ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade Non-US Electrical Systems & Trades What do you use for splicing conductors?

I kind of like the connectors in which the conductors are held in a collar with a set screw, terminal-strip style, but a cover then screws over that collar to give the finished appearance of a wirenut.

Seems like it's a system with the best of both worlds.

I hate wirenuts! It's that wearisome feeling you get when you open a jointbox in, say conduit, and as soon as you touch anything they all rattle off down your steps!! Gimme chocos anytime - or better still a fixed terminal box as shown above in Pauls post ( looks a bit Screwfix-like that one though...! ) provided it's a good quality one that doesn't splinter the plastic as soon as you torque up more than a finger-tip's worth...

I agree with Paul; the best screwterms are the ones with a bearing surface on the wire and not the end of the screw - less likely to snap a 1.00mm Cu that way.

I dislike intensly the stabbers. My experience with these in sound systems is; yeah ok - they're fast. But the quality of the connection is lousy, especially if someone has re-used it. As soon as they weaken the battle is lost...

Had a look around our 1970s wiring in the attic in Ireland a few months ago.. All connections are made with MK fixed terminal boxes, black circular boxes which make pretty decent connections!

They're bulky, but they're safe!

Choc-boxes get used behind light fittings quite a bit though. DIYers often just leave them dangling loose in the attic space! (Ideally they're encased in a box)

MK has been considered the Rolls-Royce of wiring accessories here for many years, and their junciton boxes are still certainly among the best, if somewhat expensive compared to other makes.

The "choc block pushed into the attic" method is all to common here as well, I'm afraid. The juncture between fixed cables and lighting fixtures is one area where many British homes seem to be severely lacking. People run regular T&E into high-temperature enclosures, or they take of a loop-in ceiling rose with three cables running into it and just choc-block the loop thru portion and shove it into the attic, etc.

Darn, don't you just hate when that happens? Some of the cheap no-brand types are getting really bad in that respect.

By the way, for non-Brits, Screwfix is a big mail-order DIY supplier over here: www.screwfix.com

a propos one of your other posts extolling MK, that's why I almost always use them Cheaper jb's are simply not worth the hassle... Isn't it amazing how the following always apply when you're faced with a splintered box:

1. It's always the LAST terminal you tighten.
2. It's always the most visible box in an installation.
3. Despite #2, it's always the least accessible.
4. It's the 'busiest' box, usually six-term with every entry used to the full
5. You're pleased with the way it's all going/looking until that happens...
6. Your arms ache like hell from working at full stretch over your head for the last age
7. The client has just walked in...
8. It's 4:45pm on a Friay afternoon
9. All the cuts are 1.00mm - ya don't want to rework them for fear of them breaking
10. It NEVER looks as good when you redo it

Does all that sound like a helping of deja vu???

Oh well...MK it is


[This message has been edited by uksparky (edited 07-09-2004).]

Hey, you must have been looking over my shoulder on some of my jobs!

Re #6, it always seems that if anything needs re-doing it's the one stuck in a really awkward corner where you've just spent 20 minutes working above your head while twisted around the cabinet, rafter, or whatever.

Regarding www.screwfix.com…
Paul, I would never have thought to associate the term “Armadillo” with a garden wiring kit. Interesting.