I understand how to wire sprinkler valves in theory. But in practice, how is it done. For instance, starting at the last valves in the run, the common wire is attached, but in a 7-strand wire, you may only use 3 colored wires or so. What do you do with the unused wires? Just leave them dangling? Cap them off with a grease cap? Then, as you arrive at the next set of valves, do you cut the entire strand and splice, or just cut out the individual colored wires that you need to wire those valves?
well if you have a few extra strands in the cable, they may be used in the future if you add on to the sprinkler system with more valves. or to help troubleshoot wiring problems. no need to cap the unused wires, just cut them and leave them our company leaves enough of the wire in the valve box, to be able to pull out the connection for service. make sure you leave enough wire to service the valves and their connections easlily.. we then wrap the unused cables around the used wires and the connections. keeps the valve box nice and neat, and ready to be serviced if needed. the next set of valves, the best way is to cut the whole cable and splice them back. it is just easier. again, make sure you leave a good bit of wire in the box so you can service it easily. i work on sprinkler systems for a living. one pet peeve is when a connection is not in the valve box, but inthe ground around it, b/c some one cut the wire too short.then i will have to dig up the connnections and repair them, instead of just doing it through the valve box without messing up the customer's yard. and by the way, grease caps arent the best way of sealing wire connections. the best way for irrigation is with the orange wire nuts, and seal them with Dri-Splice. from my dad's over 20 years of expericence and my last few years, this is the best way. good luck and hope this helps.
As general practice (GP), phone company technicians wrap the extra wires around the end of the cable (both ends). This keeps them out of the way, yet they are there for later use, if necessary.
