WAGO Electrical connectors

[dwillis]

FWIW I recently built my house in SW Washington and exclusively used WAGO connectors instead of wire nuts or the newer push-type connectors. I wasn't aware of the inline WAGO connectors described in this thread, but I'm going to order some to have them on hand. As you may have guessed, I'm a big fan of WAGO and it made my wiring job easier and neater, plus revisions were quick.

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[Alanbach]

[member=44099]Cheese[/member] - First, thank you and the others here who introduced me to these connectors. I am re-wiring my fluorescent light fixtures in my shop to accommodate LED bypass bulbs. In doing so I ordered an assortment of the Wago connectors but it took a few days longer to get them and I needed to do one (first of six) fixture. While at Home Depot a few days ago I bought a small supply of the Ideal connectors that they carry. Now that I have received the Wagos I think that the difference is clear but I wanted to check. The Wago appears to be a bit better built but the main difference appears to be that the Wago has the little levers that allow you to release the wire once engaged thus making them reusable and very easy to correct mistakes. Am I missing anything?

 

[Bob D.]

"Am I missing anything?"

One big advantage I appreciate is they make it easier to join stranded to
solid wire, especially the smaller gauge stranded wire on new light fixtures.

 

[Cheese]

[member=44099]Cheese[/member] - First, thank you and the others here who introduced me to these connectors. I am re-wiring my fluorescent light fixtures in my shop to accommodate LED bypass bulbs. In doing so I ordered an assortment of the Wago connectors but it took a few days longer to get them and I needed to do one (first of six) fixture. While at Home Depot a few days ago I bought a small supply of the Ideal connectors that they carry. Now that I have received the Wagos I think that the difference is clear but I wanted to check. The Wago appears to be a bit better built but the main difference appears to be that the Wago has the little levers that allow you to release the wire once engaged thus making them reusable and very easy to correct mistakes. Am I missing anything?

No Alan you got it right  [big grin]...a brief history, Wago released their original "Push Wire" connector first but it was limited to 18-12 gauge wire, Ideal then followed up with their version which would accept 24 gauge wire, consequently for my needs, I had to purchase both. Both were "stab-in" designs but removing wires from both of the connectors was a real PITA.
Photos of original Wago first then the Ideal.

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Wago then released about 5 years ago their 222-413 Lever Nut design which was a significant improvement because of the simple re-use/reconfiguration issue...it however was girth wise, an over achiever.

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About 2 years ago Wago redesigned the 222-413 Lever Nut into a much smaller package and renamed it the 221-413. It's very nice, definitely my go-to connector.

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[Alanbach]

[member=44099]Cheese[/member] - Thank you, as always, for that great explanation. I also ordered the Wago splices from REV Robotics so thanks to you and [member=25351]rst[/member] !

BTW, if any of you have fluorescent tubes in your shop that are getting older consider LED bypass bulbs as an upgrade. I might have to wear my shades in the shop until I get used to this!

 

[Cheese]

[member=44099]Cheese[/member] - Thank you, as always, for that great explanation. I also ordered the Wago splices from REV Robotics so thanks to you and [member=25351]rst[/member] !

BTW, if any of you have fluorescent tubes in your shop that are getting older consider LED bypass bulbs as an upgrade. I might have to wear my shades in the shop until I get used to this!

Alan, I agree, I've replaced all of the fluorescent tubes in the shop with Barrina LED's ...simply incredible.

 

[Alanbach]

[member=44099]Cheese[/member] - I put in the original 8’ fixtures in 2008 when we bought this house. The first bulb just went out so here we are. These are pretty much the last of my LED conversions in this house. Now I’m just waiting for the last few bulbs / ballasts to die. When you did yours did you do bypass or ballast compatible. I’m pretty sure I already know the answer.

 

[Cheese]

[member=44099]Cheese[/member] - I put in the original 8’ fixtures in 2008 when we bought this house. The first bulb just went out so here we are. These are pretty much the last of my LED conversions in this house. Now I’m just waiting for the last few bulbs / ballasts to die. When you did yours did you do bypass or ballast compatible. I’m pretty sure I already know the answer.

Alan, I originally installed 8 foot fluorescent lighting throughout the entire shop and obviously I had a kin-man-ship to this method of illumination, however, once I read the information on Barrina LED's I decided that maybe that LED was a change for the good.

I tried ballast replacements and 15 other goofy solutions. Unfortunately some worked while others did not, ultimately I pulled all of the fluorescents from the shop and gifted them to a neighbor for his garage.

I've found the Barrina LED's are sensitive to voltage spikes and that can become an annoyance. They do not like auto-on/auto-off switching.

 

[Coen]

The push in type isn't compatible with stranded wire. The lever type is.
I rarely use the 221 unless stranded wire is involved. I like the size of the 2273 a lot better plus it comes in an 8-way version.

 

[rvieceli]

I've found the Barrina LED's are sensitive to voltage spikes and that can become an annoyance. They do not like auto-on/auto-off switching.

[member=44099]Cheese[/member] i haven’t noticed that with my Barrinas. What do they do?

My Flex vac however is very sensitive and will occasionally start up and run for a couple of seconds then shut off when something is turned on or off.

