What Wire Connector is the Best? Settling a Debate! Wire Nut VS Wago
video description
Also to me it's easier when I have to connect together a lot of cables(5 cables, for example) to use wago, since you can put the cable into the connector one by one, and not have to bring then all together while you slide them into the connector and hope that no cable moves and you have to do all again (or use a piece of tape to keep them together while you do the connection.
Date: 2022-02-14
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Comments and reviews: 9
Bill
Trust the Germans to come up with overengineered expensive solutions that are not really better.
Trust Ebay to sell the counterfeit versions of German parts made to unknown physical and material standards.
First of all, Do Not use Any wire connection you have not been properly trained to use. In the first minutes of this video I saw two Solid/Stranded wire nut connections done improperly.
I like Wago connectors. I use them on projects that are likely to require disassembly or experience vibration. I especially like the DIN rail mounted Wago connectors and devices.
I use _only_ wire nuts inside walls or in locations that may become wet. Wire nuts are more easily sealed against moisture or installed not to hold moisture.
The higher resistance of Wago connectors is not insignificant with near limit loads, especially if potentially exposed to moisture or corrosive environments (lead acid battery fumes, sea air. Wire nuts can be filled with dielectric grease and taped. Their greater surface area contact makes heat related failure due to corrosion less likely. A connection that gets warm in open air use will get warmer if enclosed. Corrosion increases resistance. Heat increases resistance at a junction. Heat and corrosion feed each other, yielding a connection that works well until the moment it is a fire.
All of this depends on proper use of the connectors and that comes from proper _real_ training. Improper amateur home wiring can be, and often is, deadly. I will use random alligator clamps, duct tape, or even a hemostat on my bench, but home wiring must meet your local electrical code. It is there for a reason.
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Trust the Germans to come up with overengineered expensive solutions that are not really better.
Trust Ebay to sell the counterfeit versions of German parts made to unknown physical and material standards.
First of all, Do Not use Any wire connection you have not been properly trained to use. In the first minutes of this video I saw two Solid/Stranded wire nut connections done improperly.
I like Wago connectors. I use them on projects that are likely to require disassembly or experience vibration. I especially like the DIN rail mounted Wago connectors and devices.
I use _only_ wire nuts inside walls or in locations that may become wet. Wire nuts are more easily sealed against moisture or installed not to hold moisture.
The higher resistance of Wago connectors is not insignificant with near limit loads, especially if potentially exposed to moisture or corrosive environments (lead acid battery fumes, sea air. Wire nuts can be filled with dielectric grease and taped. Their greater surface area contact makes heat related failure due to corrosion less likely. A connection that gets warm in open air use will get warmer if enclosed. Corrosion increases resistance. Heat increases resistance at a junction. Heat and corrosion feed each other, yielding a connection that works well until the moment it is a fire.
All of this depends on proper use of the connectors and that comes from proper _real_ training. Improper amateur home wiring can be, and often is, deadly. I will use random alligator clamps, duct tape, or even a hemostat on my bench, but home wiring must meet your local electrical code. It is there for a reason.
reply
variogenesis
I always believed that the wire nuts or the caps as are known in my country are pathetic way of making an electrical joint, especially when it comes to check a line, make an expansion to a line or simply work in an 15x15 electrical box or even smaller. I have the tendency to replace them with wago type ones, anytime they make my life hell. The wago type connection is a last two decades thing here (or maybe more as i remember. Anyway having in mind the cost of the wago, wire nuts are a good, very cheap option, which will never stop used to the field.
i don't know if you read a manual for their use, but here we turn counterclowise solid wires together first, cut the excess and final screw the wire nut on that joint. it makes a very strong joint but only with solid wires of the same S, otherwise it has to be checked, as you mentioned you never know what happened under that cap.
