exterior light ??

im sure they exist ? ive never seen one i dont think, i always see exterior porch lights just directly screwed to siding and no box at all, i know this is not anywhere near code, i want to install some older common porch lights on a house across the way but
what box do i get for this ? they do make 3.5" wide weatherproof exterior junction/light boxes im sure right ?




also, i dont know if its safe to even use these light fixtures, they are older ones and they do have a stranded copper ground wire, but all three wires are real tiny and the hot and neutral are aluminum stranded, it doesnt seem like a good idea to be using them with modern 14 or 12 guage copper solid cable,

no ?

the aluminum wire on them makes me worry about using them at all, let alone the tiny guage the wires are, hmmmm,,,.


what do i do/use/look for ?? do they even make exterior light fixtures with better quality wire withough high price ?

i need to spend very little though, have like no budget at all and got to get this house ready for rent asap before it gets any colder out and this is one of the projects to do before the house is ready



thanks for anything

All residential fixtures use wires that are # 16 or #18 AWG.I've never seen fixtures wired with AL conductors.Are you sure the fixture wires aren't tinned copper? The tinning may make them look like AL.

How about something like this?

http://www.aifittings.com/whnew49.htm

If not try to look at the other products available from Arlington.

How about something like this?

http://www.aifittings.com/whnew49.htm

If not try to look at the other products available from Arlington.


thats pretty interesting, hmm

this house i am working on it has no siding on it yet, it just has plywood chipboard 1/2" thick sheathing

but i do need to cut out holes and put in some kind of boxes for exterior lantern style lamps

i definitely cant be using traditional metal interior type junction boxes for the exterior lamps, so should i just go ahead and get siding type weather boxes -like those depicted in the above posted URL- since i know vinyl siding will be going on the house eventually ?

or ?

i think what i need to do is find a house being constructed right now thats boxed and wired up for exterior lamps but doesnt have lamps installed yet, so i can see what they look like and how they are installed, does anyone know where i can see pics of such ?

i dont even know of a single house around here bieng built that i can even go and look at, not much construction happens around here, and we dont have any electrical supplies store here, we have to go to forsyth and springfield and such to find any such thing like lowes, menards or anything, etc. other than wal mart,
so i have really no idea what kind of boxes and such they make these days
i only ever see real old installations and boxes and they all scare me with how rough and unsafe they are installed, wire connections out in the open and rarely inside of a junction box, ceiling light fixtures screwed to ceilings with no box, etc,.


thats what im trying to fix here, trying to box up connections and light fixtures and such,


thanks

All residential fixtures use wires that are # 16 or #18 AWG.I've never seen fixtures wired with AL conductors.Are you sure the fixture wires aren't tinned copper? The tinning may make them look like AL.


probably 18, they are very small
maybe they are soldered, hmm,.

damn now im curious im gonna go and look

if any of them have AL wires then i should shy away from them right ?

i hope they are copper and just tinned

i forgot all about that, yeah i have seen in the past that they tin ends of coppper stranded wires on some new fixtures etc

this must be a requirement to pass UL listing

right ??

or ?

thanks :D

well i looked and i cannot tell what they are without cutting insulation

it seems like tinned copper but still could possibly be aluminum i just cannot tell
the strands are not soldered together, they are all independent and flexible, but not as seemingly easily as AL would be, i dunno

if a new UL listed light fixture is brand new then its gotta be tinned copper strands right ? is that current NEC ?


if so then im ok and now worries other than figuring out how in the heck you properly connect 16/18 tinned stranded copper to 12-2 solid copper without heat or arcing danger


i really dont see how this can be done without worry/paranoia, short of soldering the connections

but is such allowed NEC ?

im am stuck

how to make these connections safely ?
in the past i have done anything from just twisting them together and taping it up and hoping for the best, or attempting ot use wire nuts but end up not being as tight of connection as you want to see especially with stranded


so i dunno

making a connection and worrying about it means that its not right- to me anyways

cuz its really not right in actuality


but what is right currently ?

how do you guys make your stranded to solid conductors connections at light fixtures ? do you guys ever worry about quality and properness of wiring connections like i do ?

im sure you do

what do you do about it ? i know you guys must know what the proper way to make these connections is,

i dont
so i worry
ive even seen a wire nut connection blow up before, but that was with 12-2 solid copper

i didnt make the connection so i dont know, but i saw it blow up, so i worry even more about conenctions i have to make due to that incident

i really am shy of using wire nuts due to this,

but it seems like using them is probably current NEC though.


thanks for anything

Since your house doesn't have siding yet try this one

http://www.aifittings.com/whnew24.htm

The better wirenuts are U.L listed & very safe if used properly.After making stranded/solid connections gently tug on the stranded wire for a tight splice.If there is any copper showing rather than starting over or if it is an outdoor splice wrap some tape around the wirenut & wire {not too much}.The wirenut you saw explode was probably connected to a high voltage or the circuit it was on was not wired properly.