Leviton Decora Edge w/ Wago

I’ve been using them for a few years now. Very easy to use, saves some space in the box, and better for DYI types than wire nuts for getting a reliable connection.
 
rvieceli said:
[member=44099]Cheese[/member] have you seen these? Looks to be 15 amp only
https://leviton.com/content/dam/lev...cation/Decora-Edge-Product-Specifications.pdf

Available at Home Depot.

Ron
Click to expand...

Ya Ron...I stumbled upon them a few weeks ago, I was going to mention them on the forum but just plain forgot.  [tongue]  Pretty cool...Leviton functionality/robustness with Wago ease of installation. Thanks for the memory jog... [smile]

The last couple of weeks I've been completely absorbed with installing the electrical in the garage and you really can't fully appreciate the Wago lever nuts approach to wiring unless you've used them. So slick...so easy...so fast to reconfigure...what a joy to use.

I did think that the rating on those Leviton switches at only 15 amp was interesting considering that some of the Wago connectors are rated for 10 ga wiring which translates to 30 amps...so 20 amps doesn't seem like that much of a stretch.
 
The new Wago like Leviton wire clamps (and Wago’s) just clamp a small area of the wire down again the opposite side of the wire don’t they? Or is the opposite side cradled by a V groove to double the contact area?

If the former is true, a larger diameter wire doesn’t provide any more contact area than a smaller gauge wire so the amperage capacity would not increase.

I never used those holes in the back of devices because the contact area seemed so limited compared to making a loop and clamping under a screw.
 
Note:  This statement is not directed at anyone on this site or who has posted in this thread so far; it is merely intended as social commentary.

That said, if I were a glutton for punishment, I would seek out online reviews of the new Leviton with Wago levers just to see all of the "real" electricians talk about how it's "still just a back-stab and I refuse to ever install one of these and I'll fire any client who wants them because there are no screws for me to use", or whatever other unhinged rants there are about them.

Any installation is only as good as the installer.  A person can mess up a screw-post installation just as easily as a back-stab, just as easily as a wire nut or a Wago.

To me, the biggest benefit of a Wago is installing pre-wired fixtures which inevitably come with cheap stranded wire.  The Wagos are so much more reliable and secure than trying mate twisted and solid wires in a box.
 
It’s a lever connector, I doubt there is any affiliation with Wago. There are many brands that make them these days. And I’m sure a reliable manufacturer as Leviton will produce these themselves.

We use push-in style connection on outlets/switches (…) with solid conductors for decades, zero issues. I’ve seen more “dangerous” screwed connections of all sorts, than I have seen any contact/connection issues and therefore overheating, oxidation i.e. on push/in style connections.

Please take this for what it is, anyone can screw up anything. I’m not on a crusade, honestly, I couldn’t care less how people terminate wires.

I’ve taken so much dangerous shit out of walls that was used without any accidents for decades … It just lost any and all excitement to me. ;)

Kind regards,
Oliver
 
These are nice…definitely more efficient than screw pigtails into wagos, which has been my current (ha) approach for devices that could see frequent replacement.

Not sure if there is an affiliation with Wago though?
 
FWIW...a number of years ago I had a living room circuit that was intermittent, not all the time but just every now & then. At some point I decided to find out what was going on so I started at the service panel and started by replacing the breaker. Everything seemed fine until it wasn't.  [tongue]

This issue took a long while to track down but long story short, it turned out to be a back stabbed electrical outlet that was causing the intermittent connection. I just happened to see a couple of very small burn marks on the rear of the receptacle. I was lucky.  [smile]  After that education, I rewired the receptacles using the screw connectors.
 
Cheese said:
FWIW...a number of years ago I had a living room circuit that was intermittent, not all the time but just every now & then. At some point I decided to find out what was going on so I started at the service panel and started by replacing the breaker. Everything seemed fine until it wasn't.  [tongue]

This issue took a long while to track down but long story short, it turned out to be a back stabbed electrical outlet that was causing the intermittent connection. I just happened to see a couple of very small burn marks on the rear of the receptacle. I was lucky.  [smile]  After that education, I rewired the receptacles using the screw connectors.
Click to expand...

If that was the reason a professional electrician got called back to a job, certainly he would ban the technique.

I’m sure the Wago and even Leviton clamp is way superior to the old backstab pincer. I’m just wondering how the contact area compares to what you get under a binding screw.

An aside concerning the tightness of electrical connections.