Ron

 

[jeh]

Holy petunias, I spent most of today wishing I had these connectors handy. ~11-ish years after building the house and it seems we've reached the bosses tipping point to start updating everything. 3 ceiling fans replaced and more to follow, it would have been so much simpler mating up solid 12 and stranded 20 with these.

My own fault, as Jersey oddly allows you to GC your own home construction, right down to the electrical. Everything is inspected of course but amateurs do goofy stuff. Following grandpa's rule (if one nail is good, 3 must be better) I figured 12 gauge must be better than 14, no lights dimming when the refer started up. And switch legs to every bank of 4-6 can lights, with our bedroom having 4 switches in one box. Had to untangle 5 12ga conductors wire nutted together to rearrange some switches. My hands ache.

Anyway, I'm ordering an assortment before inspiration strikes the boss again.

RMW

Other states allow you to GC the remodel of your own home or new construction of a home you will move into.

 

[Cheese]

I've found the Barrina LED's are sensitive to voltage spikes and that can become an annoyance. They do not like auto-on/auto-off switching.

[member=44099]Cheese[/member] i haven’t noticed that with my Barrinas. What do they do?

My Flex vac however is very sensitive and will occasionally start up and run for a couple of seconds then shut off when something is turned on or off.

Ron [member=3192]rvieceli[/member] it started when I removed the fluorescent lighting and simply replaced the fixtures with Barrina LED's. I continued to use the existing Leviton photoelectric switches, models 6791 & 6793. Within a couple of months multiple Barrina units were dying as in flickering, being dimmer than they originally were or not working at all. I traced it down to the Leviton units I was using were NOT rated for LED use even though they appeared to work with the LED's.

I replaced the Leviton units with Legrand RW600U occupancy sensors which ARE rated for LED usage and only got about 12-14 months before the LED's started to die again.

I then replaced the Legrand sensors with Lutron MS VPS2 sensors and they've been working for about 2 years now.

 

[rvieceli]

Oh OK. I’m just old school, mine are just on a straight switch. None of that high tech new fangled stuff for me.  [big grin]

Ron

 

[RussellS]

a brief history, Wago released their original "Push Wire" connector first but it was limited to 18-12 gauge wire, Both were "stab-in" designs but removing wires from both of the connectors was a real PITA. Photos of original Wago first

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Glad you posted this.  I have been using the original Wago push in connectors for 15+ years now.  Along with wire nuts which I started on long ago.  I always chuckle a little when everyone posts about how miraculous and magical and mystical the new amazing Wago snap down reusable connectors are.  The current ones.  I've somehow managed just fine for decades using my old time push in Wago connectors.  And I would not call it a PITA to get the original push in Wagos disconnected.  It takes a little pulling, but you can get the wire out and reuse the connectors just fine.  Being cheap I do not throw old connectors away.

 

[Cheese]

I always chuckle a little when everyone posts about how miraculous and magical and mystical the new amazing Wago snap down reusable connectors are.  The current ones.  I've somehow managed just fine for decades using my old time push in Wago connectors.  And I would not call it a PITA to get the original push in Wagos disconnected.  It takes a little pulling, but you can get the wire out and reuse the connectors just fine.  Being cheap I do not throw old connectors away.

You're correct with everything you say as long as you're using solid copper wire. I've done a lot of outside wiring for garden luminaires using standard outdoor rated stranded copper wire. I always tin the ends for connectivity reasons because if the ends are just twisted together with a wire nut, the wire ends will oxidize and you'll get bad connections at some later date. The tinned ends also allow me to use the Wago "stab-in" style connector.

The outdoor rated stranded wires and the Wago connectors work well together, some are 12-13 years old. The issue is when you try to remove the stranded wires from the Wago connectors the tinned end is fine but the individual strands that are not tinned break and separate. The new Wago 221 style works well for outside and I still prefer them for use on interior wiring because they're so simple to use. 

 

[Coen]

The push in type is NOT for stranded! Regardless of tinning...

 

[nclemmons]

I’m a big fan of WAGO’s.

Do they make the water resistant connectors that you’d use on an irrigation system?  I have the gel filled wire nuts, but they are a mess and difficult to diagnose solenoids and such for repairs.  Mine are all in underground plastic service boxes and will fill with water on heavy rains, so the gel insulation is important.

 

[guybo]

https://www.sprinklerwarehouse.com/blazing-waterproof-small-snaploc-connector-bvs1?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI4-yuxMKS-QIV9iCtBh3L7g6pEAQYASABEgJS4_D_BwE

 

[Coen]

I’m a big fan of WAGO’s.

Do they make the water resistant connectors that you’d use on an irrigation system?  I have the gel filled wire nuts, but they are a mess and difficult to diagnose solenoids and such for repairs.  Mine are all in underground plastic service boxes and will fill with water on heavy rains, so the gel insulation is important.

See WAGO gelbox. But for underground use I would just fill the junction box with resin and be done with it.

 

[vkumar]

You won't be sorry Richard, they work very well.

No doubt. $80 got me 25 each of the 2/3/5 and 60 singles. Hopefully enough to last me to the retirement home.

RMW

Source and links please. I would like to get some too.