I concur with another commenter that wrapping electrical tape around the closed Wago nut would offer the best protection (and peace of mind). It’s still better than the standard wire connector, which in my experience is more likely to fail than even a partly open Wago nut.
That or some kind of a add-on locking clip that overlays the levers on the Wago nuts to prevent them from popping up. Thin enough to keep the levers where they need to be but still can be removed. (But E-tape is much cheaper though.)
Even if I wasn't aware this video , I would automatically wrap them with tape for added safety , What I would do first is wrap them with splicing tape then add a top coat of electrical tape to keep the splicing tape from unraveling and plus , The electrical tape really sticks good to the splicing tape , So there's no worry about the electrical tape ever coming off over time , Also the only electrical tape I use is Scotch electrical tape because other brands will eventually start coming off but wrapping with splicing tape first will guarantee that the electrical tape will not come off because of how great it sticks to the splicing tape , When the Wago lever connectors came out , They definitely should have had a slide on cap to keep the levers from popping up
@@hdezn26 they should have come out with a cap that slides on to hold the levers in place , as explained in my last comment , Even if I wasn't aware of this video , I would automatically wrap them with electrical tape because just looking at the connector , That tells me to tape them up to keep the levers in place
Exactly what I was thinking. If there's 20 pounds of force pulling on an electrical connection in an electrical box, you have a much bigger problem than the lever on that lever nut that needs solving. Still, it'd be cool if Wago could find a solution for this.
@@mjc0961 I mean you can. It would be a locking lever. That would make it nearly single use. Or add a failure point where the two pieces of plastic lock into each other and it will break. Like the latch on anything cheap and plastic
@@samjones1954 That's an argument against wire nuts, not lever nuts. The Lever nut has a spring / lever behind it, making it "want" to close all the way. As you get deformation / thermal cycling, that spring force will retain contact on the wire. In other words, even if you stranded 12 gauge wire flattens out over time, as long as it's cross section is at least as thick as the thinnest allowed wire gauge, it will still have a good mechanical force holding it there. You get no such benefit with a wire nut. If you don't have a good connection, it will loosen over time. And there's no spring to take up the slack.
@@samjones1954 So are you saying we are suppose to believe you over the NEC and UL? Not to mention that they have been using this in Europe for way longer than 8 years. I've yet to hear about any home fires in Europe attributed to Wago connectors. I could be wrong though because if its posted in UA-cam comments, it must be true.
I can't think of a single reason why you would have any pressure beyond the bending force of wires in a box. I have hung light fixtures from a wagon while I'm hooking up the other wires before mounting the fixture to the box. But once it's mounted there is no tension on the wires.
Actually this is a legit test. It means reduced contact pressure on the wire. Slightly higher milliohms resistance. Also when jamming the wires into the box, any one wire might have a lot of tension if wrapped around other conductors.
I would be more concerned that I'd catch the lever on something and completely release the wire from the tension but the wire staying and making an intermittent connection. Seems like that would be a bigger problem.
That's one heavy switch or receptacle hanging out of its box. You did another comparison with wirenuts and they were both within the manufacturing required specs. Check your insertion into boxes. EU been using them for years.
I used wagos for the first time when I replaced my porch lights. Usually I would of had to have someone to hold the light while I made the connections, but did not have to using wagos. Made the job much easier.
Yes, the design needs to be improved to add a positive lock. However, until then, I still prefer them over wire nuts, and solve this issue by simply taping over the wago. I have gotten into the habit of having black tape, white tape, and green tape on my tool belt. It only takes a few extra seconds, and it makes me feel better.
More importantly than tabs opening is making sure the wire is shoved ALL the way. This connector grips the wire by bending a tiny amount at the tip. No tip, no leverage.
I used WAGO 221's this weekend for the first time when changing a number of light fixtures in a house we bought and I have to say, these things are awesome. I felt much more confident in the connections when connecting solid wire to the stranded wire in the fixtures.
Great! It is alway good to test potential flaws. I agree with others that 20 lb of pull force limit is more than good enough. It would be interesting to learn the pull force limit of stranded and solid wires connected with a wire nut.
3rd group: professionals who won't use them because they over heat. In the US we use 115v which means higher amps than the typical 240v in rest of world. If you are an amateur and don't care about your license or lawsuits, it's not a concern. I've seen them char. Once on a transfer switch used for back up generator (2000w). The other time was in a compressor (500w). The nominal amps were well below the rated wago amps. WAGO are not listed in most states for industrial use.
I installed a Wago today and when i pushed the Receptacle back into the wall the both lever on the Wago open back up so i had to wrap it with black tape nice and tight to keep from doing this. Thanks for the video!
Thanks for the test, it was interesting. I've noticed this myself when I've been folding wires back into the box. But I've had a different issue, the lever caught on a wire and came completely open. I'm a lot more careful now to visually check when using them. I tend to only use them when I'm mixing stranded and solid because I think they do a better job. I've never had any issues with wire nuts on solid wires, but I always cut long, pretwist and then nip them to length. It doesn't take that long. And it's a proven technique over time. To me it's not a one or the other, it's using the proper tool for the job. If I've got all solid wires and a lot of room, I'll use the cheaper and to me more reliable wire nuts with a pretwist. But when I do prewired lighting fixtures with stranded wire, I'll pull out the wago. Or if I'm dancing on a ladder I'll preinstall a wago on the fixture wires to make it easier.
yeah no ladder dancing.... yes space is a big consideration too.... for the few connections I've needed I preferrred wago (or clone - ya supposedly not good but I'm just not seeing the issues, physically stronger than wago I think, can't speak to the electrical properties etc. Will watch more you tube on China clone tests.
If you're only connecting Solid Wires, you should use the Wago 2273 instead. Wago also sells connectors and accessories for nearly every other use case you could imagine.
Electrical tape for tight situations. I love Wago nuts - I just installed a new ceiling fan and wow, did these make life easy joining braded with solid.
