Wago's vs. Wire Nuts - How To Wire Outlets During Rough In
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- Опубликовано: 11 июн 2024
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In this video we are wiring general purpose receptacles in a "daisy chain" using the pigtail method.
In the first box we use Wago Wall-Nuts or "push in connectors" and in the second one we use traditional twist style wire nuts. What do you think of the two methods?
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0:00 - Wago's Vs. Wire Nuts Intro
0:08 - The Cable Run
1:12 - How To Strip The Electrical Wires
2:06 - Wire Connectors We Will Be Using
2:16 - Wago Push-Style Connectors
7:01 - Traditional Wire Nuts
8:41 - Why They Are Called Wago's
9:09 - Electrical Wiring Notes
10:45 - SUBSCRIBE!!!
Blessings from Minnesota,
Ben
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I'm german and my first qualification was as an electrical engineer. There are three things I saw that I felt to be wrong even in the USA. There were more things that let me cringe like the cable nuts and the blank copper but that's the difference between Germany and the USA.
1. Never remove the cable insulation with a knife - you can a) destroy the insulation of the single wires and b) damage the copper in that way that the gauge changes. There are tools for removing insulation without any danger for the inner wires and they are designeed in a way that even with little space you got no problem to strip the insulation of.
2. Whereever you install a cable - Always leave the groundwires longer than the other wires. That makes sure that when somebody rips for example an outlet out of the wall that the last wire that disconnects is the ground and not a live wire. A still connected live wire could endanger a person. For example electric heater and somebody falls over the cable in a way that rips the socket out of the wall. It's possible that because of that accident the case of the heater is internally connected to the phase and if somebody touches the case the body is used as a way to ground. If ground is the last that disconnects the danger is less that any touchable part of the heater is on a live wire without a blowing fuse.
3. Connectors always face up and are at the highest point of a receptacle. If water gets into the receptacle because of a leaking roof, leaking water pipes or condensate etc. it does not collect in the connectors if they are on the highest point.
And because I'm sure some will ask what let me cringe - two additional things. First the blank ground wires. If you got a defective insulation you could get the live wire connect to the ground wire and as far as I know in the US is no GFCI for the whole house like in germany that react as soon as a groundwire touches a live wire. They exist only for some outlets in the US or with some extension cables - please correct me if I'm wrong. And the second is the cable routing. To remove danger all cables in germany are in an area between two inches and a foot from the ceiling and at every outlet the cable goes vertical in the direction of the cable area near the ceiling and goes in that area to a central junction box in the room. Outlets are not daisy chained over more than a distance less than an inch. You only daisy chain if the receptacles are side by side. The same rules are for water oulets etc.That is because when somebody works at the wall - putting a nail in it, a screw, cutting a part out of it, you can always be sure that without needing to check it a cable will always be only above an outlet or near the ceiling. No danger to hit a live wire with a nail when you put a picture on the wall. If somebody want to read about the german rules for electrical installations just search for VDE DIN 0100.
BTW WAGO connectors are used in germany since the 1970's, because WAGO is a german company with it's headquarters in Minden Germany. And the WAGO connectors that are used today were invented in the 1980's.
bro get out of the books and get into the field. I've stripped back miles of wire never once cut the single wires insulation. not once!!! second if you have water 18" up to the elec box or even water running down the wall into your box, the water getting into the wago is the least of your problems. lol
Okay true king of Gondor
@@kentuckybeardsman In US homes are framed and so leaky that you are right. Water will not collect but rotting the house.
@@rkalle66 do you live here? Have you worked in and around houses here? Have you worked for a good crew in the states?? No, oh well I guess your not speaking from experience but just assumptions and I would have to wager you know what they say about assumptions!?
I'm 60 years old and started this in 1979. Wago's are awesome! They're just the shit. I just love new and creative products. Thumbs up! Greetings from Arizona.
good habit is to point wagos and wirenuts up to keep mosture from settling in outdoor boxes. I know your indoors but it becomes habit if you always point them up.
That's how i was taught as well. I always have my wire nuts facing up.
Yes, especially with low voltage control wiring. Condensation can settle in the down facing wirenut and corrode the connection.
also cant fall up as in they cant fall off of they r pointed up
@@amastri1 That is my reason for pointing up, never thoght about the moisture. Now I have 2 reasons.
Just logged in because of this comment: I was hoping to read someone's comment about this. YES, if you are experienced enough, you should always push your wires in the box with the connectors UPWARDS. Now THAT's a real electrician. Learn there Benji
Wago type connectors is about all they use in Europe. Most over there don’t even know what a wire nut is.
Certainly not true. Even the young sparkies get taught to use wire nuts in school.
@@verlicht and they are also taught what it is by definition: crap!
Wire nuts were widely used in the 60s as a fast alternative to screw type connectors. Especially if a house was not painted for some time you could see destinctive black discoloration above many connector boxes. Using this stuff today is pretty dare devil for a market that builds most of its homes from wood.
Recently discovered the lever Wagos and it’s a life changer as I’ve been replacing all my switches and outlets with decora style ones! It’s so much simpler!
Yes! Love the levers...
Boy I have got to say you are Neat, Clean. I'm proud of you. I watched you install a breaker box and you inspired me to go back and clean up my own breaker box. I'm sure glad I did it causes you to have a little more pride in your work!
15 years as an electrician. Push style connectors may be quick and easy, but they are not reliable long term. Most of my repair calls are for push connect type issues. I would never put my reputation on them. I take pride that my connections will never fail unless tampered with. I strip 1 1/2" line up the insulation ends (not the wire ends) and twist well with 9" lineman pliers then cut off the excess. For ground i do something similar except I cut off all of them except one and so the twist then put a crimp sleeve on (greenie wire nut with the hole in the end is acceptable as well), but takes more room. My twist are so secure that the wire nuts are only there to make it up to code. The local inspector always says positive things about my connections. It may take a little longer to do, but it's worth it to never get a call back. My time is precious, but my reputation is my lifeline. In the end everyone must choose the quality of their workmanship.
Like to add that the wire nut should only be seen as the protective covering of the splice not the mechanical part of it.