I was charging a 12.8 volt 100 amp LifePo4 battery with a nominal 20 amp charger. I think it puts out a maximum of 15 volts so that times 20 makes 300 watts, if that’s the right way to figure it. I hand tightened the terminal bolts on the charger cables, even did the rotate the ring terminal clockwise while turning the bolt to make it tighter. Was surprised how hot the terminal got while charging. About 110 f +. Next time charging I used wrench to tighten the connections and the terminals only got slightly warm. Maybe I’m thinking about this all wrong but it really makes me want my house’s devices on 15 amp circuits that might have 1800 watts running the them to have very tight connections.
 
Cheese said:
FWIW...a number of years ago I had a living room circuit that was intermittent, not all the time but just every now & then. At some point I decided to find out what was going on so I started at the service panel and started by replacing the breaker. Everything seemed fine until it wasn't.  [tongue]

This issue took a long while to track down but long story short, it turned out to be a back stabbed electrical outlet that was causing the intermittent connection. I just happened to see a couple of very small burn marks on the rear of the receptacle. I was lucky.  [smile]  After that education, I rewired the receptacles using the screw connectors.
Click to expand...

My parents’ house - a 1990 build - is wired that way through all the receptacles.  The builder’s son - at that time an apprentice - did the electrical, we were proudly told.  The receptacles aren’t pigtailed, so if one of the backstabbed connections gets loose, the whole circuit behaves weirdly.  I’ve had to track down that exact issue several times over the years.

Once it was a loose connection in a wire nut causing an open neutral.  That was a humdinger to track down but boy I felt proud when I got it.
 
live4ever said:
Once it was a loose connection in a wire nut causing an open neutral.  That was a humdinger to track down but boy I felt proud when I got it.
Click to expand...

Ya, that's one of the reasons I like the Wago Lever Nuts so much, over the years I've had several issues with wire nuts being tight yet 1 or 2 leads inside the nut were not making good/reliable contact. With the Wago's it's easy to check every lead connection.  [smile]
 
I can’t think of a single reason why anyone would use these. I have to assume they are more expensive than the equivalent grade model. A better expenditure would be to purchase commercial grade outlets with screw down plates (for lack of a better wording). These are more substantial than regular outlets and will take many more plug and unplug cables cycles.
 
Looks like the modern version of back stabbers with no tools required for wire removal. Can't have Kevin yuppie needing to use a tool to get the wire out.
Another waste of resources but helpful for some I'm sure.
 
The cost of electrical buildout is mostly labor not components.  Backstab (a.k.a. speedwire) connections were invented as a labor saving feature. 
They have 3 major drawbacks:
  • Only rated for 15 amps;
  • Only accept 14 gauge wire, not 12 gauge;
  • They are “One and done.”  You cannot (safely) remove and replace the wires. 

The new Leviton devices are better because:
  • They are as fast as the old backstab connections. 
  • They will accept 12 gauge wire. 
  • They are UL 498 certified which means they are 20 amp passthrough capable;  Something the old 14 gauge backstabs are not. 
  • They are rewireable many times.  Not “Once and done.”
Since current code requires 20 amp circuits in kitchens, garages and bathrooms, these devices can be used in those locations whereas the old backstabs could not.  Note: Code allows either 15 or 20 amp receptacles on a 20 amp circuit if certain conditions can be satisfied.
 
Between the back stabbers and Romex I'll wait to hear about the house fires.

From the land of pipe and wire. We like a reliable ground path.
 
Call me an amateur, but every time I wire up a receptacle, I have to look up which terminal gets the white wire and which gets the black.  (Except the last one, which had "black" and "white" text molded into the housing)  So I kinda like the color coded terminals.
 
Steve1 said:
Call me an amateur, but every time I wire up a receptacle, I have to look up which terminal gets the white wire and which gets the black.  (Except the last one, which had "black" and "white" text molded into the housing)  So I kinda like the color coded terminals.
Click to expand...

I always remember the Beverly Hills TV phrase "black gold Texas Tea" - black (or hot) wires go to gold screws typically.

Silly, but it works for me.

Peter
 
Peter Halle said:
I always remember the Beverly Hills TV phrase "black gold Texas Tea" - black (or hot) wires go to gold screws typically.

Silly, but it works for me.

Peter
Click to expand...

Not so silly... [smile]...I've always remembered it as simply "black gold" just a shortening of the original Beverly Hillbillies phrase.

I forgot how corny the show was back in 1962...but it still makes you laugh.
=3
 
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