Encountered this very condition this week. Installed new hardwired smoke/carbon detectors and went with the WAGO connectors and noted this condition while stuffing everything into the box. I did make a concerted effort to make sure the levers were in the locked position, but with three 3 pole connectors in there, it’s possible that the first one in got a lever or two moved out…. Doubtful 20lb of pull will ever be applied to them, but you never know. Still like them for the ease of use and the smaller footprint. In some applications, they are hard to beat.
You are amazing. You have been prompting the product for some time and you listen to your viewers and conducted the test. This speaks volumes for honesty. Great testing. Thank you for sharing
A resistance test between one of the unused terminals an the end of the wire seems like it would have been more electrically important. A difference in resistance is where you would get heat and possibly fire.
That will tell you if the connection is bad today. This will tell you whether the connection will work loose (and create new high resistance points) in the future
Of course you could apply force and still measure resistance. You are simply using heat as a surrogate for measuring resistance. Heat is just a cost effective way you've chosen to measure resistance. I applaud your tests particularly the application of force to the connection.
I've been using them for the past 2 years and love them, I noticed the lever popping up sometimes but when completing my connection and pushing into the box, I make sure the lever is down. Not comfortable leaving them up half way!
It's also easy to ask an electrician from europe about that issue. There just isn't any issues with levers popping magically out. And we don't use those that much in boxes where there are only solid wires, there's cheaper 2273 series connectors for that, that are about half the size of 221:s. If you really have to find problems with these connectors, you should compare them to stuff that is able to connect solid to stranded and fine stranded wires. That's what we use those for. Amperage ranges from ~nothing in control circuits, something in lighting to close to nominal with cooking or sauna stoves. 221:s just do it.
Thank you for finally bringing up this issue. I have not seen other creators discussing this topic. I just started using wago 221 per your recommendation and the UK electric installers I watch. I have had the same concern since they arrived. Thank you
Dealt with these at work, I like it. It’s simple and different than always using wire nuts. I still like using wire nuts as well though. Ran into the wago on newer LED fixtures.
I have been aware of the potential for a latch to open, if only partially like that, so I always inspect all the latches after pushing the connected wiring back into the junction box. I have never found a latch opened to any degree, but that doesn't mean it couldn't happen. However, I think my cautious procedure should take care of that. I think awareness and inspection are all that's really needed. I bought a small kit from your link and I love them. When it comes to stranded wire in a WAGO, I always twist the strands as tightly together as I can in their normal twist direction before insertion. That helps prevent the strands from flattening and weakening the connection. If it's smaller gauge of stranded, I strip the insulation near double and fold the wire in half sharply and then insert so it can be clamped better. Just twisted as finger tight as I can, not with pliers or anything, but that should be good enough and is much better than not doing it. Thinking about it, I'll start twisting the extra length of thinner stranded, too, to make it a more consistent diameter to clamp. That may need more than double insulation cut off as twisting it while bent in half will shorten it a bit.
I’ve tried the ideal lever nuts (blue lever) and they have a click down lever. It’s hard to find them, but are nice because you can push in or use the lever.
Consistency seems to be the key for myself, it's a lot easier to do wago connections so they're all the same compared to with wire nuts. I've been renovating an older house with plastic sheathed romex, some of the connections could probably be strong enough to climb from but others were lose and some fallen off and even arching, a few were melted, and some actually nearly caught fire at some point (grounding doing some fire saving work here). I'd much rather rely on the strain relief and have a connection that wasn't loose. The great thing about wago's is that I can just pull the wires back out with no fuss, when rewiring a few times (live in renovation's are fun*) it's a lot less destructive.
Nice testing! I'd be interested in a similar test of wire nuts. The 'screw them together and tug' doesn't seem to put anywhere near 20+ pounds of force on them.
My thought is that a wire nut would perform worse because the internal spring flairs out to the opening of the nut, where as the Wago has separate connectors for each wire doubling the weight bearing capacity.
@@brianreinhardt4050 believable if installed properly. That said, how many DIYers, green horns, apprentices, hack electricians, and monkeys install wire nuts with the skill of a journeyman or master electrician?
@@QuietRiverBear Please...don't get me started on "Journeymen", "Master Plumbers" or "Builders". The things I've witnessed the "trades" do borders on criminal.
@@brianreinhardt4050 I've had wire nuts pull out just tucking them back in the box. Obviously not installed properly, but... how would you know? You can't tell until its too late.
I've noticed this problem when I was using them. To solve it, I wrap it with electrical tape; 1-2 layers and that's all it needs. If ever you need to alter it, it is very easy to remove the electrical tape, do your changes, and wrap it with electrical tape again.
Have you tried the new WAGO 2773 wire nuts that are lever-less and low profile? They offer a nice collection of 2,3,4,5…10 splice options. Once inserted, the wires are a bugger to pull out.
Seems like an easy solution to wrap electrical tape around the levers to prevent them from lifting. Even lifted, 20 pounds is a lot for it to handle. How much do the screw nuts hold?
Today was my first time ever using these Wago lever nuts and I must admit, I like them. They made wiring my project a lot simpler than tape and wire nuts.
A bit of electrical type securing the WAGO levers closed would work if there's any concern about them popping up when pushed back into the box. They are still fast to install, allow the user to actually see that the wire is properly seated, and are reusable. When using wire nuts, I always wonder if the wires are properly wrapping around each other, particularly when connecting stranded wire to solid wire.
Also have to remember that this test is a straight pull test. There are very few scenarios where that would apply. You usually have multiple wires coming in at multiple angles. Even on stranded wire I've dropped the motor of a ceiling fan from the few inches of length it had available, and because the wago usually installs facing up towards the main line it gets quite a bit of a bend while tucking it in, and the stranded wire is almost a full 180 degrees. This caught the motor and didn't slip off. For a split second that was probably quite a bit of weigh when it tugged on the wire. 20lb is a lot, but trying to ripped something out from an angle can make it two or three times stronger. Probably a better chance at breaking the entire wago clip by then lol. I will never tape my wago clips to save it from being ripped out by a few more pounds when it already far exceeds its normal limitations. If you somehow pull it out its you that is causing the issue, not the wago clip.
