Many wires, tiny terminals

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Hi Folks

Can anyone recommend a brand that manufactures light switches, particularly dimmers, with large terminals? Not fussed if it's only white that's available.

Basically the gang who rewired my house (Feb 2014) did the lighting primarily in single core & CPC cabling with the permanent lives looped from switch to switch and the neutrals from rose to rose, I can't say I'm impressed with the method either from the POV of the householder or of someone who knows a bit about lighting circuits.

The switch I want to change for a dimmer has 3 permanent lives so must loop off to two other lights. This left me with the problem of how to terminate all 3 in a dimmer switch; the terminal in the switch I already had was too small for 3 cores and I did try terminating them in a block and running a flylead to the switch but was unable to fit it in behind the switch.

So is there a brand of dimmer that might accommodate 3 live cores?

Thanks! :)
 
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A 4 terminal wago is pretty small. Did you try one of those?
 
A 4 terminal wago is pretty small. Did you try one of those?

Nope, are they smaller than a single 5A terminal strip? I just about got 4 cores in one of those, but because of the diagonal design of the dimmer body, I couldn't bend it, and the wires connected to it, out of the way sufficiently to be able to screw the switch into place. In retrospect, either way I suppose I could have shortened the live cores given there would always be scope to allow the circuit to work with a flylead to the switch in question, but I didn't want to go a'choppin' right from the off.
 
I've never had an issue getting three wires into any dimmer terminal. It's a bit tight but it'll go.

Looped singles is a great way to wire lights these days with the proliferation of down lights and fancy fittings with tiny termination chambers.
 
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Hi Folks



Basically the gang who rewired my house (Feb 2014) did the lighting primarily in single core & CPC cabling with the permanent lives looped from switch to switch and the neutrals from rose to rose, I can't say I'm impressed with the method either from the POV of the householder or of someone who knows a bit about lighting circuits.

:)

Sounds like the Northern way.

Nothing wrong with it.

You don't seem to see it done like that down South.
 
I've never had an issue getting three wires into any dimmer terminal. It's a bit tight but it'll go.

Looped singles is a great way to wire lights these days with the proliferation of down lights and fancy fittings with tiny termination chambers.

I'll eventually try it with another switch I guess. I'll admit I only gave up trying when the terminal screw came clean out and disappeared into the void of the surrounding plastic.... :mad:

You have a point re. the singles. I have read many a thread on here regarding new light fittings and why there is never provision for looped lives, or even space for more than one neutral core; where do the people designing these fittings come from exactly? :confused:
 
Sounds like the Northern way.

Nothing wrong with it.

You don't seem to see it done like that down South.

Understood, as I said to RF I agree it makes sense for a lot of applications, it just potentially proves problematic for us poor buggers trying to change the accessories we've been blessed with. (Crabtree, not a fan, but purely based on aesthetics....)

I'm in Yorkshire too by the way :D
 
why there is never provision for looped lives,

I have recently purchased some John Lewis Basics Lulu wall lights, and they come with a 4-way terminal block with a spare for looped live. Not the biggest terminals but probably ok for 2 x 1.5mm.

Under a tenner for a single wall light and much better than anything from Argos.
 

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