Most of the world have binned wire nuts you americans are still stuck 1950s 😅
In the UK I've been using wago connectors and different variations (ideal and hellermann tyton) for 10 years. We used to have wire nuts under the brand screwit. I will not use any other form of connection now other than these mechanically maintainance free types. As for carrying full load current there is a video by a man called john ward where he carries out destructive testing and they are a lot more robust than everyone is saying. The single pinch point of the connector is a thing however on the opposite side of conductor the spring is pushing it onto a large flat conductive plate and so contact csa is not hindered. However not every one likes change and I cannot say there aren't those in the UK who are simply stuck in their ways and don't like progression.
ruclips.net/video/2uYD8e7idnY/видео.html
You can keep the “Change.” With your progressive cents talking bout points and tips, let’s just terminate every wire with terminal, distribution, junction blocks/strips. With compression fittings 😎 sorry I’m stupid when I drink.
Nice job with the wiring, and nice job with the tutorial. Been using Wago's for last couple years, and once in awhile wire nuts when necessary.
I only use wire nuts when I’m working in older women’s homes, older women don’t understand wagos, but they do understand twisting nuts
A great informative videos especially for beginners and myself, (close to 4 years as an electrician). We don't ever pig tail If it's just 2 sets of wires, but also we never do prepping until we come back to trim out, of course it would save time in the end to do it while roughing in. Great video keep it up 👍
This is a great video once again. I'm catching up on ones I've missed. I appreciate the detailed explanations and still make it easy to watch. You're explanations and reasoning are usually aligned with my views and you cover a lot of the little details (like showing the run from breaker, through hole, wire staples etc).
I bought some knock-off Wago Lever Nuts. Haven't used the lever nuts yet, but the push style is kinda intriguing. I never looked into them to see they were removable (and so easy it seems unless that was a cut scene). I got the Lever Nuts for a quick temp project//test bench to test a motor or temp wiring lighting (of course not to code).
Problem is I don't do a ton of electrical so I have a supply of wire nuts to last a lifetime for me. Maybe I should donate my little pile of old style winged wire nuts to you LOL.
Maybe u should read all the comments herein by other electricians b4 u do that
Thanks for a great video Benjamin!!!
I like how professional your work ethic is and the pride you take in editing your videos!!!
Have a safe and happy holiday season!!!
Art
PS: unless you have a video already published, can you make a video on hooking up a new 200amp service in a house or shop???
I use the lever Wago's for low voltage wiring. Derail circuits for ski hill chairlifts often have 24awg solid and 14 or 12 awg stranded wire connections. Lever Wagos work much better for fault isolation because they allow you to open and close the splice cleanly in addition to easily adding or removing a single wire for testing.
I used these for my rough in as a beginner it made it really easy!
I like the lever locks for temporary connections. I sometimes have to connect up transformers for load testing and high potting, lever locks are great. They also work will if you are using solid and stranded wire together. They also make great cap offs for roughed in electrical boxes. The push in ones are great when reworking an old installation with not enough room to strip extra wire for a pretwist. It makes it super easy to make sure each wire is in all of the way.
I do agree with never stabbing a receptacle or switch and it seems like the industry is moving away from that to the screw clamp method in the newer hardware. I've used a lot of Hubbell connectors and that seems to work.
Great video here. Thanks for doing such nice and clean work. I have two suggestions...
1- I think striping off the romex before going into the box is a bit faster and causes less damage to the coductors. I have seen some guys scratch enough of the conductor to cause a hot spot in the wire.
2- Rolling wires into the box leaves you open to more damage potential from the drywallers. I always fold the wires into the box for two reasons. The first is that if the drywallers do actually hit the wires, then the damages is limited to the first two inches of the wire instead of the first four inches of the wires. The second is that the wire will already have the shape memory when installing the device.
Regardless, your work looks great! I'd be proud to have you as an employee in my company.
Great comments down here Ben, looks to me like your efforts to build community and conversation are working... Keep up the good work.
Yeah I really enjoy the comments for the most part! It's fun learning from people who have significant experience & knowledge.
I have been electrician for 35 years I am always learning something new when I watch Ben videos
Very very informative and easy to follow. I will be waiting for whatever you post next.
As A Master electrician for over 40 years and still working the wago is 16 psi, a wire nut installed properly is 10,000 PSI lots of fires were started by outlets with the same principle as a wago, while the new led light does not draw like the old incandescents, I don't recommend the wago for anything but the ground, Grasshopper. Trading an old fire problem for a new fire problem (wago) is not desirable, turn the wire nut approx 9 times pull all wires to ensure a proper installation Check the code now only one set of wires to each electrical device, we used to soldier these same connections it was not desirable either heat at the connection always causes a downstream failer. it is also a good Idea in outdoor or damp areas to apply GE Silicone its also listed for this purpose corrosion is always a problem around any connection. long term. Real on the ground experience, Millions of units installed.
You say only one set of wires to each receptacle? Where at in the nec does it say that? Thank you.
As experience man on electricity is true tha the breaker has to be same brand as the panel box? I'll appreciate your answer thanks
That’s an interesting perspective. It does seem that arc fault breakers are necessary for WAGO’s to be long term safe since they definitely have a higher failure rate. It’s better to trip the circuit before there is a total short from a melted wago.
I have used Wago’s reuseble with a opener 2, 3 and 5 for like 10 years, never had any problem! I work with refridgeration/ heatpumps, i think they are great!
ruclips.net/video/2uYD8e7idnY/видео.html
@@brianreinhardt4050 The pinch ones i agree are not worth a damn. But this style Wago work great and are reusable. www.amazon.com/Wago-221-413-LEVER-NUTS-Conductor-Connectors/dp/B077WZV3D4/ref=sr_1_6?crid=DNL0365UX9DQ&dchild=1&keywords=wago+lever+nut&qid=1590717478&s=hi&sprefix=wago%2Ctools%2C171&sr=1-6
@@brianreinhardt4050 Are you trying to show this as a proof point that Wago connectors aren't good?!? Aside from the fact that he was talking about the lever nuts, where aren't used here, the WAGO here didn't fail until after the entire wire was essentially on fire. That is absurd to try to draw any conclusion that any connection type is the problem here other than your house will burn down before you connection fails if somehow all the other safety measures had failed.