To be honest, this is not the scenario I would be worried about. The far more concerning thing about the fact that the tabs can come out like that is not what happens when they are simply out, but the fact that they can then catch on other things (such as other wires in the box) which can exert force on them as well. Any force exerted on the tab when in that position would directly lessen the force being applied to the internal contacts, and even if there is nothing pulling on the wire it could, I suspect, still lead to poor electrical connections, which could result in extra heat or even arcing. I would be very interested to see some tests on how much _additional_ force needs to be applied to that tab to cause the electrical connection to become a problem. I suspect it would not actually be that much... I still think that the Wago 221s are great, and still far superior to wire nuts, but I do also think that they could do some additional work to make them close more positively so this wouldn't even be an issue in the first place.
@@HelloKittyFanMan. Umm, wire nuts are called "wire nuts" specifically _because_ they are threaded and "screw on" to the wire (just like a nut screws onto a bolt). If they don't screw on, then they're _not wire nuts,_ pretty much by definition.
@@foogod4237: Oh? Well then what's a "lever nut:" something that uh... _screws onto... LEVERS"?_ Nice "argument," _genius!_ And why did you put "screw on" in quotes? Because it _doesn't really_ do that; only figuratively?
Hey, hey...easy there now princess, settle down now. I think it's probably best you just stick to riding that trusty little pink unicorn pony of yours through the clouds & over rainbows & let us _real men_ worry about the correct terminology of electrical connections. I'm not sure what you were looking for, but it's only _too obvious_ that you ended up here by accident. -Wire nuts utilize threads to draw down/constrict wires together & are "screwed on" to connect the wires -Lever nuts utilize leverage(Hence the word; lever) in the form of compression as a means to connect the wires. Bottom line,@@HelloKittyFanMan. ... you should _probably_ learn to admit when _you're wrong_ or just stay on your pretty pony & out of things that are WAY over your head...DERP!
Easy there, princess @@purdyboi8078, the one riding a little pink unicorn is you. I'm not sure why I would even have a pony, silly girl. I _did_ use the correct terminology. There are different kinds of wire nuts. He even said "NUTS" when he used the term "lever nuts," so if they are lever nuts for wires, then they are wire nuts. There's just that kind and then _conventional_ wire nuts. Also, he did himself in when he tried describing "wire nuts" as things that screw onto wires, because that's a self-contradiction of what he's saying when he uses the term "lever nut," duh. So of course I wouldn't admit to being "wrong" in this case. I admit to that when I actually _am_ wrong. And no, I didn't end up here by accident, hypocrite derp.
Scott an excellent review study in fact I have one in my hand right now. I’ve noticed it held less but lifting the lever does not seem to decrease the spring tension. Even so I’m going to start using them. They seem like an easier install than wire nuts which I guess can also fail especially with stranded and solid I wire nuts pushing them into a box. Thanks for sharing. Artie 👍
I still use black electrical tape to wrap the wagu connector on the advice of another electricians video for added safety to prevent the connector from inadvertently separating. The same advice given for the typical twist connectors. So in essence, safety first. Connect PO properly, check by pulling on the wire to ensure it holds. Then wrap with piece of electric tape for added security.
Here in Germany we're rather using Wagos 2273 series because they're smaller and cheaper. The 221s are used when combining a solid with a stranded wire. Or, they're perfect if one just wants to just try something in a none permanent build.
The original Wago's had a skinnier more recessed lever, and it was a lot harder to open. I have a mix of them and I love them. I particularly like the 5 hole ones vs trying to twist 5 wires into a wire nut. As I work around the house and come across wire nuts they get replaced with Wago's. So far it's been 10 years and I haven't burned down my house yet.
Strange concern. As long as you are somewhat paying attention, those levers shouldn't be lifting at all. A stronger closed detent would be a good thing, but I don't think it's a real concern. Thanks for testing this.
I've noticed that too-- another thing I've wondered is whether a Wago that has been used once or more times loses its holding power, especially when sort of tripped in the open position.
Thanks for conducting a good examination of the connections. Your methodology was sound and clearly demonstrated a reduction in strength do to the losening of the cam lock. Keep up the good work.
My thoughts of the issue / concern is not so much the lessening of connection from the partial opening of the lever. It is more the concern of the lever being easily moved to that position and then placement of a device (folding of wiring) within the electrical box applies additional pressure on the lever resulting in the lever becoming fully open and releasing the wire from the connector.
We replaced them in a factory in a plastic box on a pump motor that continually runs near the tempering furnace. The connector melted. They will work well in LED light fixtures. The factory has 100s running all the time. The little demand they have in the home would not cause problems.
I have wired our complete new built home with Wago 221 lever nuts and never had a problem with a wire pulling out. Even in crowded junction boxes where multiple modifications and multiple movements occurred none of the levers were half opened. I would also recommend against wrapping Wagos with electrical tape as it takes away many of the advantages: cannot visually inspect wires through the clear plastic, harder to insert a tester for measurements, harder to make changes. I have never seen any German electrician recommend wrapping Wagos with electrical tape who have worked with some type of Wagos for decades. Additionally, this may even violate code in some countries as this is using a product in a way not intended or certified by the manufacturer.
It's a UL listed product. It's safe if used as intended. The level being another to chime out further is due to the spring being opened up due to the wire in there. Smaller wire means the lever comes out less.
Scott, a great test with surprising results, BUT I would argue there is a greater chance of failure, even danger, while replacing a switch or receptacle. I think that a protruding WAGO lever could hook on something while the bad device is being pulled out of the box, thereby releasing the associated wire --- and the person performing the work may not even notice!
Thanks for the feedback and I would have to agree with you. The partially opened lever arm hooking another wire is a real possibility. Thanks for the feedback!
@@EverydayHomeRepairs I don't know if you have ever mentioned this, but there is a handy 11 mm strip gauge printed right on the side of the Wago 221 lever nuts. Reviewing this feature can help viewers get the strip length right and prevent problems at the same time!
