Terminating 1mm Twin & Earth Cable

I wonder when push fit terminals will become commonplace on switches? seem to be every where else JBs, fittings
Who knows - but I still also wonder what we will have discovered in a few decades' time about the very long-term performance (even 'safety') of non-screwed terminals!

Kind Regards, John
 
Sponsored Links
I realise but a row of push fits would be feasible on most accessories or use wagos
Should be shouldn't they it's a good point! Although at 3.50 for a mk double socket maybe cost is more relevant than space in reality!
 
At work where I'm making control panels and will have a row of DIN rail terminal blocks I welcome the push fit ones, the others seem to be set against them but I think they are better - I can't use a small screwdriver all day and have to use a low torque electric one. Push fit is just so easy.
 
At work where I'm making control panels and will have a row of DIN rail terminal blocks I welcome the push fit ones, the others seem to be set against them but I think they are better - I can't use a small screwdriver all day and have to use a low torque electric one. Push fit is just so easy.
As a panel builder for the last 15 years I absolutely hated the pushfit terminals when I first encountered them as they seemed to be creating so many problems.
The reality of course is the terminals are fine [well the 2nd generation] but like everything else one has to adapt to new products. I'm a little surprised solid cored wire hasn't come back in vogue for panels to avoid having to fit ferrules.

I found a cheap lightweight 7.2v cordles drill from B&Q was good for termminals in panels but I still found my right thumb joint succumed to arthritus
 
Sponsored Links
I wonder when push fit terminals will become commonplace on switches? seem to be every where else JBs, fittings
I came across some a while back but there was a big problem with them, the spring/grip had a sharp edge which cut into the wire but it cut right through due to the movement or shock when the repeated switch operations. It was quite easy to see which switches were used and which were not.
The later versions were back to screw terminals.
We hid a box of spares at that customers premises to make repairs easier for us.
 
I double over if the hole is big enough and doesn't need a very sharp bend to get it in. More of a fold. Screws can be tightened too much. ;) Too loose causes grief as well.

Push fit seems to vary. Wago for instance need a set length pushing in - later they made them part transparent so this can be seen. One make I used on lights was more difficult to use than screws. Not strictly push fit as something needed pushing down to get the cable in. It too needed the correct length stripped. Another type might have used a cam action lever to close. Better IMHO especially in this case as it's intended to connect up a number of lights to a single switch.
 
If you put one, two, or three wires in a terminal in the main it will make a good connection, put over three wires then there is a chance one wire will not be firmly gripped, if you bend over a wire it makes it two, so put a second in also bent over so four, but chance is one of each pair well gripped but once you go to the third so 6 wires there is an increased chance one pair can be loose.

There are times when it is clearly the wire is really too thin for the terminal so no option but double it up, but unless that is the case then don't double up as it could cause a poor connection.

In the main I tried to build a panel so one terminal for one wire, it does seem odd that 13A sockets only in the main have a single terminal designed to take from one 1.5 mm² to 2 x 6 mm² or 3 x 4 mm² it seems a huge range. And I have removed sockets where wires have popped out.
 
Push fit seems to vary. Wago for instance need a set length pushing in ...
The stripped length is obviously pretty critical for any terminal (screw or spring), but it may be slightly more critical with some than others.
One make I used on lights was more difficult to use than screws. Not strictly push fit as something needed pushing down to get the cable in.
That's how the terminals in the Hager/Ashley 'MF' JBs work.
Another type might have used a cam action lever to close. Better IMHO ...
I certainly find the lever-action Wagos easier to use than the push-in ones - and, of course, only the lever ones can take stranded conductors. Mind you, the 'new' generation of (smaller) lever-action Wagos have pretty 'man-eating' springs, and it can be a little difficult (and potentially painful!) opening and closing them.

Although generally easier to use, the lever-action ones presumably introduce an extra mode of theoretically possible long-term failure - since, in addition to changes in the properties of the spring over decades, there is presumably also a theoretical possibility that, under some conditions, they could 'spring open'.

Kind Regards, John
 
You only need to use that for (small) stranded wires otherwise you wouldn't be able to use stranded.
In my experience (albeit limited) it's much easier to get solid conductors into them if one pushes the thingy down - particularly 1mm² ones, which can easily bend if one pushes them hard enough to get them in without depressing it.

Kind Regards, John
 
Plugs are a subject in their own right

http://bs1363.fatallyflawed.org.uk/

13amps is interesting as well. They will get warm which some could describe as overheating. Going on experiences a bit of a long time ago the company I worked for made an EV charger that took a perfect 13amps from the supply. The idea was overnight top up charging. In practice 10hrs or more. Few plugs and sockets were up to it. Mk was a make that survived so have never ever fitted anything else since. Recently 3kw 220v maybe 240v space heaters are around. Even on modern MK the pug gets warm going on one I have. Some of that may be down to the max wire size that can be used in plugs and it not being an Mk plug but UK plugs have changed over time. Traditionally makers might limit max draw to 2.4kw knowing it's unlikely to cause problems.

