3M 7000058873 3M, Scotchlok, Female QuickSlide Disconnect, T-Tap Nylon Insulated Self-Stripping 952X-Bottle, 18-14 AWG, 10 Packs/Case

That is exactly what it does. The Scotchlok 952X is an insulation displacement T-tap, so it bites through the insulation and makes contact mid-span on a run you do not want to cut. You close it with the 3M E-9BM crimping tool or a pair of mechanics (slip joint) pliers. The tap side then gives you a female 0.25 inch QuickSlide disconnect for the branch wire.

18 to 14 AWG (0.75 to 1.5 mm2), which is the standard blue-coded range. Just as important, the wire's insulation outside diameter cannot exceed 0.145 in (3.7 mm) or the channel will not close properly on it. If your run wire is thick-jacketed THHN at the top of that gauge range, measure the jacket before you commit.

Yes. The disconnect is female at 0.25 in (6.35 mm) wide, the common quarter-inch blade size, so it slides onto a standard 1/4 inch male tab or spade on a switch, relay, or motor terminal.

Maximum recommended voltage is 600 V, and the connector is UL Listed under file E70512 for AWG conductors only. Use it on solid or stranded AWG wire, not on metric-sized conductors outside the AWG listing.

No. The 3M 952X (7000058873) is a nylon-insulated, self-stripping T-tap that displaces the insulation to tap a wire in mid-span and presents a 0.25 in female QuickSlide disconnect for a mating male tab, rated to 600 V and 105 C / 221 F on 18-14 AWG conductors. The Burndy UCCOVER1BOX25 is a polyethylene cover for Tapit tap connectors - an insulating shell that goes over a separate tap connector, not a terminated tap with a disconnect of its own. If the job needs a quick-disconnect branch off an existing run, the 952X does that work; the Burndy part only protects a Tapit tap.

No. The 3M 952X (7000058873) covers 18-14 AWG (0.75-1.5 mm2) with a maximum insulation outside diameter of 0.145 in (3.7 mm), so anything heavier than 14 AWG is outside its range, and it terminates in a 0.25 in female push-on disconnect rather than a bonding lug. For a bonding connection spanning #14 to #2 AWG, the Burndy BDTIBB BONDIT wall-mount intersystem bonding connector is built in stainless steel for that conductor range. The 952X is the choice when you are branching a low-current 18-14 AWG circuit and want a mating male tab connection.

105 C (221 F) is the maximum operating temperature. That covers most engine-bay accessory wiring, HVAC control runs, and appliance harnesses, but it rules out anything sitting directly on exhaust or a high-temp furnace section.

The insulator is FR nylon and the current-carrying element is tin-plated brass. The housing is flame retardant, and the part is RoHS 2011/65/EU compliant without exemption. Tin plating over brass is the usual choice for general indoor and panel wiring; there is no corrosion-inhibiting grease fill, so it is not a submersible or direct-burial connector.

No dedicated ratcheting crimper is required. 3M calls for the E-9BM crimping tool or ordinary mechanics (slip joint) pliers to close the cover, which is why these get used for field add-ons where nobody wants to haul a die set. Do not close them with lineman's pliers edge-on, and do not strip the wire first, the blade does that as it seats.

Pick by wire size and whether you need the branch to come apart. The Scotchlok 952X is for small 18-14 AWG branch work where you want a quick-disconnect blade on the tap leg, so accessories, controls, and fixture whips unplug without cutting the run. For heavier feeder taps you want a mechanical tap connector plus an insulating cover, like the Burndy Tapit polyethylene tap connector cover (UCCOVER1BOX25). For bonding intersystem grounding electrodes, neither applies, that is a job for something like the Burndy BONDIT BDTIBB, rated #14 to #2 AWG.

They solve unrelated problems. The 3M 952X (7000058873) is a wire-to-wire electrical connector: a tin-plated brass element in an FR nylon body that displaces insulation to tap an 18-14 AWG conductor mid-span and ends in a 0.25 in female disconnect, rated 600 V. The RACO 4734 is a 1 in Type B liquidtight multi-position connector in nylon from the SWIVEL-LOK series - a raceway fitting that terminates liquidtight conduit at an enclosure and carries no conductor connection at all. Specify the 952X for the conductor splice and a RACO fitting for the conduit entry; a job often needs both.

No. The RACO 232MSCM is a 4 in square welded box, 2-1/8 in deep with an M bracket, and its STAB-IT connector is the cable clamp that secures cable entering the box. The 3M 952X (7000058873) is the connection made on the conductor itself - a T-tap that taps 18-14 AWG in mid-span without cutting the run and gives you a 0.25 in female QuickSlide disconnect, flame retardant nylon, UL file E70512 for AWG conductors. A box fitting anchors the cable; the 952X makes the branch.

Yes, country of origin is the United States. That matters on Buy American and federally funded institutional jobs where the electrical bill of materials has to show domestic origin.