I’ve been using these for a while now, with zero failures. Long before seeing this video, I made it a habit to put a single electrical tape wrap around the finished connector, just to be sure nothing would hang on the levers. Having seen this test, I’m glad I did that… not because I think it’s a flaw, but because it eliminates the concern altogether. Once a connector is properly secured in a box, nothing is going to be pulling on the conductor anyway, but an additional ‘security blanket” doesn’t harm anything. I should note that I always taped wire nuts as well. I’ve seen them loosen and fall off in time, so why not secure them too? Like it is with these new connectors, there was a time when the old guard didn’t trust wire nuts. It’s the nature of people to trust what they know and scoff at new ways. This baby boomer has moved on, and Wago connectors are a great product in my opinion.
I am more interested in comparing the RESISTANCE of the connection with the lever fully down and partially up. I believe that properly installed in a box a connection should never receive that level of pull. But if the resistance increases, that could be a problem.
I don't have any problems with the half-open position. When I am folding the wires back in a box I find the Wago lever nuts allow me to position the wires much better than a twist connector. I can bend each wire almost independently so they fold in very cleanly. I have had only once or twice where the lever popped up to the half-open position and that was easily corrected. You don't have a bunch of wire pushed in willy-nilly all over with the Wagos and they create so much space because of the folding action. I love them for the Zwave switches and controllers I use because boxes are FULL UP and the 221, even better than the earlier gray ones, just let me fit everything.
Nice vid and test. I'm a EE (and long time software engineer) and a big proponent of testing to failure. I come from a machine tool family/background, so this kind of thing is in my blood. I just finished an electrical job for my friend's house and chose to stick with twisting 12 and 14 gauge with good quality wire nuts rather that Wago as the little lip on the tab made me unseasy especially with pushing the connections back into the boxes. One thought I've had was to file off the lip to lessen the chance of having one pop open and not being able to see it once the outlet or switch was tucked into place. I'm using the inline connectors for replacing 2 fuse boxes with a main panel. Nice and clean.
I'd like to see you do a 4-wire measurement of the resistance of the connections. In conjunction with the infrared temperature measurements you have done before, this will give a definitive assessment of the quality of the connections in various configurations.
Thank you for sharing, I love the Wago's too. I don't think this has many effects on the wiring in the electrical box unless someone pulls it out, especially for 20lbs force
You showed that it isn't holding as tight. As many have mentioned, the connector is unlikely to experience that much pull. I'm curious if there is more electrical resistance when the lever is pulled out due to the looser connection.
I would really doubt there would be any difference in electrical characteristics between something that can hold 20 pounds vs 25 pounds. Those are both _very_ firmly in full contact with the wire... What I'd be more concerned about is what happens when even a little bit of extra force is applied to that tab (for example, by getting caught on another wire in the box when pushing everything back in), as I suspect that could easily make the force on the contacts much less, and possibly start to cause electrical issues.
I noticed this when I started using Wagos some years back. It's not great. My main concern is the level fully opening when I'm pushing wires back into a cabinet or box. That being said like many, I simply throw some tape around it and that has eliminated problems. I would like to see Wago remake these so they positively locked in the closed position when a wire was installed.
My additional fear would not be the pull out wire, but with the lever partially up, the risk of another wire touching it and fully opening it when pushing it back into the box. Then the wire contact is loose. I wrap a layer of tape like many other suggest. I was called out by someone in the comments in the past as an “amateur move”, but I’m not burning my house down because of playing it safe and having a redundancy.
They're not my primary connector but I like them for lighting fixtures and as an alternative to the 454 big blue wire nuts. I don't like how they flip up like that but as long as you're careful they don't snag on something and release the wire, they're fine.
Ideal has started making a similar product. It would be interesting to compare them. I’m not a brand snob, so If the performance is similar, I’d be willing to use various brands.
Two problems with this test: 1. The weight are swinging which introduces wiggle in the and therefore helps pulling out the wire as is has a downward force pulling on it. The can 'walk' out the Wago. 2. Does the lever still move freely in the second test or is it sort of jammed? When jammed, you start applying pressure on the spring and therefor reducing the clamping force. This test justifies are re-do under more controlled environment.
It isn't stated during the video whether the second round of three trials (with the lever partly raised) used three fresh new WAGOs, or reused the three WAGOs that failed at 27.5 pounds in the first round. Pulling a wire out of a WAGO might compromise the future strength of the WAGO's bite on the wire. It would be nice to test whether pulling a wire out of a WAGO that has its lever down reduces the WAGO's future ability to hold a wire.
For each of the 6 trials I used new WAGOs. When the wire pulls out it does damage the internals and wouldn't make for an apples to apples comparison. Thanks for the feedback.
Would love to see this test and others for the new ideal lever nuts. I also use wago after discovering them on ur channel but i hate that i have to order them and cant buy them in store. My lowes is now carrying the ideal lever nuts
I use them but I started wrapping them with electrical tape because I found pushing them back in the gang box sometimes pushes the tab open, other than that issue I find them convenient.
I used them for the first time just recently and had the levers open. You need to make sure they’re closed when you put them in the box. This equals another step… I will only use Wagos when I have a space constraint. I’m going to try the ideals next time.
I think the issue is not the static loading. The issue is when you try to push the wires back into the box, the leveler can get caught on a wire and forced open as you push it. At that point, it is probably very difficult to see even if you try to visually inspect. Wrapping it with insulating tape simply addresses any concerns.
WAGO's are great and my go to when I have short wires in a Box but for all solid wires with enough length I still use wire nuts. Also when using solid & stranded they are good to use but if your so concerned about grip wrap electrical tape around the WAGO to make sure the levers remain down though it's more likely an over kill.
I have been using these since they first came out and observed early on that pushing the connector back into the box lever first could be a problem. I would like to see WAGO resolve this, perhaps with a cover of some sort.
Do you think that wrapping the Wago in electrical tape would result in increased heat retention? I'm anticipating more pushback from the electricians in the audiance. (Just a curious engineer.)
