Are WAGO connectors MAINTENANCE FREE - when used in a Wagobox junction box?
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 19 พ.ค. 2024
- Joe Robinson explores the relationship between junction boxes, connectors and regulation 526.3 of BS7671.
Can a Wago 221 be used in a wago junction box and meet the requirements of BS5733?
== 🕐 Time Stamps - Cut to the action 🕕 ==
00:00 Are Wago connectors maintenance free?
00:22 What does BS7671 526.3 say?
01:44 Make sure Wagobox and connectors are compatible.
02:20 Aggregate current - sound like another connection.
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📹 Presented by
Joe Robinson - Technical Editor eFIXX
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#efixx #wago #electricians - วิทยาศาสตร์และเทคโนโลยี
Love Em ... it is really useful seeing which cross-pollination of connector/ JB meets the regs .. great vid 👍
Thanks very much!
Thanks this was a very useful summary of a slightly confusing matter.
Vago’s are great.. maintenance free or not, connections should always be accessible and easy to find.
That cable tie makes all the difference! 😀
Great video efixx team , BS5733 is a good subject on its own . Alot of products on the market that are not certified BS5733
Great comment as always Richard 🦾
There are three different types of Wago boxes made by Connexbox. The smallest has no compartments and is for light fittings. The second has two compartments to house 222 connectors rated at 20A, 773-173 connectors rated at 32A, 773 connectors rated at 20A. The third has three compartments to house 221 connectors only rated at 32A. It pays to read the small print on the boxes and accompanying instructions.
Wago 221-41x or 221-61x ??
Interesting video, I wish they did maintenance free kits for joining in walls etc.
Wouldn't there gel connectors be suitable for that situation?
I’ve used several 222 in a wago box to extend “ring mains”’(triggered!!) and they don’t required any maintenance.
Love Wagos
😂 Triggered!
Not Wago but I installed a couple of Ashley J803 junction boxes here before the MF mark came along and was applied to them. So presumably they're not regarded as MF despite being identical to the later ones with the MF mark?
We use surface mounted or recessed junction boxes and most commonly Wago 2273 connectors and Wago 221 when needed. One thing what we never do is to install unaccessible junction boxes, no matter what connectors are used.
Sounds like a good policy to always leave them accessible.👍😊
So you never install anything under floorboards, where owners cover with carpet or laminate floor.
@@martinw245 There are no floorboards here like in the UK, if there are they are visible and it is called parquet. The floor of the first floor is usually concrete. Inside the concrete there can be a heating cable or a pipe and electric cables in a pvc conduit, but no joints. The floor on the second floor is either wood fiberboard or plaster cast, depending on whether there is underfloor heating.
The Wago connectors + box can do a similar job to the old fashioned circular junction boxes and are probably not the ultimate design for a junction box, however they are light years in advance of the traditional junction boxes (as used on domestic ring mains etc). I believe it is impossible to over emphasise how crappy those old fashioned boxes really are. Their design is nothing short of appalling and potentially dangerous. I wonder how many fires they have been responsible for in the past.
Enter the Wago connector + box and life is so simple and easy its difficult to understand how the designers of the traditional round boxes managed to get their design so wrong; they must have been having a REALY bad day when they came up with their pathetic offering. No doubt at some time in the future the Wago connector will be improved on, but it is really difficult to imagine what the improved design concept will be. Sensational stuff Wago *******
A climb connection should it be consider as maintenance free connection?
Can these WAGO boxes be surface mounted on an internal wall? I am going to be moving a leg of 2.5mm as the previous owner had it looping round the pipe serving the thermostatic valve on a radioator. I kid you not. I want to cut into the ring and then use these connector blocks and then run the leg up in trunking but I just wanted to know if this is feasible. There is no plaster board, it is all brickwork internally in a cellar.
Any thoughts, provisos or condemnation is welcome :)
I love Wagos, but they do need to be installed in the correct box. The levers do not click closed securely and may flip open if not fitted in the correct box, or left in "free space".
Yes love the wago connectors .. but I would not fit any lever type wago in a box that is not accessible. There is nothing wrong with the push in wago connectors 👍👍👍
Why not? What makes the push-fit ones better/safer/more MF than the lever ones? Don't the lever ones have higher spring pressure which should be good over the long term?