If anything, I would want my connection to fail in an electrical box long before the wire got hot enough to melt the sheathing of the wire running though the wall but that doesn't happen with any of these.
@@curtisbme I was just providing proof positive that there should be no question regarding amperage overages and burning/igniting. I've got no problem with them...
You've been lucky so far.
Wagos are awesome. I discovered them rewiring my house about 12 years back and never use anything else. I didn't see you mention this in your video, but if you look on the non-cable entry side of the connector, you'll see a small hole/slot. This is so you can insert a probe when testing. Wagos are about the only electrical thing I can think of that is basically ubiquitous around the world... You won't find US cable in Europe, or British plugs in America, but you will find Wagos in all three.
You will also find corruption in all 3 whats your point? They are still just a shortcut and not the best method. They are popular in foreign countries because of convenience only.
Love the electrical videos. I have recently just finished a complete rewire of my two story 1870s home. I had initially decided to use wire nuts, but discovered the Wago Lever-Nut. The Wago is quick and simple. Plus if you have bad wrists, like I do, they are a big help. I did use wire nuts and pre-twist the wires under the house just because I have just started using the Wagos and had a little reservation about how they may hold up here in humidity of South Carolina since it is just a crawl space and not a climate controlled basement.
I use a drill attachment to twist the nuts Jacob.
I use Wago lever locks all the time...best improvement in home electrical in decades.
The new lever nuts are the BEST. I really don't like push-in connectors.
@@SgtZima Have you seen the new push in WAGO? WAGO 2273 series. If you are tight in space, these are SUPER slim. Even slimmer than the lever wagos.
I always pre-twist my wires with lineman’s pliers. Which is why I love the Wago idea!
Do you use the push in feature on the back of cheap receptacles? It is the same type of holding mechanism. I do not trust them in the long run.
@@leekumiega9268 I don’t use the push-ins on the back of receptacles, not because they don’t hold, but because I don’t want all that juice flowing through the receptacle. Which is why we use pigtails. But wagos seem to work well where I have used them on low voltage applications.
@@DashPar Yes WAGO's are probably fine for low power demands like a standard light circuit but would not trust them in the long term for feeding a receptacle that could high amperage draw.
Have been converted to using Ideal Insure type connectors for a couple of years now. Way to Go !!
Wow. Thank GOD I love watching what you work on. Never new those wagos existed before. Pays to be a sub to your channel. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Great work.
Careful what you trust. Several bad techniques here... The biggest being the use of push connectors out of pure laziness.
Jay, I bet that’s what your dad said when wire nuts came out and wires didn’t have to be soldered....LOL just kidding.
I always strip the sheath off the cable before entering it into the box way easier and faster.
Walter B that is a bad idea, the jacket protects the conductor insulation during penetration of the box gripping, also, the ease of getting the correct conductor length and jacket entry if done inside the box.
I always slit the cable before entry but leave the sheath on until inserted.
For the ground, I spin them together inside the box, install a crimp sleeve and trim off all but one wire for the pigtail to come out 4 inches. This keeps the cables from being pulled out of the box. Also, I turn the neutral and ground counterclockwise and the hot clockwise so that the neutral ends up on the left and hot on the right, directly behind the outlet. Also, I insure that all wagos are installed with the open side down to prevent debris and moisture from collecting.
@@benevolenthighwayman882
You dont mind using wagos then? they dont arc over time?
There is a tool for cutting the shield plastic on Romex type wire. Razor knives are handy but you will cut into the wire often.
I bought that tool a few months ago and love it! Never cut my hand or the wires but the potential was there every time.
Never seen a electrician use one on the job.
Electrician here 25 years
One thing that may make life easier, strip the sheathing before putting the wire into the box. It just makes it so you don’t have to reach in the tight box. I usually pull the wire next to the box, Mark it with my thumb and give an extra inch of seething or so inside the box. Just a tip. I’ve definitely forgot that step and done it they way you’ve done! I like watching your videos, your very clean and thorough
thank you so much for this, it is the first video that showed me how to pigtail or Wego the three sets of wires in 1 box.
I definitely twist current carrying conductors when using wire nuts
ALWAYS! Do it well the first time and you seldom get call backs. Call backs are on you.
I am a licensed electrician and I will NEVER use a Wago type connector or use the "push-in" type switches or receptacles. Bad connection/fire hazard...
Never have seen a failure with that method.
@@zalmaflash as soon as I heard that the wago connectors use a push in and release latch on the wires my mind went straight to that. I have seen a video or two on RUclips with electricians strongly recommending against using any kind of electrical device such as a receptacle or switch or anything that is going to handle household electrical wire by using push in connectors.
Thanks. I will just keep on using wire nuts. I hardly ever do this kind of work because I'm a do-it-yourselfer, but I'll stick to the wire nuts thank you.
NEC use to at least say that you have to have two twists on the wires before installing a wire nut.
Maybe that was before they started putting the metal insert into the wire nut.
Try doing that with 4 #12 wires.
They are great ! FYI do not force 12ga wire in deep, the wire will transfer heat to the plastic case and separate in the future. of the 12000 we have installed in the early years (2001) maybe 4 failed up to around 2010 . I also learned to cut stranded 12ga. wire on a slight angle to ease installation !
None should have failed, but you dont know many failed, unless you attached your phone number to each one?
When I wired my shop I used wire nuts because that's all I knew about. I'm going to find these wagos when I wire my cabin. Thank you!
Don't stick to wire nuts..
Ah. I get it. you want your cabin to burn down in 10 years so you can use the insurance money.
spend the extra money and get the lever ones easy to remove better hold i think
Thank you for taking the time to share
When I use Wagos, I wrap a bit of tape around the wires at the base of the wago after inserting them all, puts less torque on the connector itself when shoving them in boxes and only takes an extra few seconds. I also pull on every wire pretty hard after inserting, I've had a few pull out!! I just cut it off and toss it. Don't want to mess around with loose connections.
