have a look at these new wago connectors:

http://www.wago.com/web/us/en/news/news/news_2003/series222_detail.htm

sounds great to me, they clamp 0,08mm² fine stranded up to 4mm², solid up to 2,5mm²


and you can easily remove the wires if used i.e. in a building installation without having to pull and turn.


[This message has been edited by :andy: (edited 12-05-2003).]

I can't deal with the metric system.

sorry. i can't with yours

its AWG 12 to 28.

[This message has been edited by :andy: (edited 12-05-2003).]

It looks like they might be good for ballast change outs. We were using a connector similar to that made by 3M. You had to use your pliers to close the connector. They would save alot of time, if you had a large # of fixtures to do.
(office 2x4 lay in type)

I forgot, I wonder if they are UL approved here in the US.

I forgot, I wonder if they are UL approved here in the US.

Sorry, I hit it twice

does anyone recognize the link i posted???

there are the AWG sizes and it says UL 600V so i guess they're approved.

methinks they'd make a grand stand in for lumps of coal....

bah humbug!

Being an old fogey about splices,I don't know if I'd trust 'em.

Russell

Reminds me of them twist on wire "nuts" I think they called 'em. Another passing fad. Now excuse me while I heat my soldering iron....

I like 'em!
I just can't get over the fact that they rely on a similar technology to backstabbed receptacles. These with the little levers are better though.


I happen to like the metric system. From a logical standpoint it makes a h*ll of alot more sense than ours!
A mile = 5280', Who's bright ides was that??

I brought up a related question like this on another board. The Wago allows wires to be spliced with out twisting. #14-#12- and #10 ga. (I think) OK. Yet the NEC removed the ability to use the pin back on receptacles for # 12 ga wire. Why? The code found that pin back alone didn't work, but the wire connector is OK? What gives?

well, i work with wagos as din rail terminals in industrial use from AWG 20 to AWG 2 or so daily, and i've never seen a faulty one of these getting hot or equal problems.

the cage clamp system clamps the wire at a pre-defined strenght that is not lost by the time, and it makes a perfect contact by distributing the strands evenly in the clamping zone.

this one is rated 32 Amperes by the VDE, so it should work perfect for 16A building installations.

saying wirenuts would be better/safer is just wrong IMHO. I dont trust Wirenuts at all, especially for stranded wires.

[This message has been edited by :andy: (edited 12-06-2003).]

well :andy: ,
i see a spring with a single point contact there, and can imagine a 'row' of noodles , this vs. what would be a more integral twisted pair within a wirenut is a no-brainer to me...

I wouldn't call it a single point contact. Sure, there is a thin pressure contact underneath the wire but the majority of the surface area of contact is on top - with the same contact pressure. As long as the contact area is greater than the wire's cross-sectional area. I would be interested to see an infra-red image of this clamp with 32A flowing and compare it to a wirenut.

well, in comparison to the wirenut: If a wirenut is properly installed, all strands are of equal lenght and so on, there is nothing to say against. but there are some specialists just twisting the strands together in any way and turning the nut on them. you dont know how each wire gies inside and where they make contact. if the wire is properly inserted in the wago, you can be sure its making enough contact it needs. And: this one won't get loose by time, vibration etc.

Regarding the temperature: I've seen a testing diagram of a Clamp designed for 16A tested at 20A with after a while reached temperature of about 115°F.

Andy, What is the tension on the spring; how hard does it clamp the wire?

If my choice was these or solder I would solder.

posted by Harold Endean

Well said Harold, I would like to know the answer to that too.

I like something more than spring pressure to hold the wire tight.

Will they come out with one for 250s.



[This message has been edited by iwire (edited 12-06-2003).]

i think if you would have held some wagos in your hands, you would use them too. once you've seen how they clamp and felt the strenght of the spring, its ok.

a screw always can go open. this one can't. and you have to step on a wago rail terminal and pull a #12 out with two hands to get it out. they hold very tight, but dont cut the strands.

I have seen Wagos when doing service calls.

No the Wago was not the problem but getting the conductors out for some trouble shooting was a pain in the wago.

Andy,

I have seen the Wagos and they are being used on a big job in one of my towns. It is a big Res. senior housing complex. I can not fail a job if someone is using UL approved wirenuts but my question still would be, what difference does the Wago have that the pin back receptacle does not?

Yeah Harold I figured as much, it is the formans choice, not a company thing.



[This message has been edited by iwire (edited 12-07-2003).]

an NRTL rep that sits on a CMP ??

I have held Wagos in my hand.
I've disassembled Wagos on my desk.
I've unhappily connected wires to them on DIN rail terminal strips in machinery.
I've been informed on this Forum that the clamp is not stainless steel, as I thought, but "spring copper" (my magnet picks them up).
They may spread stranded conductors evenly throughout the clamping zone, but that zone is less than 1/16", as shown in andy's picture.
I find it hard to believe that this puny, sharp edge would not eventually cut into the conductor if it was vibrated or rotated.
A wire nut provides conductor to conductor contact for virtually the entire stripped lengths. See how many hands it takes to just pull one apart. I've done demo, and seen that sometimes when ripping wire out, I can just about hang my 200 pounds from a conductor that's spliced in a box down the line without the wire nut coming apart.
What's next, sheet metal split bolts?? ...S

The depicted version looks a bit primitive. Why is there no spring loaded plate on the underside to keep the wire pressed to the metal above? (You know, an engineer who gets something in his hand will always try to find ways of improving it. )

I'll echo Iwire's comment on getting the wire out. But, solder it? Are you kidding? Is that even legal?

The difference between a connector and a device might be there is vibration from the device? Or simply a different panel who makes the decisions, like Sparky says...

By C-H

I only brought up soldering because of Scotts coment.

By Electricmanscott

But yes I could solder if I wanted to.

By electure

Please do not give anyone ideas, the split bolts I get now are made out of junk as it is.

electure, of course you realize i'm going to have to go out and do this now....