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Pprobus,
Could you use a 5 conductor Wago when you only have 4 wires? Is there anything wrong with leaving one position unused?
Getting ready to some wiring of my own and ran across Wagos a few weeks ago. Had not seen them before so I bought some.
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(12-30-2019, 06:52 PM)WJB Wrote: Pprobus,
Could you use a 5 conductor Wago when you only have 4 wires? Is there anything wrong with leaving one position unused?
Getting ready to some wiring of my own and ran across Wagos a few weeks ago. Had not seen them before so I bought some.
Nothing wrong with having a unused position on a Wago type connector. Might be an advantage in the future. Roly
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Thanx, I'll check out the lever type next time I'm at the electrical supply house.
Ed
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(12-30-2019, 07:09 PM)Roly Wrote: Nothing wrong with having a unused position on a Wago type connector. Might be an advantage in the future. Roly
I agree with Roly, except when you are working in a cramped electrical box and could use all the room you can get, but the majority of the time 5 is fine when you only need 4.
Paul
They were right, I SHOULDN'T have tried it at home!
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(12-30-2019, 11:04 AM)meackerman Wrote: not a great picture of it. You can see the blackened wire off to the right. Could totally have been something the installer (me) did wrong. The red wire nut is for a different set of wires.
the box its in is overstuffed with wiring from the previous owner(s). The entire barn needs rewired.
Oh, I believed you, I was just saying that when I was looking at these connectors vs. using wire nuts, which I have never liked, I ran across a video of a guy who tested them to higher amps than they are rated for and found that at least some can take more than the rated amps. I want to say that I think its the same person who stress tests multimeters to failure (Joe something or other) by performing his own version of the CAT testing to see if the multimeters survive or not.
Paul
They were right, I SHOULDN'T have tried it at home!
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I have used the push ideal connectors when using solid wire, work great. Only issue I have had is when stuffing in the box, if the wire twists in the connector they can come loose. For this reason if I can install a larger box I will. For stranded I still use wire nuts or I will tin the ends of the stranded wire then they are easy to push into the connectors. I am just a DIY person and taught Electrical/Electronics for many years. Many of the newer outlets have clamp holes that are way better than the old Stab back outlets. I also always wrap my outlets with 3M electrical tape. Dan
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(12-30-2019, 08:16 AM)pprobus Wrote: Interesting. There was someone on Youtube who tested the Wago push nuts and I believe they were able to withstand twice the rated amps. Not sure if the Ideal ones were tested.
That was John Ward(England). I think Big Clive (isle of Mann) has done some testing with them. I have no problem with them. They are the norm in commercial applications now. All your lighting fixtures come with them in the fixture already for internal wiring and ones for your supply to hook to. They are a life saver in light fixtures as there is barely enough room for the wire let alone the bulk that wirenuts take up. Also with the requirement for lights to have a disconnect in the fixture there are ones that have 2 hot and 2 neutral holes and a quick connect for the fixture.
Any testing I have seen has had good results sometimes better than traditional wirenuts and in all of them the wire failed way way before the terminal did. There will always be the odd failures of any type though. And they are required in some commercial buildings. Some do not allow wirenuts and in the past they required terminal strips any time a connection was needed. The wagos are way way cheaper smaller and faster. That said I have seen some panels that have a whole bucket full of wire nuts in them...
Basically they work fine. Use whatever you want. Just make sure that the wire is stripped far enough and fully inserted into the wago. That is where you will have problems. And any light fixture that has them pre installed always check every connection the factory did as it's easier on the ground than having to get on a lift to fix it when the pole light is stood up. Ask me how I know...
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(01-24-2020, 05:41 PM)Robert Adams Wrote: That was John Ward(England). I think Big Clive (isle of Mann) has done some testing with them. I have no problem with them. They are the norm in commercial applications now. All your lighting fixtures come with them in the fixture already for internal wiring and ones for your supply to hook to. They are a life saver in light fixtures as there is barely enough room for the wire let alone the bulk that wirenuts take up. Also with the requirement for lights to have a disconnect in the fixture there are ones that have 2 hot and 2 neutral holes and a quick connect for the fixture.
Any testing I have seen has had good results sometimes better than traditional wirenuts and in all of them the wire failed way way before the terminal did. There will always be the odd failures of any type though. And they are required in some commercial buildings. Some do not allow wirenuts and in the past they required terminal strips any time a connection was needed. The wagos are way way cheaper smaller and faster. That said I have seen some panels that have a whole bucket full of wire nuts in them...
Basically they work fine. Use whatever you want. Just make sure that the wire is stripped far enough and fully inserted into the wago. That is where you will have problems. And any light fixture that has them pre installed always check every connection the factory did as it's easier on the ground than having to get on a lift to fix it when the pole light is stood up. Ask me how I know...
+1 and I give the wire a tug after inserting, that will tell you if there is a problem. Roly