Good point, Andrew.
nowhere in the instructions does it say to tape them...it's as dopey as taping twist wire connector, useless and made up nonsense
Looks great but I have had bad luck with push in outlet wiring.
that's cus you did it wrong
I like the wagos with clip downs much better for undoing them forany reason and reuse
Great video ! thank you for sharing the knowledge
I use the Wagos with levers on low voltage systems (24VDC) and they are ideal. Have them in use on several offshore locations (non-ATEX) and have not had a single failure. In particular very useful in junction boxes where signal wires are connected: just use a Wago with more slots than wires and you always have an access point to get access to with the probe of the multimeter.
Why not use them on (110-240). They are rated for those voltages and i use them on 230.
@@broccoliman2293 I only work with 12/24VDC systems
@@robinj1052 Oh ok. my bad
I didn't know you could remove them. Nice tip!
Don Brooks FYI -- you can only reuse with the same gauge wire or larger, NOT smaller.
The fact that you can remove them so easily should be the first indication that they shouldn’t be trusted.
@@SRT480HP lol
Great video! The Wago Lever Nuts are much better in my opinion than the push in type.
Good information, thanks.
You can use green grounding nuts to simplify your process, use less wire, and take up less space in the box. They're like regular wire nuts except they have a hole in the end- You leave one of the bare grounding wires long and push it through the hole, than twist it along with the other wires. That long wire coming out is your pigtail, no need for a separate one.
Also, an automatic wire stripper is much faster, easier, safer and more consistent. It strips both the romex sheath and individual conductors, and with an easily adjustable strip length. I use an Irwin one and it's awesome.
Green wirenuts are a nightmare to work on afterwards especially if the idiot before hand cuts off the twisted wires all the way to the back of the box
When I did this kind of roughing in, I used a Romex stripper, not a utility knife. I found them to be safer and faster.
Amen to that. Once they became available I would use jacket cutting pliers on the cable before inserting it into the box and then pull the jacket off after insertion. Before the pliers became available I used the cable rippers with the small cutting tooth inside a groove just wide enough for the cable. 12 Gauge cable on one side and 14 gauge cable on the other. The cutting tooth wasn't long enough to cut the wire insulation.
I've always lightly scored the outer sheath until the last inch then I cut deeper, then I use the pulling motion to tear the wire inward. I always worried I'd scrape a conductor bare.
i wish they made a romex stripper where 12-2 was on the very tip
@@13dart84 Kline makes a 12,2 stripper, you use it the same as cutting wire, but the cutter only cuts the protective sheeting and not the wire insulation
@@buzzincalifornia yeah I know I have one but the tip is the 14-2 and the more inside one is 12-2. Easier to un sheath the 14-2 because it’s on the tip
I fell in love when I found the Wago's. I've always had a hate relationship with wire nuts. They take up too much space in a box.
I WOULD ALSO COVER THE OUTLET BOX WITH A PIECE OF CARDBOARD OR MASKING TAPE TO KEEP OUT THE CRUD FROM THE DRYWALLERS AND PAINTERS.CLEANER RESULT.
Yes, and a side benefit is being able to still read writing on the wires. I hate scraping that crap out of my boxes - some hacker tapers will even clean their knife on the box 🤯
@@treyhart6861 indeed - I go back (or send an apprentice) after the 4 way inspection is done - I've also had an inspector ask me if we were going to tape the boxes up lol 🤷♂️⚡
Admittedly though, I haven't done a tract house in twenty years - I'm mostly commercial/ industrial and do a custom home occasionally. Those jobs afford a little more time for that kind of thing versus production home building 👷🏻♂️👨🦳
But only inside the box. Covers extending outside the box would be ripped off as drywallers want/need the outside edge of the box as a reference for their drywall cutting tool.
In technical school (LATTC) we were taught to always pre-twist when using wirenuts.
not in mfg instructions, unnecessary
I've pulled too many receptacles out of their boxes with the push-in type wire installation, and the wires come right out of the receptacle...the insulation of several of which were burnt to a crisp.
That said, I'm not too fond of the push-in type devices, including these things.
They are fine untill they get movement (loose recepticle) or excess current over time.
Tests out there show the clip style nuts working fine under load.. but every one I have taken apart after it has been in the wall for years.. is loose or falls apart (heat). Usually when a recepticle has issues.. is because the push terminals were used.
Just more contact area with a wire nut.
Can't wait for the breakers in the panel to get these. Hahahaaa. Ooo maybe the main feed. JOKE
There is a reason that commercial installations won’t generally allow push in connections on their receptacles . A spring loaded connection can’t offer a long term quality connection.
We only use wago's and don't use wirenuts for decenia. I'm 27 year in the trade of electrician and if I've made 200 wirenutconnections, it is lot. Only wago's and especially the new ones with the little levers are ideal. The only thing is that you have to strip them accordingly to the measurements given on the packaging. Depending on your gauge you have to strip them correct, not longer, not shorter. If you do that correct, no problem.
I have 45 Years of active service as a volunteer firefighter. 35 years of that was as in a rather busy suburban station. We stood watches because the calls were too frequent to wait for people to come from work or home. I would not care to have to count the number of times we responded to a fire or, when the occupant was luckier, to an odor of smoke and found a push in receptacle or switch as the root cause of the problem. Yes it is true that we ran calls were receptacle failures which involved bad screw wrap connections and worn out contact wipers arcing were the cause but no ware near a fourth of what we saw with the push in connections. My bread work was as an electrician but I thought I'd share what my experience with the spring contact connections in the failure mode context.
Tom Horne
@@nachtdiertje1972 I've made hundreds of thousands of terminations , if you want keep using them cuz I get a lot of troubleshooting calls and it's those Waggles I just have to replace them ,easy money as long as the place don't burn down and nobody gets hurt
Way to Go WAGO! I love these connectors. Don't really care for leverlocks at all. Good demo Ben.
UPDATE! I think I like the lever locks better now that I know the proper way to use them. The newer ice machines with 209 uses them.
I agree too very appreciative 👍
The RUclips test on Wago current capacity was carried out by a UK spark called john Ward. Solid cable actually failed before connector despite all plastic having burnt away.
You sir are incorrect. The WAGO connector burned FIRST and was the first to fail. Yes, the wire covering burnt off but the first connector to FAIL was the WAGO.
ruclips.net/video/2uYD8e7idnY/видео.html
@@brianreinhardt4050 kind of a moot point since in that test he was pushing 70amps through the connectors. Breaker would have tripped way before any wire burning.
