Wiring devices that WORK

[Jack Llewyllson]

I _might_ have gotten a little obsessive about wiring my dinky little shop, but so far I'm absurdly happy with the results. Thought I'd mention a couple of the products that worked very well (I am NOT in the electrical business; these are just happy little discoveries).

Eaton Arrow-Hart receptacles: I LOVE these outlets! I've mostly used Leviton in the past, but these feel more solid. They have side screws that aren't made of cheese, and they "back wire" by inserting stripped ends under a beefy little plate and clamping it down hard. That makes them both safe and reusable, as contrasted with the little "gator teeth" in cheapie back-wired receptacles; it also means you can backwire with 12-gauge conductors. Their tamper-resistant versions are also weather-resistant, and <choirs of angels> there's a stout, clever bending lug that lets you wire up the ground in a jiffy. These are best-of-breed in my somewhat-but-not-entirely-limited experience. Sourced from local Lowe's, which delivered to the house, but SLO-OWLY.

WAGO wiring connectors: these Deutsche doodads were a tip from a local friend. They solved my space issue for pig-tailing 240V twist-lock outlets into single-gang boxes, as they take up far less room than the large wire nuts that would have been required. The 221-613 size accepts 10-gauge conductors; they grip the wires like a baby monkey holds onto mama; and they're vastly easier to place than twisting wire nuts onto 10-gauge. Because you can pigtail shorter, they also require less wrestling around to bend metal into place. They're reversible, reusable, and generally excellent to use. About 50 cents a pop, which seems high, but you can repurpose them if you ever rewire, instead of cutting them off and throwing them away. Sourced from Amazon.

Amazon Prime for receptacles? Srsly? Yes. Ordering L6-30R Leviton twist-locks from Bezos's baby brought them to my door in a couple of days, for about half the price of me driving down to Home Depot. That economic eye opener saved me more than 150 bucks on those outlets alone. I picked up a few other items from them (e.g. 50A welding outlet) that were also highly price competitive and saved me masking up for in-person missions. I wouldn't want to buy things online that compete with local businesses, but I don't exactly feel protective about HD or Lowe's -- they're beastly big and doing fine, near as I can tell.

GFCI breakers: I have long mistrusted GFCI outlets, not least because over the years I've had three of them melt in the walls of three different locations (only one of which I installed, if you're wondering). Stuffing the subpanel with GFCI breakers (I chose Square D QO, to match the house panel) avoids those tricksy buggers, and also reduces hunting around outlet boxes and squinting at little ivory buttons. Just go to the box and check for an orange flag, and flip it back.

Journeyman-Pro connectors: picked up a pair of these (the "generator set") to repurpose a length of 10-gauge SO cable, which had been hanging in the shed for years, into a twist-lock drop cord. The J-Ps are super solid and easy to use. I bought a couple more of their plugs to bling up my tool cords after I came up short in my electrical rummage box.

Although I find a lot to like in my current wiring arrangement, these items were standouts of quality and convenience. For those anticipating a wiring project in the near future, there are definitely worse doodads than these to check out. Hope that's useful to someone.

Cheers,

Jack

[Matthew Hills]

Good to hear that the Eaton Arrow-Hart products are good. I'm planning to get some of their twist-lock plugs.

The Wago connectors are very helpful, particularly if working with legacy wiring. But I'm still amazed at the fingers of steel most electricians must have. I never consider a standard-sized box, and still find it hard to get a nice fit.

Matt

[Tom M King]

I've looked at those Wago connectors, but was never real excited about the design, so I've never used them. They may very well be okay.

I'm partial to Burndy Unitaps: https://hubbell.dcatalog.com/r/BURNDY-Full-Line-Catalog/?page=42

I agree with the Eaton 120v receptacles. See a not too long ago thread I started about trying different ones.