Not sure the weight thing concerns me as I don't understand why anyone would implement them with under stress and potential failure from wires pulling out. What concerns me a bit more, is the wiggle ... which indicates that the contact area on the wire is minimal for current and potential heat issues. But, thx for the vid.
Have you pull tested wire nuts? Water is 8 pounds per gallon, a full 5 gallon pail weighs 40 pounds, add some lead if needed. With a funnel and hose you could add weight smoothly, and measure failure to the ounce.
I have been using 221 Wagos for at least seven years and they are the BEST. Always verify the wire is properly seated and just as a safety precaution in case someone gets into the wiring and is not as careful as I am, I tape the Wagos shut with a 2" strip of 3M Super 88. I also run some tape around the perimeter of GFCI and regular outlets just as a precaution. I know it's not necessary, it is just the way I do it.. seems to upset some electricians. Many electrical best practices and / or codes are intended to protect the next guy.
Nice testing. Between the 20 pound load (plenty high) and having an awareness of the lever being in the proper position, I agree with yoiu-no problem using the Wagos.
Do you think that flaw could be gotten rid of by just throwing a band of electrical tape around it after making the connections? Going to be installing a smart dimmer wired off of an outlet with pigtails to control some under cabinet lights and want to do it the safest way and avoid burning my house down so trying to learn😅
I have had problems when tucking those things back into a standard box, especially when converting a series set of wires into parallel. It's easy to misaligned the wire in the lever although it's clamped down.
Another flaw in this connector is the orange plastic is not UV stabilized. If left in the sun for 6 months the orange lever crumbles like a cookie. The clear part is ok. Im in the outdoor lighting business a we use thousands a year but will try the new Ideal lever connectors.
Don't forget to consider the insulation on the conductors. Table 310.16 shows that the temperature rating of TW conductors is 60 degrees Celcius (140 Fahrenheit). I'm sure that many DIY'ers in your audience will encounter Romex using conductors with this temperature rating that was in use before the 1984 NEC required upgrade to 90 degree C for this cable, without realizing its lower temperature rating. Your other video, titled "Debunking the Pros" regarding Wago 221 vs wirenuts, in my opinion, actually VALIDATES the pros, because you've demonstrated that the lever connectors that you tested are significantly hotter. The pros also know that having hot connections leads to problems. One example of this is that the insulation on the conductors becomes brittle. UA-camr GreatScott! also tested, and found that the resistance of your Wago 221 connectors was 14 times higher than wire nuts (2.2milliohms vs 0.15milliohms). So, yeah, you validated the pros. They know that what meets minimum legal requirements and what is advisable can be different things. The number of comments on that performance test speaks to the fact that we really appreciate actual performance tests - please keep up the great work!!
2:39 ya know Ideal makes lever nuts (branded something diff name) and the levers are reversed on the “nut” and do like that design much better when putting into boxes etc….as don’t gotta “worry as much” of lever lifting since the design is diff; but does it mean it won’t fail ever…..know ideal and other thing, not a easy to find and buy the ideal version compared to buying Wago’s which easier to find and buy. Wish had ideal version for this test, for comparison. Cheers✌🏻
I think some of the concerns comes from when pushing the connector back into the box if it is partially open the partially open latch could catch on something I.e. another wire or something else in the box and open fully without you realizing it.
Just put a single or double wrap of electrical tap with a fold end for easy removal and then they are secure. The new Ideal In-Sure connectors don't have that issue. I use both and if you are aware then you should not really have issues with either brand.
While your test is interesting, I have never felt the need to hang anything from the wire and have been told never to place weight on electrical wires period. Having said that I am also a fan of the lever nuts and use them exclusively on all my warring projects. My pack out is chucked full of the WAGO lever nuts of all sizes. Thank for the video
WAY GO.. at least that is how we say it in California. if you want a long lasting trouble free splice, than use a Ideal wire nut. However we use wagos all the time where we know that the load is not max'd out on the circuit.
I understand that Wagos have been in use for 20 years in Europe, but Europe uses 240 volts. That gives twice as much electrical pressure to force it's way through connections. I think more time is needed in North America to prove it's robustness over time. I personally would only use Wagos on low amp connections like light fixtures for the time being. There is a lot to be said for the simplicity of wire nuts. Our house is over 50 years old with aluminum wire and wire nuts. When I run across old wire nuts in service, they're fine. I don't even know if those wire nuts are rated for use with aluminum wire. Wire nuts still provide more than just a tip of surface contact area. Wagos do add extra complexity to a connector that can have more points of failure. I personally am going to stick with wire nuts which are proven to be safe and reliable. Otherwise, do what you want. I don't see anything wrong with using Wagos if you are just more comfortable using them. I do get it, and I hope they prove just as safe and reliable in North America and they have been in Europe.
I wrap electrical tape around them toward the lever end bc I felt like I would pop it over stuffing it in the box. I wrap so I can still see the conductors in the end and have piece of mind that the lever ain’t opening and having a loose connection.
A simple low cost design change could be how slide or rotary switches rest into certain set positions. The lever could have a slight bump on the side, and the body have a small hole. When the lever goes down, the bump and the hole line up and holds the lever in place. That will make it a little harder to lift up.
I noticed that on a fan I repaired using them, and securing the wires to the fan grill with zip ties that they do start to loosen over time. Not knowing if it's fan vibration or just happened naturally, I have just decided to wrap them all with electrical tape, like some electricians and DIY people did with the traditional twisted nuts. At this point, I do not see any reason to stop using them. They're great for many applications and stranded to solid connections too.
Many people use WAGO lever nuts as opposed to wire nuts in industrial applications specifically because they hold better in environments that have vibration. So I wouldn't think there is an issue with the fan producing vibration that loosens things up.
@@EverydayHomeRepairs Only going by observation. But I still love Wago anyway and as I said, I see no reason to stop using Wago. Just be sure to wrap them with electric tape for extra security.
