ECN Forum Forums Code Related Discussion NEC & other Code issues New Wire Nuts

Bill,

When I was in business I was a "Pre Twister" too. I didn't trust a splice unless I twisted it before I used a wire nut. As for the Wago style of connectors, I have not used them myself. ( I am out of the business of contracting and inspecting only) I am inspecting a large residential project in one of my towns where the buildings are all between 5-7 stories tall. A union contractor in one building and a non union contractor in another building are both using the Wagos because they feel that it speeds up the install time. My main concern was the fact that the NEC/UL stopped using the pin-backs on receptacles for # 12 ga but they will allow it for these connectors. They seem like they are good and worth while, but I was wondering if anyone had any complaint about them so far

Harold,

I think many of our International Members have used them which was my reason for putting the question to them.

How about it guys? Have you seen any problems with the WAGO style connector?

Bill

I have used the Ideal brand on occassion. They seemed to hold fine and have not had any call backs. I like these when someone has cut the wires too short in the box to allow the use of a wirenut.

One feature on the Wagos is the addition of a test port so that voltage can be checked with the connector in-place.

Bill,

I don't dare to say anything about the electrical performance without a suitable power source and a thermal camera.

The mechanical connection appears to be sufficient, but I would have to test it with weights to be sure.

I went to Wagos hompage and dug into the test results from Wago themselves. I picked a curved which shows the temperature rise in a 2.50 mm² wire. This is in between #14 and #12.



(S = solid, F = fine-stranded)

This test was carried out to German standards. The temperature in Germany is always a constant 25°C, at least in the standards. The maximum temperature in European cables is 70°C. This means that the wire and connector is allowed to experience a temperatur rise of 45°C in Germany.

In the US, I think the ambient temperature is a constant 30°C and as you know American wires are 60, 75 or 90°C. That means that the results should be valid for 75°C wires.

Wago only provide the tested ampacity for metric sizes. I have taken the liberty to calculate in between sizes that better correspond to AWG. (These data are from two different documents. I took the worse values which happened to be for fine stranded.)

1.5 mm² #15, 17.5 Amps, 40 Newtons
(2.0 mm² #14, 21 Amps, 50 Newtons)
2.5 mm² #13, 24 Amps, 60 Newtons
(3.15 mm² #12, 28 Amps, 75 Newtons)
4 mm² #11, 32 Amps, 90 Newtons

If you require that you can use 60°C wires, the allowed temperature rise is just 30°C. This means that the ampacity is significantly lower, but on the other hand it is significantly higher with 90°C wires. (The connectors are rated for 90°C or 105°C.)

(For metric challenged, 10 Newtons is about equal to one kilogram or two pounds)

[This message has been edited by C-H (edited 08-11-2003).]

don't mean to be thick , what does this mean yes or no ?

RE: "I don't know the reason for the #12 elimination(while still allowing #14), but the end result is good" [regarding receptacle].

Maybe someone from Canada can help out with this.... I remember hearing something about this. Supposedely Canada had stopped allowing the use of a #12 wire {stab-back] in the 15A rated receptacle....since the US manufacturers sell to the Canada market, it was simpler to just manufacture the one size receptacle (i.e. only making the #14 stab-back) rather than manufacturing separate sizes.

Like I said, this is just something I heard, read somewhere a while back...don't know the accuracy of this but someone from Canada might have a more accurate take on this.

CH said:


But C, wouldn't the no-strip splice connector be something similar to these little cheesy plugs we have in NEMA-land where you can just clamp them on and these insulation piercing points penetrate the insulation in the lamp cord?

I've got a couple here like that - it's a clam-shell that you fold over the unstripped conductors. You then close the clamshell and tighten a screw.

Then you pray that the little points bit into the insulation and made the contact with the conductors. They're usually only designed for 18-AWG SPT-1 lampcord.

They're made in China by god-only-knows-who for GE and these guys in turn sell them in blister packs of two each in the big national department stores like K-Mart and Target.

I think I'm gonna stick with screw terminals, marrettes and terminal blocks. These are proven!

Those "no strippers" are also sold as a #567 (among others) by 3M. They'll tap a #18 from a #12 run, and are used extensively here in the wiring of continuous rows of strip fixtures (much to my dismay).
Wago's?? I still don't trust them for anything more than replacing a ballast.
Just a personal opinion, though...S