New sub, I have used the Wago's myself in my new shop. I have had no problems with them. Yes I have looked at them after 6 months of table saw and other tool usage in my shop. No signs of issues. I used the lever type by the way. Just MHO...Now some of my outlets like the 240 and possible multiple draw outlets I used wire nuts....
ruclips.net/video/2uYD8e7idnY/видео.html
The lever kind have much more surface contact than the push type. I believe the lever ones are rated for 20 Amps, push type 15 Amps
I love your videos and very helpful. I’ve a query to pass my rough.
I’m running 12/2 wire for 10 outlets with 20amp breaker switch in my home theater room. Can I daisy chain the same 12/2 for the lights & switches in the room or I should run separate 14/2 wire with 15amp breaker switch?
Been using Wagos for a long time. And the ones with the levers are even better.
Great vid. I only use wago lever nuts. They rock. And I only do pigtails.
Yes, pigtails are really a must. Not a must in the strict sense, but a practical sense... you SHOULD pigtail to receptacles.
It IS a code requirements for commercial and industrial but for Residential I prefer side-wire loop-through topology - it's faster, easier to troubleshoot, and every bit as secure as pig tailing. AND I can have an apprentice wire receptacles and switches and still be able to inspect the work. I can't trust an apprentice to get a wire nut on properly in pigtails so then I have to troubleshoot their work.
But to each their own right? Pig tailing has advantages for sure but it has drawbacks as well. My 2 cents
@@sinistersparky9657 Check out backwire devices. Those are the best of both worlds: you can insert two conductors per screw, so you have essentially a pigtail and tap in one.
When you roll the wires into the box, you are now allowing the Sheetrock guy to cut the middle of your wires with his roto zip. You should zigzag the wires into the box so if he does screw up with the roto zip, he will only zip off the very outer insulation.
R
So practical thanks you
Do you use the Wago 221s?
A “gut hook” blade is the best I’ve found in my 21 years of electrical work for cutting the sheath of Romex.
Like a roofing blade or...?
RJ na it’s a knife that has a hook on the end of the blade.
@@alphasaiyan5760 so like a roofing blade then.
I'm not a electrician ( "technician" - wire puller) but have been using Wagos for years with no problem. They've been used for years in Europe and they don't seem to have an excess of related problems (ie, fires, arcing, etc)
Like anything there is a bit of a learning curve with them (wire properly stripped & inserted fully).
240 volt appliances likely use about half the current as we do in North America, watt for watt. Possibly the WAGOs last longer there.
@@hugh007
A possibility
@@hugh007 We have also curcit with up 32A or more in Workshops . Deppendent on the type of the wago it goes up to 40A. So no problem with by high current with 500VAC. Normal rate is 10A to 16A in an house for a curcit in Germany. Very much but it is possible.
Also normal Terminal Block from Wago or Phonix Contact are with Push In. We use them in industrie facilaties with up to 64A.
If you are not sure, look in the Datasheet. Als product in Germany for electrical equipment must be prove on VDE or EN standards. If they write wromg limits on the datasheet, they will get trouble as VW 😬 with exhaust.
@@hugh007 That is indeed why there have been failure of these in the US and not in Europe. The spring clamp type connector (Wagos have the highest resistance of of all the typical connection types, (wire nuts, screw terminals and crimps. Doing voltage drop testing at 20 amps I've seen 4 or more times the resistance of a wire nut.
Where this because more significant is with higher currents, when current doubles the heating goes up by 4 times because it's "I^2 X R", ""I squared R".
At 20 amps, the heat dissipated in that connection is about 1 watt. That doesn't seem like a lot, but because the contact area is so small, at that point, the heat becomes concentrated and significantly hot. The other type connections cover many times more surface area and they are much tighter than the little WAGO spring can make it.
I've seen some test where the run 40 amps or more through them and the don't fail but get very hot. The trouble is a one time overload condition is unlike to fail catastrophically. Where the problem will arise is in repeated heat/cool cycles. That will anneal the spring, weakening it. I've done some repeated heat/cool cycles at a full 2o amps and the measured voltage drops again. The résistance goes up. More resistance means more heat.
I think these things will work OK with low currents, but because of the "Current squared" factor they will begin to breakdown. If this happens in a box, you'll probably fail open and it probably is unlikely to cause a fire. I just think it's a bad idea to make a high resistance connection when we have ways that are much better. They are quick and easy, but I'd rather have the best connection I can make.
@@arnewemken6416 The thing about that that isn't obvious is that you are talking about IEC or EN standards. The WAGO 221 says right on it 32 amps. But if you dig into the UL standards for use in North America, the rating is 20 amps. Also, the EN/IEC standards is at 85 C where as the UL standard is 105 C. The EN/IEC has them rated to 450 volts, but the UL standard calls for 600 volts.
You have to dig into the weeds a bit to find these differences. WAGOs are UL listed for use in the US, however, not at the EN/EIC specs. The standards are not interchangeable. Of course our electrical systems are not interchangeable either. Even the way that the standards organizations work, are hugely different. Similar in some way, but way different in others. It's not apples to apples.
I can just tell you this, I've spent many years in Industry and NEMA, (North American Manufactures Association), was the design spec guys. But in the last two decades or so, a lot of IEC stuff has made its way into industry. Bottom line is that you can build machines way cheaper using IEC specs than NEMA specs. The best way I can describe it is that the NEMA stuff is built far more beefy and robustly. For typical industrial control components, the NEMA stuff is twice the size or more than the IEC stuff. Prices for the same functional component is 3 to 5 times more than its IEC counterpart. Most NEMA stuff was designed to be repairable where as the IEC stuff is throwaway. Generally speaking, the NEMA stuff was designed with a much larger safety factor. where as the IEC stuff has little if any margin.