I concur with another commenter that wrapping electrical tape around the closed Wago nut would offer the best protection (and peace of mind). It’s still better than the standard wire connector, which in my experience is more likely to fail than even a partly open Wago nut.
That or some kind of a add-on locking clip that overlays the levers on the Wago nuts to prevent them from popping up. Thin enough to keep the levers where they need to be but still can be removed. (But E-tape is much cheaper though.)
Even if I wasn't aware this video , I would automatically wrap them with tape for added safety , What I would do first is wrap them with splicing tape then add a top coat of electrical tape to keep the splicing tape from unraveling and plus , The electrical tape really sticks good to the splicing tape , So there's no worry about the electrical tape ever coming off over time , Also the only electrical tape I use is Scotch electrical tape because other brands will eventually start coming off but wrapping with splicing tape first will guarantee that the electrical tape will not come off because of how great it sticks to the splicing tape ,
When the Wago lever connectors came out , They definitely should have had a slide on cap to keep the levers from popping up
@@hdezn26 they should have come out with a cap that slides on to hold the levers in place , as explained in my last comment , Even if I wasn't aware of this video , I would automatically wrap them with electrical tape because just looking at the connector , That tells me to tape them up to keep the levers in place
I use WAGoOs all the time, and wrap them in electrical tape too.
@@krakken- That's good because when it comes to electrical safety
There's no such thing as being too careful
20lbs of force is a ridiculously high amount for the force experienced in an electrical box.
Exactly what I was thinking. If there's 20 pounds of force pulling on an electrical connection in an electrical box, you have a much bigger problem than the lever on that lever nut that needs solving.
Still, it'd be cool if Wago could find a solution for this.
@@mjc0961 I mean you can. It would be a locking lever. That would make it nearly single use. Or add a failure point where the two pieces of plastic lock into each other and it will break. Like the latch on anything cheap and plastic
@@samjones1954 That's an argument against wire nuts, not lever nuts. The Lever nut has a spring / lever behind it, making it "want" to close all the way. As you get deformation / thermal cycling, that spring force will retain contact on the wire. In other words, even if you stranded 12 gauge wire flattens out over time, as long as it's cross section is at least as thick as the thinnest allowed wire gauge, it will still have a good mechanical force holding it there. You get no such benefit with a wire nut. If you don't have a good connection, it will loosen over time. And there's no spring to take up the slack.
@@samjones1954 So are you saying we are suppose to believe you over the NEC and UL? Not to mention that they have been using this in Europe for way longer than 8 years. I've yet to hear about any home fires in Europe attributed to Wago connectors. I could be wrong though because if its posted in UA-cam comments, it must be true.
Unless you have outlets that are on freely moveable cords of romex wiring, the small chance of it sliping is not to be eorried about
If you're using more than 20lbf in an electrical box. There's a problem much more concerning than the Wago.
👍👍👍👍👍
I can't think of a single reason why you would have any pressure beyond the bending force of wires in a box.
I have hung light fixtures from a wagon while I'm hooking up the other wires before mounting the fixture to the box. But once it's mounted there is no tension on the wires.
Actually this is a legit test. It means reduced contact pressure on the wire. Slightly higher milliohms resistance.
Also when jamming the wires into the box, any one wire might have a lot of tension if wrapped around other conductors.
I would be more concerned that I'd catch the lever on something and completely release the wire from the tension but the wire staying and making an intermittent connection. Seems like that would be a bigger problem.
That's one heavy switch or receptacle hanging out of its box. You did another comparison with wirenuts and they were both within the manufacturing required specs.
Check your insertion into boxes.
EU been using them for years.
I used wagos for the first time when I replaced my porch lights. Usually I would of had to have someone to hold the light while I made the connections, but did not have to using wagos. Made the job much easier.
Thanks for the comparison. I have read to wrap electrical tap across the leavers for a 2nd protection.
It would give more confidence for sure.
I wouldnt waste the time or effort in a standard box. But maybe if its jammed in there with little space, then Id consider it.
Yes, the design needs to be improved to add a positive lock.
However, until then, I still prefer them over wire nuts, and solve this issue by simply taping over the wago.
I have gotten into the habit of having black tape, white tape, and green tape on my tool belt. It only takes a few extra seconds, and it makes me feel better.
Agreed.
I do the same. always wrapped in electrical tape for safety. I've redone my whole house and it's Wago 221 all the way.
More importantly than tabs opening is making sure the wire is shoved ALL the way. This connector grips the wire by bending a tiny amount at the tip. No tip, no leverage.
Great suggestion. Thanks.
Great test, thanks for the info. This is why I still use black electrical tape around the wago’s to keep the levers from accidentally opening.
I used WAGO 221's this weekend for the first time when changing a number of light fixtures in a house we bought and I have to say, these things are awesome. I felt much more confident in the connections when connecting solid wire to the stranded wire in the fixtures.
Great! It is alway good to test potential flaws. I agree with others that 20 lb of pull force limit is more than good enough. It would be interesting to learn the pull force limit of stranded and solid wires connected with a wire nut.
There's 2 types of people for these, those who've used them and those who are stuck in the past.
I’m stuck in the past… Edison’s DC power!
@@rob379lqz more power to you! 😂
I am stuck in the past, and with THIS product I am very confident with my choice.
3rd group: professionals who won't use them because they over heat. In the US we use 115v which means higher amps than the typical 240v in rest of world. If you are an amateur and don't care about your license or lawsuits, it's not a concern.
I've seen them char. Once on a transfer switch used for back up generator (2000w). The other time was in a compressor (500w). The nominal amps were well below the rated wago amps.
WAGO are not listed in most states for industrial use.
@@joeboxter3635 Thank-you for the heads-up. Good to know.
I’ve always thought about this possible flaw when I first started using these and use tape every time to be safe.
I installed a Wago today and when i pushed the Receptacle back into the wall the both lever on the Wago open back up so i had to wrap it with black tape nice and tight to keep from doing this. Thanks for the video!
Thanks for the test, it was interesting. I've noticed this myself when I've been folding wires back into the box. But I've had a different issue, the lever caught on a wire and came completely open.