In my country the regulations are almost the same as the other EU countries and they are both valid for use. I thought that wire nuts was a European practice and not an American
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I always believed that the wire nuts or the caps as are known in my country are pathetic way of making an electrical joint, especially when it comes to check a line, make an expansion to a line or simply work in an 15x15 electrical box or even smaller. I have the tendency to replace them with wago type ones, anytime they make my life hell. The wago type connection is a last two decades thing here (or maybe more as i remember. Anyway having in mind the cost of the wago, wire nuts are a good, very cheap option, which will never stop used to the field.
i don't know if you read a manual for their use, but here we turn counterclowise solid wires together first, cut the excess and final screw the wire nut on that joint. it makes a very strong joint but only with solid wires of the same S, otherwise it has to be checked, as you mentioned you never know what happened under that cap.
In my country the regulations are almost the same as the other EU countries and they are both valid for use. I thought that wire nuts was a European practice and not an American
reply
desiv
Great vid, although I might recommend a weighted score.
For instance, I think resistance should probably be weighted a bit higher, because reduced heat is always important.
Which sounds like the wirenut should be scored higher.
BUT. I also think even more important is ease of installation (i. e. likelihood of installing it incorrectly) should be weighted much higher.
Being in the US, I've replaced several wirenut connections in my homes, and some of them have basically fallen off when I pulled them out. I think the ability for people who don't know what they are doing (i. e. a lot of the general public) to install them incorrectly is a really high risk factor.
As a result, I think the wago score in that category should count for much more, and push it even further ahead.
And this is coming from someone who has only recently heard of those connectors. ;-)
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Great vid, although I might recommend a weighted score.
For instance, I think resistance should probably be weighted a bit higher, because reduced heat is always important.
Which sounds like the wirenut should be scored higher.
BUT. I also think even more important is ease of installation (i. e. likelihood of installing it incorrectly) should be weighted much higher.
Being in the US, I've replaced several wirenut connections in my homes, and some of them have basically fallen off when I pulled them out. I think the ability for people who don't know what they are doing (i. e. a lot of the general public) to install them incorrectly is a really high risk factor.
As a result, I think the wago score in that category should count for much more, and push it even further ahead.
And this is coming from someone who has only recently heard of those connectors. ;-)
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brandishwar
In my recent wiring projects, I've relied more on push-in connectors - not the Wago but another brand available. Definitely never going back to wire nuts if I can help it.
One point as well for the Wago and similar connectors: you don't have to have all the conductors ready to go at once, so there's nothing to undo when adding. When I was rewiring my attic lighting, replacing old ungrounded wiring with grounded, I had everything coming to a junction box. I knew in advance that I'd be adding a light to that, so I prepared for that using 3-conductor connectors that initially had only two conductors going to it. When I added the additional light, there was nothing to undo to add the conductor.
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In my recent wiring projects, I've relied more on push-in connectors - not the Wago but another brand available. Definitely never going back to wire nuts if I can help it.
One point as well for the Wago and similar connectors: you don't have to have all the conductors ready to go at once, so there's nothing to undo when adding. When I was rewiring my attic lighting, replacing old ungrounded wiring with grounded, I had everything coming to a junction box. I knew in advance that I'd be adding a light to that, so I prepared for that using 3-conductor connectors that initially had only two conductors going to it. When I added the additional light, there was nothing to undo to add the conductor.
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extervision
Great video! I myself mostly used screw terminals here in eastern europe. They are great for solid wire, and very reliable. But very bad for stranded(because the screw usualy breaks strands when tighnted)
Very rarely used The push type wago like connector, with moderate success(most likely poor choice of cable dimension.
Still, the small push wago connector should have higher resistance than the clamp wago? maybe? (the bus bar seems to make very small conection on the wire as opposed to the clamp/wire nut terminal witch seems to touch more of the exposed wire.
It would be interesting to test different wire dimensions, and or stranded combinations. Thanks
reply
Great video! I myself mostly used screw terminals here in eastern europe. They are great for solid wire, and very reliable. But very bad for stranded(because the screw usualy breaks strands when tighnted)
Very rarely used The push type wago like connector, with moderate success(most likely poor choice of cable dimension.