AT LAST! Someone who can pronounce their name properly!
Ah, thank you!
@@efixx as a proud part-German and trainee Electrician, this stuff is important to me! ;). I do agree with the chap below though, it does seem VERY difficult to classify something as maintenance free.
I like getting the pronunciation of things right! 👍 It's a funny one with the maintenance free thing but if you stick to the regs and manufacturer's instructions it's not too difficult. 😊
But the guys that make it said it is with a W not V. But yes I do love when things are pronounced correctly
@@samsintmaartensdyk643 literally watched a video the other day where the manufacturer said it’s a “v” sound as it’s German….
I think the current carrying capacity of the Wago is often overlooked when shoving it a ‘Connectbox’ (aka Wago box) particularly if extending a ring, where a 32A MCB will be protecting the ring, but the 221 in MF is only rated at 20A.
20A will be fine, see Reg 433.1.204
precisely why I use Ideal Insure in Wagoboxes like a naughty naughty boy..
@@MrGrumpyjohn01 That’s interesting. But I wonder if the Connectbox/Wago current carrying capacity is a result of trial and certification and Ideal insure has not actually done the necessary work to establish if their product should be down rated in a similar manner.
@@mra813 What does the Reg say - I am not a spark.😉
@@normanboyes4983 corporate brinkmanship more likely I would say...who has the better legal team?
Hi what box can house the 221 connectors, I have always put them in the box you showed on the video (only done 2 and both are accessible).
I believe it's the Wago 221-4, if you Google that you'll find a number of stockists.
@@efixx thanks I normally get them from screw fix not sure they have these but thanks
In an environment that is accessible for inspection you can put them in any enclosure that is generally suitable as an electrical enclosure.
In a MF environment they can be used directly in a wagobox 221-4 or wagobox XL. They can also be used in a wagobox classic or wagobox XLA with the appropriate adapter plate.
Great answer, thanks. 👍
@@OutboundSolutions HI Keith, Part numbers are 60413514 for singles & 60413516 for packs of 10. Screwfix will have them soon but they are available through others in the meantime.
Can you put 1.5 & 1mm into one connector?.
Can wago or in line splice be used to extend length of 2.5mm cable and then place in the backbox. It is accessible there for no need to be maintance free. Recently I have been on jobs where replacing faceplate for ring socket has taken 10 min due to tiny cable length left by installer. Also if it is allowed then is there any derating or is that exclusive to inaccessible placement to increase the safety limits.
The ideal spliceline are ideal for extending cables in both back boxes and consumer units. I use them for exactly this purpose.
So now im more confused, if i want to extend a cooker circuit that is protected by a 32a 60898 do i have to derate to 20a connectors?
Where in the NEC is this stuff?
How can you determine whether the connection had been made properly if it is not accessible to an inspection? Goodness knows what dodgy connections there are hidden away.
Yup.
From that table from the installation instructions, the max cable size is 2.5mm to comply as MF. Using 4mm cable negates MF.
Is this like this worldwide? Us, EU, oceania etc?
Usual minefield of ambiguous regulation and marketing that’s rife in this industry. So what is a practical definition of maintenance free? If a static plastic enclosure with a screw lid is in a loft space, has cables glanded for support and connections made with WAGO 221 of the correct ratings, is that maintenance free or not. I have been able to access it for installation and nothing is going to be impeding access in the future.
So if some but not all joints in a house are in MF enclosures, and some but not all are accessible, how do you know if the inaccessible ones are actually MF and therefore don't need inspecting?
If a joint is inaccessible by its very nature you won't be able to inspect it. That's why it's important to do maintenance free connections properly in the first place.
So all EICRs in houses that have MF joint boxes will have LIMs on them?
Just finished a project with not accessible joints. Just soldering and proper sealing is the way to go. No resistance and 100% reliable.
Noice.
So if I’m understanding it correctly to be a maintenance free connection it would never be compliant for a ring final circuit protected by a 32a mcb. ? Helppppppp
Oh dear. I think I've been using 221s with the standard boxes 😬
That is fine unless in a MF application in which case you need part 60413514
The video is about achieving a maintenance free connection. Non-maintenance free connections are a different matter.