I'm a lot more careful now to visually check when using them. I tend to only use them when I'm mixing stranded and solid because I think they do a better job. I've never had any issues with wire nuts on solid wires, but I always cut long, pretwist and then nip them to length. It doesn't take that long. And it's a proven technique over time.
To me it's not a one or the other, it's using the proper tool for the job. If I've got all solid wires and a lot of room, I'll use the cheaper and to me more reliable wire nuts with a pretwist. But when I do prewired lighting fixtures with stranded wire, I'll pull out the wago. Or if I'm dancing on a ladder I'll preinstall a wago on the fixture wires to make it easier.
This is my concern about the levers being that far up.
yeah no ladder dancing.... yes space is a big consideration too.... for the few connections I've needed I preferrred wago (or clone - ya supposedly not good but I'm just not seeing the issues, physically stronger than wago I think, can't speak to the electrical properties etc. Will watch more you tube on China clone tests.
If you're only connecting Solid Wires, you should use the Wago 2273 instead. Wago also sells connectors and accessories for nearly every other use case you could imagine.
THIS
Many people neglect to read instruction manuals and then cry for the (imagined) effectiveness of wire nuts.
Electrical tape for tight situations. I love Wago nuts - I just installed a new ceiling fan and wow, did these make life easy joining braded with solid.
Encountered this very condition this week. Installed new hardwired smoke/carbon detectors and went with the WAGO connectors and noted this condition while stuffing everything into the box. I did make a concerted effort to make sure the levers were in the locked position, but with three 3 pole connectors in there, it’s possible that the first one in got a lever or two moved out…. Doubtful 20lb of pull will ever be applied to them, but you never know. Still like them for the ease of use and the smaller footprint. In some applications, they are hard to beat.
You are amazing. You have been prompting the product for some time and you listen to your viewers and conducted the test. This speaks volumes for honesty. Great testing. Thank you for sharing
The guy is a utube electrician and knows just enough to be dangerous.
I've rewired an entire home with lever nuts and have NEVER had any of these issues.
A resistance test between one of the unused terminals an the end of the wire seems like it would have been more electrically important. A difference in resistance is where you would get heat and possibly fire.
You are correct but it takes a shunt ohmmeter to measure less than an ohm. That might prove to be expensive - hence the crude tests.
That will tell you if the connection is bad today. This will tell you whether the connection will work loose (and create new high resistance points) in the future
Of course you could apply force and still measure resistance. You are simply using heat as a surrogate for measuring resistance. Heat is just a cost effective way you've chosen to measure resistance.
I applaud your tests particularly the application of force to the connection.
I've been using them for the past 2 years and love them, I noticed the lever popping up sometimes but when completing my connection and pushing into the box, I make sure the lever is down. Not comfortable leaving them up half way!
The issue of the lever backing off unexpectedly can be mitigated cheaply by wrapping the Wago in electrical tape or even a small zip tie.
I was going to suggest the same 👍
Same thing I was going to say
It can also be mitigated by using wirenuts instead.
@@StonyAcresEstate - Also true
It's also easy to ask an electrician from europe about that issue. There just isn't any issues with levers popping magically out.
And we don't use those that much in boxes where there are only solid wires, there's cheaper 2273 series connectors for that, that are about half the size of 221:s.
If you really have to find problems with these connectors, you should compare them to stuff that is able to connect solid to stranded and fine stranded wires. That's what we use those for. Amperage ranges from ~nothing in control circuits, something in lighting to close to nominal with cooking or sauna stoves. 221:s just do it.
Thank you for finally bringing up this issue. I have not seen other creators discussing this topic. I just started using wago 221 per your recommendation and the UK electric installers I watch. I have had the same concern since they arrived. Thank you
Dealt with these at work, I like it. It’s simple and different than always using wire nuts. I still like using wire nuts as well though. Ran into the wago on newer LED fixtures.
I have been aware of the potential for a latch to open, if only partially like that, so I always inspect all the latches after pushing the connected wiring back into the junction box. I have never found a latch opened to any degree, but that doesn't mean it couldn't happen. However, I think my cautious procedure should take care of that. I think awareness and inspection are all that's really needed. I bought a small kit from your link and I love them. When it comes to stranded wire in a WAGO, I always twist the strands as tightly together as I can in their normal twist direction before insertion. That helps prevent the strands from flattening and weakening the connection. If it's smaller gauge of stranded, I strip the insulation near double and fold the wire in half sharply and then insert so it can be clamped better. Just twisted as finger tight as I can, not with pliers or anything, but that should be good enough and is much better than not doing it. Thinking about it, I'll start twisting the extra length of thinner stranded, too, to make it a more consistent diameter to clamp. That may need more than double insulation cut off as twisting it while bent in half will shorten it a bit.
I’ve tried the ideal lever nuts (blue lever) and they have a click down lever. It’s hard to find them, but are nice because you can push in or use the lever.
Consistency seems to be the key for myself, it's a lot easier to do wago connections so they're all the same compared to with wire nuts.
I've been renovating an older house with plastic sheathed romex, some of the connections could probably be strong enough to climb from but others were lose and some fallen off and even arching, a few were melted, and some actually nearly caught fire at some point (grounding doing some fire saving work here). I'd much rather rely on the strain relief and have a connection that wasn't loose.
The great thing about wago's is that I can just pull the wires back out with no fuss, when rewiring a few times (live in renovation's are fun*) it's a lot less destructive.
If it hasnt melted before you get that chance. Besides if your taking it apart your making mistakes.
Nice testing!
I'd be interested in a similar test of wire nuts. The 'screw them together and tug' doesn't seem to put anywhere near 20+ pounds of force on them.
My thought is that a wire nut would perform worse because the internal spring flairs out to the opening of the nut, where as the Wago has separate connectors for each wire doubling the weight bearing capacity.
Tan wire nuts broke free at 43.5 lbs...the video is out there.
@@brianreinhardt4050 believable if installed properly. That said, how many DIYers, green horns, apprentices, hack electricians, and monkeys install wire nuts with the skill of a journeyman or master electrician?