Still, the small push wago connector should have higher resistance than the clamp wago? maybe? (the bus bar seems to make very small conection on the wire as opposed to the clamp/wire nut terminal witch seems to touch more of the exposed wire.
It would be interesting to test different wire dimensions, and or stranded combinations. Thanks
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MikeBramm
Here in the U. S, wire nuts have been used for decades. Since Wagos have been available, a lot of electricians have been using them. They save a lot of time when wiring a building. Wire nuts do not really conduct the current through them as they basically holds the wires together, whereas the Wago has all the current flowing through the metal strip, which is why the Wago gets warmer. Wagos are definitely much nicer to use if you have to disconnect and re-assemble a connection, as wire nuts leave the conductors all twisted up. I think the time savings when using Wagos makes up for their increased price, so they are worth it when you can use them.
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Here in the U. S, wire nuts have been used for decades. Since Wagos have been available, a lot of electricians have been using them. They save a lot of time when wiring a building. Wire nuts do not really conduct the current through them as they basically holds the wires together, whereas the Wago has all the current flowing through the metal strip, which is why the Wago gets warmer. Wagos are definitely much nicer to use if you have to disconnect and re-assemble a connection, as wire nuts leave the conductors all twisted up. I think the time savings when using Wagos makes up for their increased price, so they are worth it when you can use them.
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scofield117
Gotta disagree with you on this one. Wagos are fine for low voltage low current controls circuits, but I d never use them on mains voltage. They have significantly higher resistance when new, and their small contact point with the wire means that resistance is prone to increasing as the wire oxidizes. A wire nut is designed to compress the conductors together forming a gas tight connection between them at the tip which resists oxidation and introduces the minimum possible added resistance. For instances where 3 or more wire must be connected, or the wires are larger than 10ga a split nut Kearney is the way to go.
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Gotta disagree with you on this one. Wagos are fine for low voltage low current controls circuits, but I d never use them on mains voltage. They have significantly higher resistance when new, and their small contact point with the wire means that resistance is prone to increasing as the wire oxidizes. A wire nut is designed to compress the conductors together forming a gas tight connection between them at the tip which resists oxidation and introduces the minimum possible added resistance. For instances where 3 or more wire must be connected, or the wires are larger than 10ga a split nut Kearney is the way to go.
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Rick
What I am not sure you took into account with the price is that the Wago connectors can connect 4 or 5 wires together. You really can't do that with one wire nut. It's going to take you quite a few. Possibly enough to make the cost equal to the Wago, but definitely to make a huge difference in size. Also, the datasheet may say that the wire nuts are not reusable, but I can tell you from experience, they do get reused. I just replaced my garbage disposal, and the nuts that were in the old disposal are the same nuts in the new one.
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What I am not sure you took into account with the price is that the Wago connectors can connect 4 or 5 wires together. You really can't do that with one wire nut. It's going to take you quite a few. Possibly enough to make the cost equal to the Wago, but definitely to make a huge difference in size. Also, the datasheet may say that the wire nuts are not reusable, but I can tell you from experience, they do get reused. I just replaced my garbage disposal, and the nuts that were in the old disposal are the same nuts in the new one.
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manicminer
I discovered Wago connectors thanks to one of your earlier videos on connector types and was super happy when I found them for sale at UK electrical stockists. I recently bought a large mixed box of 222, 224 and 773 series connectors along with Wago junction boxes and have wired up my new office. They were a joy to use compared to traditional British-style connectors and boxes, which are unreliable and take many attempts to make a good connection. I am really happy with the results and will never go back. Thanks!
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I discovered Wago connectors thanks to one of your earlier videos on connector types and was super happy when I found them for sale at UK electrical stockists. I recently bought a large mixed box of 222, 224 and 773 series connectors along with Wago junction boxes and have wired up my new office. They were a joy to use compared to traditional British-style connectors and boxes, which are unreliable and take many attempts to make a good connection. I am really happy with the results and will never go back. Thanks!
reply
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