[Doug Dawson]

I have mixed feelings about Wago connectors. They are ridiculously cool (the 221’s anyway) for testing purposes, and/or on builds that you do of line-voltage equipment (amplifiers etc,) or even final assembly of such, and I have no problem with using them for pigtailing grounds. But using them for current-carrying electrical connections that might require a solid _mechanical_ connection, such as when your uncle decides that it would be a fine idea to grab onto and swing from the ceiling fan, they make me nervous. A wire nut provides methinks a more solid physical connection. I’m probably being too sensitive here. They are, after all, UL listed.

[Jack Llewyllson]

I have mixed feelings about Wago connectors. They are ridiculously cool (the 221’s anyway) for testing purposes, and/or on builds that you do of line-voltage equipment (amplifiers etc,) or even final assembly of such, and I have no problem with using them for pigtailing grounds. But using them for current-carrying electrical connections that might require a solid _mechanical_ connection, such as when your uncle decides that it would be a fine idea to grab onto and swing from the ceiling fan, they make me nervous. A wire nut provides methinks a more solid physical connection. I’m probably being too sensitive here. They are, after all, UL listed.

I used them in boxes that are solidly mounted, to feed wiring devices that are solidly mounted to to the boxes. Having not used them before, I gave them some pretty hard pull tests before deciding to trust 'em and this is what I discovered: if the conductor was properly stripped and inserted ALL THE WAY before dropping the lever, I couldn't pull them apart. You can visually verify a full insertion, as the holding bays are clear plastic.

If the conductor had a bent tip or for some other reason didn't seat all the way in, it practically dropped out in my hand. It's a very easy test.

When using wire nuts, I've had wires that slipped out of the twist (esp with 10-2) without me realizing it, and would cause issues later. I don't anticipate that here, because of how very easy it is to tell when you have a solid connection.

Based on my observations and reviews by others, I've decided I'm gonna trust 'em... and holy wow are they slick to use, even for those of us without the iron hands of journeyman juicers.

Not sure I'd trust your uncle, though. :eek:

[Jack Llewyllson]

I've looked at those Wago connectors, but was never real excited about the design, so I've never used them. They may very well be okay.

I'm partial to Burndy Unitaps: https://hubbell.dcatalog.com/r/BURNDY-Full-Line-Catalog/?page=42

I agree with the Eaton 120v receptacles. See a not too long ago thread I started about trying different ones.

Yes, that's where I found them! THANK YOU for the pointer, Tom. I did find them about a buck cheaper at Lowe's, although I had to get grey ones. I actually enjoy the contrast with white plates; it might improve my aim ;)

I looked at Unitaps, but they seemed horrifically expensive. Am I missing something? The WAGOs are about $0.68 each.

[Doug Dawson]

I used them in boxes that are solidly mounted, to feed wiring devices that are solidly mounted to to the boxes. Having not used them before, I gave them some pretty hard pull tests before deciding to trust 'em and this is what I discovered: if the conductor was properly stripped and inserted ALL THE WAY before dropping the lever, I couldn't pull them apart. You can visually verify a full insertion, as the holding bays are clear plastic.

If the conductor had a bent tip or for some other reason didn't seat all the way in, it practically dropped out in my hand. It's a very easy test.

When using wire nuts, I've had wires that slipped out of the twist (esp with 10-2) without me realizing it, and would cause issues later. I don't anticipate that here, because of how very easy it is to tell when you have a solid connection.

Based on my observations and reviews by others, I've decided I'm gonna trust 'em... and holy wow are they slick to use, even for those of us without the iron hands of journeyman juicers.

One area where Wago’s really excel is in connecting dissimilar wires, such as the 14 to 18 gauge that you’d often see in lighting fixtures.

In using wire nuts, making sure that the wires are first properly twisted, using a good set of linesman pliers such as Knipex or Kleins, is IMO really important. It should look brutal. (“It’s not going to fail because of something I did.”^tmNASA) At least an inch of solid copper-to-copper twist, and then snip off the excess. Sometimes you can’t do this with residential-grade lighting fixtures.