@@barnabybot Depends if you need a maintenance free connection to BS5733. Feel free to call me on 07827 894297 to discuss but if you do need MF the 51008291 does 222 & 773 series & 60413514 does 221 series
Hi,is the 221-6 with the adapter anti vibration strip fitted when installed in the original wagobox rated at 41a ,does this become a 32a mf rated or still only 20a mf ??
Love WAGO connectors, saves so much time and much safer than crappy screw terminals made of cheese from china :-) it's a yes from me.
Anything is superior grom cheating lack of quality control scum bag china. Smart people never purchase or use test or safety equipment, tools, food, or drugs from cheating china. They are the enemy of the free world.
Whilst we are on this subject, does anybody know a 100% compliant MF joint for 6mm T&E on a 32A circuit?
I think the Wago solution is not really rated restraint wise for 2 x 6mm twins to enter.
One box for each leg using the 221-6xx or the 41amp push wire connectors.
Use our 773-173 in box 51008291 and that gives you a 32A, 6mm twin & earth, MF connection
I think the 'thing' is never to connect anything MF, but pull the cable back and start again, or run a new cable. Let's be honest, no MF box can be 100% trusted. Maybe 99% but not 100%. I just nicked a 2.5 pulling it through a joist - exposing the copper of the N. I'm going back next week to re-run the cable anew. At least I can walk away from the job without thinking about it at 3.00 a.m.! Love Wagos, by the way. So quick! Have Wago made a British 3-pin plug?
Need to watch this about 5 times for that to sink in must be old age or are the regs in some alien language
So connecting wires together with elastic bands is not maintainance free?
I'll check the regs! 😂
Dont forget over time elastic bands deteriate so will brek down 😜
@@Easydread sorry, my mistake, I meant, I mean, vulcanised Indian rubber, so should last about 50 years, though, I guess they too will deteriorate... eventually. 😁
Paperclips might be the answer? Reasonable conductivity too.
It didn't help that WAGO bought out the 221 connectors quite a while before the appropriate boxes for them!
Whilst I see the points made here to the latter of the law as it were, would the old boxes not have been OK? Reall? This is where we get so pedantic and miss the spirit of the regs.
Also, a cable tie? Really? How many of us have had to fight to get the grey boxes closed in the first place?!
I know. Wago instruction leaflet says that the box will deform when used with 6mm² cable. I had to use a vice just to close the lid. Great connectors, crap box.
Sometimes I’ve used gland pliers to get the lids to close and lock.
Considering Wagobox is not made by Wago but Connexbox, this ridiculous non compliance of all Wagos with a standard Wagobox/any Wagobox appears to be nothing more than a marketing ploy using open ended "manufacturers instructions" reg as a tactic to sell same-but-different Wagobox for every type of Wago connector now and in the future. I bet it also excludes use of other makes - such as Ideal connectors - in Wagoboxes. So basically, we need another company to obtain MF mark and make a universal box that's compatible with all fast connectors on the market and Connexbox can go love themselves?
Bitter much? The testing to get the MF mark isnt cheap Connexbox have put the work in and rightly are enjoying the rewards from it. Nothing stopping anyone else putting their hands in their pockets and developing a universal box
I love wago connectors, just a shame it was a German invention not a British one, no disrespect to our friends in Germany, I just think the UK needs to get back to manufacturering and not rely on other countries. But yes Germany is a great country for there ingerneiring skills. Wago's are the best connectors out there pity we didn't have them twenty years ago, as for mantinence free I don't think they are.
Great video Joe as always
British companies have used such technologies in the past, but it was Wago that took the initiative to create products suitable for joints in domestic wiring applications.
Jake Harvey Wago is a German company so the "W" is pronunciation as a "V".
The person in the video you quoted sounds american.
What video and what person?
Is this related to pronouncing vago and not wago. I know the Germans pronounce w as a v. But I’ve not heard anyone say Volkswagen as volksvagen, apart from Germans so would we say it in our language as wago rather than copying the German language of how they pronounce
@@oscard-1863 tbh you should pronunciation it as the native tongue.
