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

For Sweden all the above mentioned connectors are used, and some more.

For receptacles: The only type of terminal I've seen on the market today has a center screw which when tightened pushes a plate down, to hold one wire one each side of the screw. (It is one of the types described by Ragnar above) The same type is used on circuit breakers and the like.

Switches increasingly come with the push-in terminal with a release button. The button on the popular ELJO brand is to hard to push by hand, for some reason.

I should add that the Kopp brand is the extreme low end here.

[This message has been edited by C-H (edited 05-08-2003).]

I find the system which screws with a metal clamp the best. May I add that on our plugs you can put 2 x 2.5 mm2 on each side of the screw. Contrary to our receptacles, our switches have a metal block with a whole for the wire and a screw that tightens it. I find this system not at all as good for the following reasons: a, If you put only one wire of 1.5 mm2 and tighten it very strongly the wire can snap or be crushed. b, you can put a maximum of 2 x 1.5 mm2 in those holes.

Over here in NZ, we tend to use connectors that have a screw that holds the wires in a brass ring, this is covered with plastic insulation.
Tinned copper eyelet/fork and splices (bare and insulated) are also used.
Where bare splices are used to join cables, they are covered with thick walled Heatshrink for each core and over the overall sheathing of the cable.
Any joints in a domestic installation is required to be made either at the switchboard or in a suitable wiring enclosure(say a junction box or a flush box).

As David mentioned above, screw strip connectors are the norm here. These days the plastic surround is generally clear plastic, but older types were more often opaque plastic in either white, blue, or brown/black. The chocolate-color of the latter is why we still colloquailly refer to them as "choc blocks."

Residential wiring makes widespread use of round plastic boxe with brass terminals fitted inside.

The screw connections on switches and receptacles are a little different (and in my opinion inferior) to the method used on U.S. devices. Rather than the wire being wrapped around the screw so that the large head clamps it down, the wires here are clamped down by the end of the screw. Some of the better makes use a compression plate on the end of the screw.

I'll try to post some pictures later.

The one were the wire is clamped down by the end of the screw is the one I described as a metal block with a hole for the wire. Hardly ever used for modern switches or receptacles, but very common for plugs.
Strip connectors can have virtually any color here. White, yellow, red, grey, blue, green, purple, black, clear,... using different colors in one box adds a touch of color to the installation, I often combinme blue, red and yellow.

Here are the terminals on a typical British device (this happens to be a single BS1363 socket):


The line and neutral terminals are shrouded making it difficult to see them clearly, but they are the same type as the exposed earth (grounding) terminal.


[This message has been edited by pauluk (edited 05-11-2003).]

One method used on airfield lighting is uninsulated crimps with two diffrent sized heat shrinks on top of one another, this is a very tough waterproof joint as it has to be given that there life is mostly spent in water filled pits!
4mm2 double insulated singles are usually used on airfields.

Quote from David:
Here is an example:

Time to revive an old one...

I have just had reason to utilise some of these

http://www.wirenut.com/wt/IdcPushin.nsf

(Click on their Push-In connectors)

[img]http://www.wirenut.com/IDEAL-EZ/pro...1986?OpenElement&FieldElemFormat=jpg[/img]

I must say that I am impressed – the job was much quicker - and I felt safer - by not pushing loaded wire nuts back into a crowded box.

I might though, pull on hard hat and adopt a low profile


[This message has been edited by Hutch (edited 07-05-2004).]

The use of push-ins has come up several times in othe threads. While checking out the Wago site, I came across these... They have positive clamping, as opposed to spring held. Wondering if anyone has used them? I think they'd be a great improvment on some of the wire nuts we use in the States.

Personally, I'd like to see the US go to terminal strips like the rest of the world. But did I see this right? Wirenuts are more expensive?




[This message has been edited by e57 (edited 07-05-2004).]