To be completely honest, I hate the IEC stuff. And we have American companies making stuff to the IEC secs now too. Even though very little of it is actually made in the US. The IEC stuff is definitely more economical. I have seen much more catastrophic failure with IEC stuff. To the eye, it seems obvious that the IEC stuff is much more cheapy made. But the engineer side suggests that generally speaking our big industry has a much more robust power grid and short circuit fault currents are likely much higher too. That might explain why IEC that fails, seems to explode into pieces, where as the NEMA counterpart shows damage but can often be cleaned up and repaired and put back into service.
Nice clean work!!
I don't like using wago connectors. Over time those push lock connectors will come loose and haunt U trying to find the problem. I like using screw connectors on all electrical. It may take about 10 + years to screw up with wago. I'm 68 years old and I have had that happen to me quite a few times. Like your work. Thank You.
That’s all I ever use these days lever wagos nuts perfect connections got their own buss bar and they take up less space in box’s !! Good video
Wago are the way to go. I have been using them for a couple of years now. Wire nuts may be cheaper but the wagos save time and your hands !
Very informative great video'!! I,m installing a 12-volt dc light switch; how would I wire this using WAGO, S I have 14/2 Romex for the line power and 14/2 for the load side; I,m just a little confused about using pigtails to power the switch without blowing fuses everywhere; any advice would be appreciated; the switch is an SPST 2 PRONG 12 VOLT SWITCH: thanks again,PJP
You are a great teacher
I do my best but I have a lot to learn myself! Thanks for being a subscriber!
I'm a 20 yr service electrician. Always find failed wagos, rarely find a failed wirenut splice.
Take that for what it's worth.
I can't say I've come across many Wagos, but I can't even count how many times I've found failed connections when push connectors are used on the back of receptacles. I don't see how Wagos are any better. I always say that no electrician worth his salt uses push connectors. It's just asking for trouble down the road.
amen to that , that's what we do splice, trying to make a trade with out required skills. No electrician should ever stab wire a receptacle. That is the meaning of lame...
Jason Weiner you are so correct and the other problem is not enough surface contact with wagoS which is the same when not using the screws on a receptacle versus the push tabs. Constant full load causes the push tabs to fail because of the high resistance do to very little contact between wire and tab
From a UK sparky I am surprised you still use wirenuts, we used to have them and only come across them nowadays in old installations, usually when trying to find the break in the circuit. I don’t know if the wirenuts you have are different to the type we used to have though. When I used to do installation work I used connector strip though the industry now seems to be going towards the push (maintenance free) connectors. Wago is a manufacturer of these and there are also poorer quality copies about, personally I don’t know of any failures of genuine Wago connectors which have been fitted properly but we do run all domestic circuits on 230v so our current will be lower. Also we wouldn’t connect like you do in a back box, we’d connect all the conductors to the socket outlet (receptacle) albeit ours are quite a bit different to yours.
@@jamesbarca7229 My whole house was done with push ins dammit. The receptacles and switches are actually splitting apart so I'm having to change everything out (and use the screw terminals. sheesh)
You won’t see anything like wire nuts in Europe. Over here, twisting wires is a bad practice nowadays - too much installation error and makes testing and fault-finding a mess. Wago connectors hold the cable more than tight enough, there’s no need to twist the life out of it!
You are so wrong those piece of shit wagos fail all the time twist those fucking bare ground wires and use a crimp sleeve. I've been doing electric for 40 years. If we go to troubleshoot can lights that aren't working properly and I see they are wired with wagos we cut them off and wire but them. But bye watching this guy use wire nuts he sucks look just like the ones a home owner does. The wire nuts should be tight enough to pick yourself off the ladder hanging on to them. When you twist them back off the wires should stay together. It's not rocket science. If using wagos was a good idea then it would still be leagle to stab #12's into a receptical. Many many houses have burnt to the ground because of that. That's why it's not leagle. So explain to me how a wagon differs from a receptical with stab ins. I realize loose plugs from poorly mounted boxes is the difference but if you are troubleshooting then you are moving them around and they fail. Throw those pieces of SHIT in the garbage please I'm tired of fixing crappy work. Electrical requires hand strength. Twisting the shit out of the wires does not break them they break because they are not properly stripped. You guys are as dumb as the yachting guys they write their own code witch calls for boat cable witch is fine stranded tinned copper and wire nuts are illeagle. I wire houseboats sometimes and when you run three ways it's a pain in the ass because just making up the nuetrals you have to use multiple crimp sleeves and jumper them together. The dumbest thing ever. Tinned wire for 120v in fresh water is assanine.
@@paulgeorge1069 Personally think lever Wago (221) is the best connector and it has many benefits. I actually do the same as you. I remove wire nuts and toss them in the trash.
On another note, how does the Wagos fail all the time? And is it really as bad as you make it out to be considering how many millions of homes they are currently in?
And what type of stab in receptacle are you referring to? I assume it's the US-style one, and I think based on the picture I found that connection looks different and worse than Wago.
@@paulgeorge1069 Most LED ceiling lights come with push-in connectors, but these are NOT Wagos, they're cheap knockoffs. I always snip them off and use Wago lever nuts, which are amazing. As far as wire nuts go, they're just not used in Europe and haven't been for a long time, and houses aren't constantly burning down there.
@@SgtZima ya the lever nuts work good but are way too expensive. Very useful on 16 and smaller wires though.
@@paulgeorge1069 they are pricey yeah. Great for connecting stranded to solid wire though
Not too concerned about the best utility knife, but it was a very informative presentation as to how to do the boxes with a receptacle. I liked it, and thanks for letting me know about the wagos? I'll sure check them out.
Same I only use the push in connectors when I have to and it’s more of a temporary fix. I don’t trust them one bit plus the clip on the wire just like back stabbing outlets does and look how that turned out over time. Same concept just different housing. Nothing beats a good name brand wire nut and pre twist the wire. I have pulled out many outlets and junction boxes and have seen the connections just come right apart even though the wire might was twisted down super tight but the wire was not pushed in far enough when installed or when there is more then 2 wires there’s not enough wire making contact to the wire but and two will stay in buy one falls out. I pretwist my wires and once twisted cut the end at a slight angel and in some cases use a 5/16 nut driver to spin on the wire nut. I never have a connection come undone or fall apart unless you want it to.
