I have found an increasing number of
strip connectors used for joins in cables in
roof voids, this is quite worrying, considering
that they almost always involve the live
conductor, of a two-way lighting circuit.
Normally these wires have to be joined in a
fitting, under AS/NZ 3000,
Anybody feel different?.

[This message has been edited by Trumpy (edited 09-04-2002).]

I see this all the time as well. I have no idea about AS/NZ 3000, but certainly our IEE Wiring Regs. here require that the connections be made inside a proper enclosure.

Such as a proper junction box, right?

It's a bit dangerous leaving a choco-block in mid-air (yes we're familiar with them in the States, and I used a 3-terminal block instead of the normal American marrettes when wiring up my fume hood - looks much neater and it is enclosed in the wiring panel of the hood).

There's always a danger of something falling into the recessed screw terminals or the entire thing snagging and pulling apart....same thing with Marrettes also I guess.

Hi Sven,

Like this attempt by somebody to wire two dimmers into some living room lights:


This junction just had a couple of turns of PVC tape around it and was loose under the floorboards. I suppose I should have been grateful for the tape -- Others don't have anything around them.....


[This message has been edited by pauluk (edited 08-20-2002).]

Sven,
What is a Marette, that you speak of?
Is this a type of J-Box?.

Good question. Is it a brand of wirenut?

Hi Guys,

Sorry.

Yes, Marrettes is another name for wire nuts. Don't know if it was a brand at one point (sort of like Kleenex for tissues).

Saw someone use that term in some other message board and its been bandied about in some websites...I usually call them 'splice caps' though. :-)

Do a www.google.com search on marrettes and you'll see.

--
sven

I've seen strip connectors buried in plaster. It's nice to scrape the rock hard gypsum out of the terminal screws to open them! Also I don't want to imagine the wall to get moist.

[This message has been edited by Texas_Ranger (edited 08-22-2002).]

Didn't anybody hear of Wago. Nobody uses choco blocks or marrettes here anymore.


[This message has been edited by Belgian (edited 10-13-2002).]

>Didn't anybody hear of Wago.
>Nobody uses choco blocks or marrettes
>here anymore.

You mean those "push-in" connectors where the wires jump out after some time? Yes, they are used here in Sweden, too. Some people even seem to like them. IMHO, wire nuts are better.

The only difference is that here they don't "jump out". That is, of course , if you use them correctly. The wire must be straight and not bent.

Belgian,

Any chance of a picture of one - I'm curious.

I'll echo that Hutch! Never heard of them!

Paul,

Never heard of Wago?
I thought they were used over there.
Here's a picture and link to an announcement saying that they are approved in NY City. Note that they can be used for solid or stranded wire.



WAGO WALL-NUTS Approved in New York City

Wall-Nut Brochure (PDF File)

Bill

[This message has been edited by Bill Addiss (edited 10-13-2002).]

Just received in my e-mail, thanks to Belgian. A Wago connector:




[This message has been edited by pauluk (edited 10-13-2002).]

Never used anything like these on residential wiring myself, Bill.

What about our other new U.K. members?

Bill, those look safer than the ones I have seen. Those weren't transparent and will only hold 1.5 or 2.5 mm2 wires.

Let's see if I can get a picture of the connectors used here:



And a junction box with "integrated" Wago-style connectors.

Wago connectors, yes I've heard of them!
Around 10 years ago the company were advertising in a UK trade magazine "Professional Electrician" & offering a free sample, I think they are still lurking in the back of the shed. I never had the confidence to use them.
I don't think they have ever caught on in the UK, as I've never seen them in any wholesale supplier.

Porcelain wire nuts known as "Screwits" (trade name) were the standard connector used inside junction boxes here, pre 1970-1, when cables went metric solid strand.
I am told they were banned after metrication as they were blamed for poor connections (with solid 1 & 1.5mm cables) and subsequent fires."Screwits" or any other type of wire nut have not been available in the UK in the 20 years I have worked in the trade. There is no way I would use wire nuts, as I do not believe they make a safe, secure connection.

Strip connectors in ceilings!
I see this constantly, sometimes wrapped in tape or worse bare.
Either way both are a contravention of BS 7671.
Fellow UK members may be aware there is now a solution for these installations. It is called a "CHOCBOX", manufactured by Electro Expo Ltd. Tel +44 (0)1992 640999. This is a connector cover, complete with cable clamps, which can be retrofitted around existing bare connectors or used in new installations to comply with regs.
I have started to use these in preference to joint boxes for the final connection of recessed downlights, it keeps me & the SELECT inspector happy!

I have some of the dark grey wago connectors on the picture, although mine are light grey or orange. I found them left over on a site (sometimes the hunter-and-collector instincts show) and took them. They seemed to make a decnt connection, but the release mechanism didn't work awfully well and I couldn't get the wires back out again. They seem to be one-way solutions, at least these particular ones.

David,
Glad I'm not the only one who's always finding loose "choc-blocks" in ceilings and walls.

If you look back through the threads you'll see one on the "Bacton House" I rewired a few months ago. This old place actually had straw and plaster walls in some areas, and I found plenty of connectors loose and surrounded by nice old, dry, combustible straw



[This message has been edited by pauluk (edited 10-14-2002).]