Wonderful wago lever action electrical connecters

[Edwin Dirnbeck]

New to me.I just used some Wago brand electrical connecters instead of wire nuts. They are sold on Amazon. I am not an electrician ,but from what I have seen neither is anyone else.These things are ALMOST FOOLPROOF. Super high quality German made. 12 to 24 gage stranded or solid wire. UL LISTED . Easy to use almost one handed . Clear plastic so that you can actually see the clamped wire. Reusable many times. Great for experimental temporary hook ups on your bench. They are faster and more secure than alligator jumper wires,they wont slip off or short out if they touch. I LIKE THEM A LOT.I THINK YOU WILL ALSO. I dont think that this is off topic . Most home shop machinist do their own wiring sometime or another. Edwin Dirnbeck

[boslab]

I like them too, they have been around a while over here, there’s lever grip for solid conductor and push in, the 722 or whatever ( grey with orange levers) bite solid or stranded, great on cars too, without looking at the box 40 Amps but surge up to 60, good things, there are switched outlets appearing with wago cable grips now also, the installers kit is good value, you get a pile of different combos in a storage box.
Mark

[mickeyf]

They look great but, from what I'm looking at they are 1) hideously expensive compared to marr type, and 2) I don't know how the code addresses this, but it looks like the size increases by the number of wires you are using - i.e., connecting 4 wires would be twice as large a connector as for 2. The code does have "box fill" limitations. I believe there are one or more licensed electricians here, perhaps they will chime in.

I can see them being very useful in some situations, like breadboarding, simple repairs or temporary hook ups, but not for permanent wiring of a whole house or shop. Kinda like "shark bite" connectors for plumbing - save time and worth it for a few, but not economical for an entire house.

[rdfeil]

They are nice connectors, but the price is high compared to a wire nut. One thing that is outstanding is the ability to connect different sizes and types of wire and always have a good solid connection. As for US code issues, there are none with the UL US listed ones. The size of the connector is not figured into the box fill calcs, only number of wires and in any case they are really not bigger, just different.

[Paul Alciatore]

I looked them up because I have probably seen them, but had no mental picture.

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=Wago+brand+electrical+connecters

It seems the prices can vary a lot. But they seem to start at about $0.28 each. Not prohibitively expensive, but certainly more than wire nuts.

[john b]

They are available at Menards and Home depot.

[vectorwarbirds]

Three or more times more expensive than wire nuts. I can see in some circumstances but for home building? No electrician I know of is going to spend a dollar plus to make-up a box vs 25 to 30 cents. I sure wouldn't. Looks like more homeowner and electronics to me.

[PStechPaul]

Direct link:

https://www.wago.com/us/discover-wire-and-splicing-connectors

[A.K. Boomer]

Never heard of the "brand name" have used the stab in's in florescent lighting kits...

I had to check on u boob to see how the lever action worked and immediately found this guy --- watched half the vid and am totally with him --- your want your house to burn down - buy them up and use them asap...

https://youtu.be/sHYzpUvddOc

[mickeyf]

Interesting video. It makes a certain amount of sense - wire nuts are effectively like electronic wire wrap, in that (correctly used) they make a gas tight connection over a significant area of the wires. As shown in the video, the wagos have only a small contact area, and it appears that it would have been made under less pressure than a strong "twist". Also, I learned that the best way to use a twist connector was to twist the wires tightly before inserting them - not to simply use the connector itself as the twisting tool. Yes this takes a bit longer. Does it really matter? I don't know.

[Edwin Dirnbeck]

Never heard of the "brand name" have used the stab in's in florescent lighting kits...

I had to check on u boob to see how the lever action worked and immediately found this guy --- watched half the vid and am totally with him --- your want your house to burn down - buy them up and use them asap...

https://youtu.be/sHYzpUvddOc

I watched the guy on you tube. I dont think that he was using wago brand. The wago connecters that I have are clear so that you can actually see the wire being clamped after you flip the lever. The guy puts ONE WIRE into ONE OF THE PORTS and spins the wago and shows how it cuts into the wire.This would not normally happen The main point of the you tube video seems to be DONT USE THE STAB IN CONECTERS. I agree ,I have had bad experience with stab in outlets. Edwin Dirnbeck

[wmgeorge]

A wire nut properly installed holds the wires together with a large surface area touching, these just use spring tension to hold the jaws to each wire. It cannot carry the current a properly installed wire nut can. Remember over in Germany and Europe they use 230 volts instead of 115 volts in household wiring so a 1000-watt toaster would use 1/2 the amp draw.

[A.K. Boomer]

Interesting video. It makes a certain amount of sense - wire nuts are effectively like electronic wire wrap, in that (correctly used) they make a gas tight connection over a significant area of the wires. As shown in the video, the wagos have only a small contact area, and it appears that it would have been made under less pressure than a strong "twist". Also, I learned that the best way to use a twist connector was to twist the wires tightly before inserting them - not to simply use the connector itself as the twisting tool. Yes this takes a bit longer. Does it really matter? I don't know.

Exactly how your supposed to do it with a pair of kliens... couple of bro's who made their living as electricians and one a master that ran a shop for decades,,, the emp's were taught to never use the stab ins in outlet recept\s and always pre-twist the wires together for maximum amount of surface area,

Edwin you don't have to spin 360 degree's to get the effect of what he's talking about in fact he even stated - think of all the twisting and fumbling just getting wires all bent around while your working the units and then installing then and final bending --- the tension gets lost... not good - you can love them if you want - but I think they are junk....

[Mcgyver]

For solid wire, I use the Mar connectors....for multi strand, motors etc, these things are the way to go. Who cares if its three times the cost? We're talking pennies and none of us are wiring a subdivision

[J Tiers]

It's getting to where a UL mark is not very significant anymore, other than to pass inspection. With a limited enough test, you can make nearly anything pass.

ANYTHING that cuts into a wire is inherently bad, IMO. I've seen a smallish notch in a wire cause a wire break before. Much arcing and general crap going on, not good.

Yeah, wire nuts also notch the wire, but when properly used, the wire is stabilized and does not move around. Stabbers etc allow movement and can keep cutting deeper, or alternately lose contact. Then they heat up, lose the spring temper, and you have a loose connection.