I've had lever lock wagos pop open when pushing wires into the box. I've started taping them for added security. I've never used the push in style because I mix stranded with solid so not really useful for me. Hopefully they hold up better than the push in outlets but time will tell.
They can pop-up halfway sometimes but you still can't remove the wire. That requires you to fully disengage the lever, which requires a little bit of thumb force.
@@SgtZima one time I had one lever open all the way causing connection issues. Partially my fault because I didn't nose the connector towards the back of the box.
Love the lever versions the best.
Awesome video thanks again very interested and informative 👍🏽
Like using the WAGO 221-4xx & 221-6xx series lever nuts. Really does make wiring outlets, switches (boxes etc....) little faster & easier. The other nice thing is; able to energize the circuit & use the test points on the lever nuts to find any “issues” you may have...as doing “trouble shooting work” w/ these does make things go a little faster & easier, etc...👍🏻
Let’s hope the WAGO Lever Nuts work well & the “compression fitting” can withstand the constant “power” being “turned” on/off over the years & last.....
Do know one thing, even though they are a bit more expensive than the traditional wire nut....they sure are easier to work w/; & can make retrofits/remodels in older houses a lot easier to “wire up” when one doesn’t have a lot of “extra” wire coming from a box (ya know what I mean....LOL. Always a pain when take a plate off an outlet/switch & come to find out you have maybe 1-2 inches of wire to work with, not fun or easy😡, but using a WAGO really does come in handy at these moments👍🏻).
Cheers✌🏼
They seem to have less “bulk” in the box alsp
I think most people get that feeling when they first use wagos, especially the fancy lever style ones for lighting.
i have a 123 volt wires that i'm using for lights on a headboard and wires that connect to the switch broke what size wire connector would you recommend ? my dog chewed right through them
Are the Wago connectors with the lever that you mention ok to use in an application like this?
The reason I ask is they are available to me from work at a "discount". Thanks
I am definitely in the camp of a wire loop under a tight pan head screw which makes a better and more reliable connection. But the lever locks do look to be well made.
You get a thousand pounds of pressure with a tight screw I'm not so sure you get any of that with the waggle
I find wagos connectors to be a bad idea I’ve pull out many that would pull right out, shorted better to twist and install red or yellow wire connectors way better longer lasting too
If space is an issue, use wago's but then twist the wires up just behind it, problem solved.
That "bad" idea works like that safe since the 1970's in it's home country germany.
@@seanthiar I've seen enough burned wagos that I try not to use them. I've seen a couple wire nuts connections burned.
Germany uses 230 volts so the current would be lower there. Less heat.
If you noticed, the wires were nicked. The instructions on the package I had state you have to clip off the nicked section of the wire.
In RF, known as an impedence bump. The higher the frequency, the greater the loss of signal. That's why above VHF, we used N connectors.
Same goes for wiring Coax for tv and ethernet for networking. It can make the difference between a good signal or no signal.
A few years ago I quit using wire nuts and moved to Buchanan Connectors. If you’ve never used them before they are a copper sleeve that crimps over the group of wires with a compression tool and then they are capped with cap which resembles a marrett that snaps over them.
Voltage drop with these style connections is much less under load than any other style I have used.
The wago connectors are easy, but I find they don’t carry high current nearly as well as a marrett style or better yet the Buchanan style.
Just a neat tip try if you like. To strip the romex take your wire stripper pliers, pinch and pull a chunk of the the romex sheath where you want it to be cut. Twist the romex and do it on the opposing side and pull the sheath off. It tears at the point with the two "bites" taken out. Careful to not grab the interior conductor but with a little practice you can do it consistently without damaging the conductor sheathing. Saves from switching back and fourth to the knife. Learned it from an old guy.
did he teach you to grab a 2X3 and a bucket for a trash can and a seat to save the knees??
Great tip!!! Tips like this are why I read down into the comments. Thanks! I’ll try it out on my next wiring project.
Here In Germany we use wago since 1974 and since the 90th no electrician uses any other connections. You are using the wagos upsidedown. The wago connectors should be installed that the clear side points up. So that dust and dirt can't fall into the spring mechanism
Oh! That is very good to know.
He makes a good point I did my research wago have been around a lot longer than ideal version, pay the premium wago is worth it. Now if we could only get their junction boxes listed by underwriters laboratory.
that makes sense, danke.
@@christopherwolford6522 I've seen those small gray Wago junction boxes in other channels, they're pretty odd looking! But they're compact, which is nice. However junction box use in North American residential wiring is nearly nonexistent.
@@aaron74 over there they are rated for in wall aka hidden use kinda neat as it's a big no no here. I was sad when I found them not UL listed. I was going to use them in the attic to clean up the mess from the 1970's, but no UL or other listings makes them non NEC compliant.
The way I see it is , if the connector is UL listed , then it’s acceptable.
Said olny by a person who doesn't do it for a living. 😕
@@paulgeorge1069 lol I didn’t say just because it’s UL listed it’s the best for the job. I just said it’s acceptable. Also, I am a full time self employed electrician. Some municipalities require different connectors and different types of connections. But they all must be UL listed.
Back-stabbing is covered by UL listing and accepted by code but it's still a garbage, failure prone connection. I just went through my home and replaced all the receptacles and did away with all the back-stabs and I noticed, the lights don't dim while the vacuum cleaner is on anymore like they used to. That's all the proof I need that a back-stab is a terrible connection.
Nothing even appeared to have been hot, no charing or melting or anything like that. No burning smells. But there was clearly a problem somewhere which is now gone.
@@Krankie_V I agree with you on that. A lot of my service call troubles are because of failed back stabbed receptacles.
@@alphasaiyan5760 backstabbers in homes keep me in business, but i do replace them with straight wire screw-in outlets… i can never remember what they are called
I really enjoy your videos. They are so self explanitory. Have you ever done a video of a home run going from the light switch to the junction box to can lights that at are 6 feet apart.
Love Wagos. First got introduced to them when I did an internship for an electrician in Germany back in 2011
Do u still love them
I like the wago lever nuts myself. And the best utility knife is actually the milwaukee fastback knife, trust me, I wont even entertain the idea of using anything else.
Best blade I've used...
