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#63512 03/19/06 07:30 PM
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 391
B
BigJohn Offline OP
Member
I looked for another thread on this and couldn't find one, if this is a repost, please excuse it.

What are everyone's feelings on the spring-clip terminal blocks included in some recess fixtures?

They are to be used in place of wire-nuts, usually accomidating up to four wires, and seem like an designed very similar to the notorious back-stab system.

Given the reputation of back-stab devices, my inclination is just to cut the darn things off and use wire nuts. Am I wasting my time wire-nutting because of an unrelated concern? Should I just feed-through the terminal blocks?

-John

#63513 03/19/06 07:52 PM
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 64
J
Member
If the connectors are rated for the size and type (solid or stranded) wire.. I would use them.

If I ever did have to re-make a connection I may not re-use them.

#63514 03/19/06 08:39 PM
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 48
G
GTE Offline
Member
I love them.

#63515 03/19/06 08:46 PM
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 5,445
Likes: 2
Cat Servant
Member
My experience with them has been good. I would caution you to make sure it's a good, clean bit of wire, though, and not an end that has been used in a wire nut before.

#63516 03/19/06 09:10 PM
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 2
D
Junior Member
I have used these before on cans, and found they work good. My instructor says he uses them all the time, and tried to pull them out but couldn't. I think they are a great wrist saver, but like wire nuts holding stranded and solid wire, I always check to make sure they are secure.

#63517 03/21/06 08:42 PM
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 391
B
BigJohn Offline OP
Member
Thanks for the input so far. But here's the question of the hour:

If I use these blocks, should I try to avoid heavy feed-through loads because of their design? Hypothetically, If I put 14A of lights on these things, would I be likely to see a failure of the connection, just as I might see a failure in a back-stab device?

Thanks.

-John

#63518 03/23/06 12:18 AM
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 92
P
Member
It is time to give these things the Kleenex or "Band-Aid" treatment and just call them WAGOs.
They have the potential to [almost] totally replace wire nuts. But they are new and have to pass the test of time. They are rated by UL, et al. for amperage but who knows for how long?
To remove a wire from them, you pull and rotate or twist the wire simultaneously. Perhaps make a crank handle out of the wire.
As for the construction of the contacts inside. There are at least two types of "backstab" connections. If I could post pictures, I could illustrate. In one type, the wire is pressed into a V grove and in the other, the wire is pushed into a slightly smaller hole in a spring making contact only on the edges of the spring. WAGOs are of the former type and this seems to be the better option of the two. Spend 39 cents and break apart a cheap, back stab receptacle and see what I mean for the lesser version. Some of the WAGOs are clear and you can see the inner workings.
But compare the thickness of the metal with a cross section of #14 copper wire which is accepted to carry 15 amps [but should be limited to 12 amps, not 14] indefinitely. Draw your own conclusion.
~Peter

#63519 03/26/06 12:53 AM
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 391
B
BigJohn Offline OP
Member
I didn't know these things were WAGOs... Did a search and found this same topic already posted at least seven or eight times.

My mistake! [Linked Image]

-John


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