Wagos or wirenuts?

[chris kennedy]

Disclaimer: it was inexperienced helpers that produced the few problems with wire-nutted connections. I teach my guys how to connect stranded and solid wires, but . . .

I tell all my guys to do a fixture wire pull test. After the wire nut is on give each wire a little tug. Also I like them to strip the fixture wire about an inch, twist it with your 14/12 ga. conductors then bend it over the top of the joint. It's idiot proof, but...

 

[cadpoint]

stranded to solid

stranded to solid

moved wrong post ... sorry

 

[ibew441dc]

IMO wagos are great.
Although I was very unsure when I was first introduced to them.
WAGOs , when properly installed (just like any termination) work very well. They are much faster and cleaner to install than traditional wirenuts, plus your hands aren't as sore at the end of the day.


ibew441dc

 

[360Youth]

I really like the wagos on recessed cans and ballasts (and sometimes grounds) but I haven't ventured to deep into the pond mainly out of taking apart a connection if necessary. I don't want to have to mess them because of a change order or missed outlet.

 

[bill j]

Like most guys I used wire nuts until a good contractor friend of mine said I should try these new connectors. They were more expensive but seemed easier. So I started using them. It took a little time but I learned that somtimes they don't make the connection. More often than wire nuts. If you pull them out of a j-box and twist em it makes contact and the light comes on etc. Wire nuts will tend to have human error whereas Ideal " In-Sure" push in wire connectors even if done properly sometimes don't make connection. In all fairness it is rare but more than my human error using wire nuts. Also at this point I still use them, even on my own house.

 

[Joe R]

also wagos IMO take up more space in the device box than wire nuts. Youth360 brings up a good point, what if there is a need to redo the connections wagos are a pain to remove while wire nuts, just twist and redo connection

 

[stickboy1375]

also wagos IMO take up more space in the device box than wire nuts.

depends on what type/brand wire nut you are using... I prefer Ideal's Twister

 

[bill j]

One more thing. I must have not twisted my wire nut tight enough on a water heater circuit ( had to make a splice ) and some time later the wire nut burned up. My fault. But in another case with the In-Sure my j-box splice was normal, deaply set. I was called back because something wasn't working. The plastic on the push-in connector was burnt to a crisp. The wire was all the way inserted in the copper pinchers. The circuit wasn't overloaded. Everything checked normal and that was about three years ago and today it is still fine. ( Put on a new In-Sure connector)

 

[dab]

wago's may be a quick install, but twisting your wires and a wire nut is worth my time since i don't want to return to a job at any point to fix a problem with a 12 cent part.

 

[infinity]

wago's may be a quick install, but twisting your wires and a wire nut is worth my time since i don't want to return to a job at any point to fix a problem with a 12 cent part.

I agree. I know of no splice that I have ever made that has failed. I did use a Wago style connector on some light fixtures in my garage and they failed after a year or so. I ended up cutting the Wago's off and installing typical wire nuts. For my money I'll spend the extra time to make an old fashioned splice with a wirenut.

 

[iwire]

Which is the best ice cream?

Vanilla or Chocolate?

We could go on forever with this thread and we would not reach a conclusion.

It's really just a bosses choice.

Continue if you must but you might ask yourself if you really think one or a hundred more posts are going to change anyones opinions.

 

[busman]

I don't normally use WAGOs, but they can be a the only thing that will work with short wires. I had a box the other day where the wires were AT MOST 1.5" long in a tiny old single gang GEM box. Got a WAGO with pig-tails on though.

Mark

 

[ElectricianJeff]

My first experience with Wagos was when I installed 70 recessed cans in a large home, and the cans came from the manufacturer with Wagos pre-installed in the j-box.
After trim out and energizing the circuit, I spent the better part of two days tracking down the loose connections and replacing them with wire nuts.

Interesting.......I had the same situation when I first used them 3 years ago or so. As I remember there was about 30-40 cans total and I had 3 of them fail. I had to spend an hour or so in 3' of fresh insulation fixing them on a 100 degree day. I havn't used them since....snip and in the trash for me. All of the failures were on the neutral side which made me wonder at the time.

Jeff

p.s. Why are the ones that fail always the farthest from the attic access?

 

[George Stolz]

Why are the ones that fail always the farthest from the attic access?

Perhaps to teach you to drop the trim and remake the splice from below, in the climate-controlled A/C blessed dwelling area below?

 

[kkwong]

p.s. Why are the ones that fail always the farthest from the attic access?

Murphey's Law! :grin: Seriously though I have noticed that myself

 

[emahler]

don't compare the quick connectors that come with recessed lights with the ideals or wagos you purchase....that's like comparing the wirenuts that come with fixtures to the ideal twister or 3M tan/reds...

they are not even in the same state, let alone same ballpark...

 

[raider1]

don't compare the quick connectors that come with recessed lights with the ideals or wagos you purchase....that's like comparing the wirenuts that come with fixtures to the ideal twister or 3M tan/reds...

they are not even in the same state, let alone same ballpark...

I agree, I would never judge all wirenut based on the wirenuts that come with most light fixtures. I use the Ideal In-sures and have never had a problem. In fact I has posted this before, but I have seen an In-sure wire connector take a short-circuit that melted the #12 THHN in half but the In-sure wasn't hardly melted and held the wires OK.

Chris

 

[GeorgeB]

... but because of excessive problems in the field they can no longer be used on 20 amp circuits. It took many years before the use of the push-in connection on receptacles was limited to 15 amps.

I believe that the problem wasn't with the 20A, rather with trying to make one push-in work satisfactorily with both 12 and 14 AWG wire. I'm not certain, but think that there were more problems with 14 AWG in the 12AWG size holes than with 12 AWG.

The solution of 14 AWG only allowed fixed position of the conductor.

 

[benaround]

Chocolate !!

 

[iwire]

I believe that the problem wasn't with the 20A, rather with trying to make one push-in work satisfactorily with both 12 and 14 AWG wire.

Don't the wagos accept both 14 and 12?

So as Don said......:smile: