Sta-Kon RCT363M INS FLOUR TERMIN 12-10 ON MYLAR

The RCT363M is sized for 12-10 AWG stranded or solid copper wire. If your conductor is 14-16 AWG, the barrel will be too large to crimp reliably and you want a blue-coded terminal instead; 8 AWG and larger needs a bigger barrel than this one.

Yellow is the standard insulation color code for terminals covering 12-10 AWG wire, which is exactly what this one takes. On a job where you are crimping several gauges, the color lets an inspector or the next electrician confirm at a glance that the right barrel went on the right conductor: red for 22-16, blue for 16-14, yellow for 12-10.

The terminals come strip-mounted on a Mylar carrier rather than loose in a bag. That form is what feeds a production or semi-automatic crimping machine, and it also keeps the parts indexed and oriented for high-volume panel work. If you are hand-crimping a handful of connections with a plier-style tool, loose bulk terminals are the easier buy.

A ring terminal, which is what the RCT363M is, has a closed tongue, so the connection cannot vibrate off a screw or stud that loosens slightly. That is why ring terminals are specified for motor leads, equipment grounds and anything on a vibrating machine. A fork or spade tongue is open and can be slid under a partly backed-off screw without removing it, which makes it quicker for service work on terminal blocks but less secure.

Country of origin on the RCT363M is the United States. That matters on federal, state and institutional work where domestic-source documentation is part of the submittal package.

The insulation on the RCT363M is vinyl, which is the general-purpose sleeve material for interior building and panel wiring. For engine compartments, luminaire housings or anywhere near a heat source, specify a nylon-insulated or heat-shrink-insulated ring terminal in the same 12-10 AWG range instead of vinyl.