@@derekcable Paris or Paree?
I am sticking to through crimps. Whilst Wagos are a great idea, there are too many 'if's' to make them viable.
I think Wago connectors are literally the best thing since the Transistor, they save so much messing around and your confident after a pull test, those cables are in safe hands. These things aren't just used for commercial, industrial and domestic use, I've used literally thousands of these things in different versions to wire everything from lighting to bilge pumps, navigation and communication equipment on yachts.
Boom boom boom lemme hear you say waaayyygo "oh wait"
😂
Lot of faff. I think use of inaccessible connections should be minimised, and where necessary to join things under floors etc I think the Hager J803/J804 are probably better than the Wago puzzle.
What's a vargo ? Everyone calls them waygo
It's actually the proper German pronunciation. Having said that Wago are pretty chilled about how you say it. 👍
I can’t get over the pronunciation, be it correct or not lol. I’ve only ever heard it as way-go and will continue with that
Yeah the good people at Wago are pretty chilled about it. 👍
wag-go in liverpool
@@efixx the W is V in German So it is Vago
the right wago in the right box or it's not compliant......can we just take a minute to truly appreciate how utterly ridiculous that is. Is it safe? Are the right connectors being used in relation to wire diameter and current (ya know is it safe again). Surely this is the only question worth asking. What next, it has to be the right colour box for the righ colour connections!
It is a bit of a funny one and something I hadn't realised before I researched this video. There's a few things in the regs where you could deviate and it never actually cause an issue. But if it ever did cause an issue and someone got hurt or worse it would be on your head as the electrician. Unfortunately it's not enough these days just to say it's safe, it needs to be compliant and safe.
BS5733 states the connectors have to be retained in addition to the cables. As the 221 connectors are slimmer than the 222 or 773 series they required a new box to conform.
@@efixx Thats the point though isnt it? As soon as the manufacturers got involved in the regs committees it started to happen. Make the regs so hard to comply with exactly that in the event of a case involving liablity the manufacturers brief can always make it the sparkys fault..you didnt comply with the regs exactly enough I'm afraid Sir..I extend rings routinely with the 'wrong' connectors in a Wagobox and I'm satisfied its as safe as it can be..If I'm unlucky...well its the risk you take..I install to the best standards I know and am happy to rely on ' Sparky senses' when 7671 lets you down.
@@MrGrumpyjohn01 This is what happened with the Gas regs "can only use manufacturer made or approved spares". It killed off the repairing PCB scene over night suddenly a 20p resistor turned into a £200 PCB. Sad thing is after 10 years from cease of manufacture they don't have to produce or support products so you're back to either replacing the appliance or soldering a 20p resistor on the board.
Is it a lot harder though? It just means using the right box with the right connector, it's not that difficult once you know about it.
They are absolutely not maintenance free. Ever looked at a Wago lever connector after it carries full fault current from a dead short somewhere doesn’t the line? Sometimes they pop and go black. So maintenance free until you get a dead short somewhere, then potentially the junction is toast.
Now I know what is all this "maintenance free" stuff I hear on TH-cam. I wonder if we have such a thing here in Israel... 🤔
They provide to many chances to do it wrong. Wago. Junk. Jpol.
This is so complicated 😤 il just stick to connector blocks without insulation tape for jointing cables in walls and under fitted floors.
😱 It's not that complicated, is it? Just a matter of matching the right connector to the right box. 🤔
@@efixx too many number 2's involved I got lost 😅
😂 That genuinely made me chuckle!
@@efixx 😁 in all seriousness I use nothing but wagos in accessories but for joints I use crimps or ideal insures in the enclosures with cord grips and a screw to lock the enclosure cover as I was under the impression that this was maintenance free as the wago lever style connectors can be undone by simply lifting the lever by hand.
But again I guess it all comes down to what's fit for purpose as deemed by the manufacturer.
No I don't think they are the best thing since bread came sliced . Push fit connectors on light fittings can pull out , yes I know they aren't wago before anyone else chimes in .
Wago do make lighting connectors used in light fittings though...
@@paulbritton187 I fit Portland led fittings and you need to do a pull check on the cables, had some just pop back out .