Very happy with Wago 221s. I cannot understand the "hate" and reports of "failed" ones in the comments - it's highly likely these are the cheap Chinese knockoffs and not actual wagos. Or improperly sized conductors were jammed in them, or there was some other wiring issue with the breaker elsewhere. The wago won't be the failure point though.
The fact they're used throughout europe with 220-240v, AND they're NEC listed, I feel plenty safe using them here. The price difference is easily made up with the speed it takes to use them.
Some old dogs hate new tricks I guess. The US needs to move out of the stone age with wire nuts.
The countless reports about failed ones surprised me too since here in Austria and Germany we pretty much exclusively use them and I've never seen a failed one while working or doing installation testing so far.
Being cautious is a good thing! I too thought Wagos might not stand up, but I did my research and they appear to work fine and have many positives over wirenuts, especially for the DIYer. I also suspect the problems were with cheap knockoffs. I also don’t see any images of failures unlike backstabbed receptacles.
I am removing a wall (top half) my wiring for the stove is in. I have to extend the wiring around and back to the same location these will work on extending the wring ? I will be using a junction box also where the wagos would connect the exsisting to the extension
As long as your connections are made inside of the junction box then you should be fine! Just make sure that the wagos that you use are rated for the size wires that you are using. Good luck on your project!
Because many are just learning of Wago for the first time here!
Thats funny... I came across these connectors for the first time ever about two weeks ago when I purchased some recessed lighting for the first time. Had no idea what they were so I cut them off and wire nutted everything together 😂
I like the push in connectors but you cant beat the price of wire nuts!
For an electrician yes, for a DIY weekend job it will be a difference of $5. I've used the wago lever nuts on my bedroom addition and they worked great.
Your time is worth money. If it saves enough time then it’s worth it. I prefer wagos also because I have spent too many years making revisions and upgrades to old work. I always tell anyone on my crew, “Remember some day someone will work on this. That someone could be you”
Hey Benjamin! I love your videos! Very Helpful! Have you had any problems with the wago push in connectors? I'm very tempted to use them but keep seeing a lot of information from other electricians online that says they aren't worth it. They call them the sharkbite connectors of the electrical world. Now I know you shouldn't believe everything online, but is there anything to worry about using these in a residential build?
Nothing wrong with sharkbite connectors, any more than these. Just people have lots of problems that can exist and they will blame things they changed, even if they aren't the actual cause.
Excellent Info
The Wago might be easier to use, but I trust the wire nuts better as the conductors are touching each others directly instead of being connected together with a tiny piece of metal.
more contact area between the wires and more contact area between the wires and the mechanical fastener. go ahead and try to pull a wire nut off.
@@frotobaggins7169 well, the push in connector could withstand around 30kg for solid wire and 18kg for strand wire.
Also, someone literally give enough current to burn the wire and connector, the wire insulation melt first and followed by the connector housing, the "tiny piece of metal" still hold onto the wire.
@@Kevin-fj5oe I never said wagos wouldn't work. I have seen many a push in connector fail that is why I never use them. It's not the current or the amount of pull they can handle, it's the tens of thousands of heat cycles over decades of use that causes the failure. The wire nut with more surface area of contact between the two wires are just better able to handle the heat cycles. I actually just replaced a failing push in connector on an outlet that was causing arcing and starting to burn the wire causing the circuit to flicker.
I've been using wago connectors in my control panels for several years. There's a lot to not like about wire nuts. Wagos take less space, easier to use, easier to know you got all conductors firmly tapped they have test points for probing built in.
I’m perplexed. You praise wagoes while others here cite failures and fires from them and prefer/recommend using twist nuts. 🤷🏼♂️🤦♂️
@@DonaldDump2024 the wagos I use are not push in, they are lever locked. The failure of others to comply with/check load limits and specs are not a failure of the product or the technology. We still have a duty to our clients to carry out our due diligence. A professional does not just slap in a part someplace without knowing the load limits of the part. I do not use it as a direct replacement for wire nuts in high load circuits. I use them as splice points in CONTROL PANELS.
In my machines there are no splices in high load circuits. A constant conductor runs the length of the circuit uninterrupted for high load and duty cycled PWM circuit. I havent had a single issue. To be fair I dont even allow wire nuts in my high load ckt. If a connection needed to be made it would be soldered and sealed. Wago are only used on ckt of 3 amps or less at 120vac. Typically, the ckt wago is used is a 12vdc high impedance input signals carrying a few milliamps if even that to a PLC or an output to a warning indicator (usually LED) usually 65 milliamps per indicator. They work great, never had a problem. Used within their physical limitations.
@@3dw3dw
Thank you for the explanation.
@@DonaldDump2024 Wagos became standard in Germany and many parts of Europe already in the 90th. I have no negative experience with them. They are even considered more reliable than conventional screw connectors or wire nuts. It is interesting that some people with very few experience with them have seen so many faulty ones and here we have no problems.
@@DonaldDump2024 Wagos are much, MUCH!!! safer then some wirenuts. Wirenuts are forbidden in some great and modern countries....
Wow... makes me glad I’m in Australia guys.
We have similar to your yello stuff but you twist the conductors together. The back of the power point has the screw lock down type connections.
You’d have no trouble twisting three active wires together in the back of the point. Power circuits here are 2.5mm even with us having 240v.
In the average home here it’s either metal studs or wood. With most of the walls gyprock (drywall).
If the points are put in at the start of a house biuld. There is a metal frame that gets nailed to the stud for the sparky to fit the point to later (after the walls go up). If it’s done after there are things called c clips.
We don’t do the box in the wall. The back of the point is open to the inside of the wall. The point does all the joining and holding. Much faster.
Also in 230V land here. We have a choice and mix of 4 box types: On-wall boxes that are fully on the surface. Front-inserted boxes that are pushed into a hole and clamp themselves to the back of sheetrock or wood panels. In-wall regular boxes that can protrude to the surface but not beyond and cemented-in boxes that can be pre-installed (without wires) in concrete walls, connected by equally cemented in pipes at the prefabricated wall factory. Once the concrete walls are up, the state licensed electrician can pull wires and install outlets without weakening the load bearing walls.
I pre twist with duck bill vise grips trim extra bare copper then wire nut but I love to try the wago