One thing that struck me about the push down type connectors is that they imply plastic pressing on metal only when the connection is made. ;) While I like use of the cam types they could be plastic pressing on metal to make the contact. Self loosening if they get too hot. Never looked so don't know. To be honest I prefer conventional screw type methods of joining. About for donkeys years in enormous numbers and seldom cause problems if correctly tightened, even barrier strips but a pity they don't have a leaf in them as some types do intended for other uses.
 
While I like use of the cam types they could be plastic pressing on metal to make the contact. Self loosening if they get too hot.
The decent types (Wago etc.) are metal on metal, with the spring action part of the metal itself, the plastic lever pushes on the metal only to open the terminal, so even if the plastic fails, the metal still grips the wire. Even with the plastic totally melted off and only the metal remaining, they still grip the wires securely. When installed correctly, it's basically impossible for the wires to ever come loose.

Other cheapo copies from far away places can be metal on plastic, which most certainly do melt and fail very quickly, the result being the wires falling out.

Plugs getting warm is due to the fuse, which will dissipate up to 1 watt in normal operation. Fused plugs are unsuitable for long term high loads such as electric vehicle charging or storage heaters.
 
Plugs are a subject in their own right

http://bs1363.fatallyflawed.org.uk/

13amps is interesting as well. They will get warm which some could describe as overheating. Going on experiences a bit of a long time ago the company I worked for made an EV charger that took a perfect 13amps from the supply. The idea was overnight top up charging. In practice 10hrs or more. Few plugs and sockets were up to it. Mk was a make that survived so have never ever fitted anything else since. Recently 3kw 220v maybe 240v space heaters are around. Even on modern MK the pug gets warm going on one I have. Some of that may be down to the max wire size that can be used in plugs and it not being an Mk plug but UK plugs have changed over time. Traditionally makers might limit max draw to 2.4kw knowing it's unlikely to cause problems.

One thing that struck me about the push down type connectors is that they imply plastic pressing on metal only when the connection is made. ;) While I like use of the cam types they could be plastic pressing on metal to make the contact. Self loosening if they get too hot. Never looked so don't know. To be honest I prefer conventional screw type methods of joining. About for donkeys years in enormous numbers and seldom cause problems if correctly tightened, even barrier strips but a pity they don't have a leaf in them as some types do intended for other uses.
I seem to remember the Hospital board had a red plug made for them with no fuse in it, I remember my father-in-law had one or two he had picked up in error, not sure if the fuse was in the equipment or not, but taking 13A over an extended time has always been a problem, and when the pins were made with a insulated collar they were less able to dissipate the heat.

For immersion heaters it was common to use 15A plug and socket with no fuse in the airing cupboard.

But the push in wiring connectors have been around for a long time, first I worked with was 1980 working for a Dutch company in Algeria, so a good 40 years, they were a huge improvement with panels as serving was basic put a screw driver in each terminal and test for tightness, over time it would neck off the wire where the screw had bit in a little more each time tightened, even torque screwdrivers did not help. The main problem was plant that could vibrate, the spring loaded terminals removed this problem, it did however mean every stranded wire needed a feral on them, however you needed a feral to hold on the marker anyway so that hardly mattered.

However I think this thread was more about domestic, and hard enough to get wires over sleeved with brown or blue, never mind a cable marker, and in a panel the majority of the wires were control and very little power went down them. If I had wired the machines I worked on like the normal house is wired I would soon have been kicked out, we called them house bashers and it was seen as the lowest part of the trade.

OK that is hardly valid today, things which were only found in industry have now arrived in the house, the most complex house wiring was the central heating, things have changed over the years.

I also was involved with EV chargers, we used Reyrolle plugs and sockets in early years
1452075519_A-Belco-Easigo-Reyrolle-Rnge.jpg

Later went to the type now found on nearly every caravan site, there was one where you turned the plug to switch it one, and pressed a button to switch off and release the plug.
 
Later went to the type now found on nearly every caravan site, there was one where you turned the plug to switch it one, and pressed a button to switch off and release the plug.
Fortunately they vanished a long time ago...







Wait for it!
 

DIYnot Local

Staff member

If you need to find a tradesperson to get your job done, please try our local search below, or if you are doing it yourself you can find suppliers local to you.

Select the supplier or trade you require, enter your location to begin your search.


Are you a trade or supplier? You can create your listing free at DIYnot Local

 
Sponsored Links
Back
Top