[Tom Bain]

I like the wago connectors in certain circumstances as you mentioned. For wire nuts, I really like the ones from 3M. Much better than the standard run of the mill wire nuts.

https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/company-us/all-3m-products/~/All-3M-Products/Energy/Electrical-Construction-and-Maintenance/Wire-Cable/Wire-Connectors/?N=5002385+8709319+8710679+8711017+8730567+8740774 +3291661288+3294857497&rt=r3

[Tom M King]

The Unitaps have a lug, with a set screw for each conductor. They are covered with Really tough insulation, and snap in plugs to go back over the heads of the set screws. The set screws require Allen wrenches. Yes, nothing like cheap, but peace of mind is worth it to me.

I put a 7500W, 240V shop heater in our tack room last weekend. We wanted to be able to heat it up quickly, and not keep a small heater running all the time in it. The built in pigtails were stranded no.8's. Red wire nuts were too small to get a good grab, and Blue ones were too big. I waited until Monday, and went to my electrical supplier to get a couple of Burndy's. I'm not worried about the barn burning down now.

For wire nuts, I like the ones with wings, and rarely ever use any others. Out of habit, I twist wires counterclockwise, and screw the nuts on clockwise. It pays to be particular with every step, and I second Doug's suggestion to use good tools. For some I like Knipex, and others Klein. For instance, the Klein automatic wire strippers work better than the Knipex, but I like Knipex pliers better. For screwdrivers, I like Wiha.

[Stan Calow]

Do either of the two connectors mentioned, WAGO or Unitaps, work with stranded wire, and are there versions for outdoor wiring? I am giving up on twist connectors for outdoor low voltage wiring..

[Doug Dawson]

Do either of the two connectors mentioned, WAGO or Unitaps, work with stranded wire, and are there versions for outdoor wiring? I am giving up on twist connectors for outdoor low voltage wiring..

The Wago’s work well with stranded.

As to using them outdoors, which I have not done, here’s a decent reference:
https://diy.stackexchange.com/questions/120689/can-i-use-wago-221-and-2273-connectors-outdoors

The general thrust of that is that they would have to be sealed off from the weather.

There are weatherproof wire nuts available, BTW.

[Frank Pratt]

Unitaps, and other brands' versions of them, are great but expensive. The only time we use them is for wire larger than #6, where wire nuts won't work. For large wires, about the only other choices are crimp butt splices & heat shrink (not undoable), or split bolts & rubber tape (very labor intensive).

[Tom Bain]

Do either of the two connectors mentioned, WAGO or Unitaps, work with stranded wire, and are there versions for outdoor wiring? I am giving up on twist connectors for outdoor low voltage wiring..

For weatherproof WAGO-like connectors for low voltage wiring take a look at the link below. I used these for my landscape lighting. A little messy but effective and have had no issues.

https://www.voltlighting.com/pro-nano-junction-direct-burial-connector-3-way (https://www.voltlighting.com/pro-nano-junction-direct-burial-connector-3-way)

[Tom M King]

I only use the Unitaps on wires too large, or like the case I was talking about earlier, that don't play well with wire nuts. Those no.8 stranded wires were the smallest ones I've ever used them on.

[Bill Dufour]

I found an interesting wire connector on a 1970's British bandsaw. It looked like a regular wire nut. Then I unscrewed the plastic cap. The inner metal cone stayed behind. I thought great a cheap thing that fell a part. Then I looked closer and there is a setscrew on the side to bind the wires. Very nice design, solid and easy to use. I saw no makers name?
Polaris is the multitap brand I know.
Bil lD

[Michael W. Clark]

For outdoor landscape lights, I used the crimp connectors and heat shrink tubing. Good to know there are some other solutions too.

[Frank Pratt]

I found an interesting wire connector on a 1970's British bandsaw. It looked like a regular wire nut. Then I unscrewed the plastic cap. The inner metal cone stayed behind. I thought great a cheap thing that fell a part. Then I looked closer and there is a setscrew on the side to bind the wires. Very nice design, solid and easy to use. I saw no makers name?
Polaris is the multitap brand I know.
Bil lD

They were not uncommon here 40 or 50 years ago. They were more expensive, more labor to install and no better than a good wire nut.