@@QuietRiverBear Please...don't get me started on "Journeymen", "Master Plumbers" or "Builders". The things I've witnessed the "trades" do borders on criminal.
@@brianreinhardt4050 I've had wire nuts pull out just tucking them back in the box. Obviously not installed properly, but... how would you know? You can't tell until its too late.
I've noticed this problem when I was using them. To solve it, I wrap it with electrical tape; 1-2 layers and that's all it needs. If ever you need to alter it, it is very easy to remove the electrical tape, do your changes, and wrap it with electrical tape again.
I tape them with their respective colors, black, white and green.
Have you tried the new WAGO 2773 wire nuts that are lever-less and low profile? They offer a nice collection of 2,3,4,5…10 splice options. Once inserted, the wires are a bugger to pull out.
You have to twist to pull them out, apparently
Seems like an easy solution to wrap electrical tape around the levers to prevent them from lifting. Even lifted, 20 pounds is a lot for it to handle. How much do the screw nuts hold?
Today was my first time ever using these Wago lever nuts and I must admit, I like them. They made wiring my project a lot simpler than tape and wire nuts.
A bit of electrical type securing the WAGO levers closed would work if there's any concern about them popping up when pushed back into the box. They are still fast to install, allow the user to actually see that the wire is properly seated, and are reusable. When using wire nuts, I always wonder if the wires are properly wrapping around each other, particularly when connecting stranded wire to solid wire.
Also have to remember that this test is a straight pull test. There are very few scenarios where that would apply. You usually have multiple wires coming in at multiple angles. Even on stranded wire I've dropped the motor of a ceiling fan from the few inches of length it had available, and because the wago usually installs facing up towards the main line it gets quite a bit of a bend while tucking it in, and the stranded wire is almost a full 180 degrees. This caught the motor and didn't slip off. For a split second that was probably quite a bit of weigh when it tugged on the wire.
20lb is a lot, but trying to ripped something out from an angle can make it two or three times stronger. Probably a better chance at breaking the entire wago clip by then lol. I will never tape my wago clips to save it from being ripped out by a few more pounds when it already far exceeds its normal limitations. If you somehow pull it out its you that is causing the issue, not the wago clip.
To be honest, this is not the scenario I would be worried about. The far more concerning thing about the fact that the tabs can come out like that is not what happens when they are simply out, but the fact that they can then catch on other things (such as other wires in the box) which can exert force on them as well. Any force exerted on the tab when in that position would directly lessen the force being applied to the internal contacts, and even if there is nothing pulling on the wire it could, I suspect, still lead to poor electrical connections, which could result in extra heat or even arcing.
I would be very interested to see some tests on how much _additional_ force needs to be applied to that tab to cause the electrical connection to become a problem. I suspect it would not actually be that much...
I still think that the Wago 221s are great, and still far superior to wire nuts, but I do also think that they could do some additional work to make them close more positively so this wouldn't even be an issue in the first place.
These ARE wire nuts; just not the _regular/standard_ (screw-on) kind. He's using the comparative terms wrong.
@@HelloKittyFanMan. Umm, wire nuts are called "wire nuts" specifically _because_ they are threaded and "screw on" to the wire (just like a nut screws onto a bolt). If they don't screw on, then they're _not wire nuts,_ pretty much by definition.
@@foogod4237: Oh? Well then what's a "lever nut:" something that uh... _screws onto... LEVERS"?_
Nice "argument," _genius!_
And why did you put "screw on" in quotes? Because it _doesn't really_ do that; only figuratively?
Hey, hey...easy there now princess, settle down now. I think it's probably best you just stick to riding that trusty little pink unicorn pony of yours through the clouds & over rainbows & let us _real men_ worry about the correct terminology of electrical connections. I'm not sure what you were looking for, but it's only _too obvious_ that you ended up here by accident.
-Wire nuts utilize threads to draw down/constrict wires together & are "screwed on" to connect the wires
-Lever nuts utilize leverage(Hence the word; lever) in the form of compression as a means to connect the wires.
Bottom line,@@HelloKittyFanMan. ... you should _probably_ learn to admit when _you're wrong_ or just stay on your pretty pony & out of things that are WAY over your head...DERP!
Easy there, princess @@purdyboi8078, the one riding a little pink unicorn is you. I'm not sure why I would even have a pony, silly girl. I _did_ use the correct terminology. There are different kinds of wire nuts. He even said "NUTS" when he used the term "lever nuts," so if they are lever nuts for wires, then they are wire nuts. There's just that kind and then _conventional_ wire nuts. Also, he did himself in when he tried describing "wire nuts" as things that screw onto wires, because that's a self-contradiction of what he's saying when he uses the term "lever nut," duh. So of course I wouldn't admit to being "wrong" in this case. I admit to that when I actually _am_ wrong. And no, I didn't end up here by accident, hypocrite derp.
Scott an excellent review study in fact I have one in my hand right now. I’ve noticed it held less but lifting the lever does not seem to decrease the spring tension. Even so I’m going to start using them. They seem like an easier install than wire nuts which I guess can also fail especially with stranded and solid I wire nuts pushing them into a box. Thanks for sharing. Artie 👍
I have noticed this issue and wondered about it, thanks for covering it.
I still use black electrical tape to wrap the wagu connector on the advice of another electricians video for added safety to prevent the connector from inadvertently separating. The same advice given for the typical twist connectors. So in essence, safety first. Connect PO properly, check by pulling on the wire to ensure it holds. Then wrap with piece of electric tape for added security.
Here in Germany we're rather using Wagos 2273 series because they're smaller and cheaper.
The 221s are used when combining a solid with a stranded wire. Or, they're perfect if one just wants to just try something in a none permanent build.
The original Wago's had a skinnier more recessed lever, and it was a lot harder to open. I have a mix of them and I love them. I particularly like the 5 hole ones vs trying to twist 5 wires into a wire nut. As I work around the house and come across wire nuts they get replaced with Wago's. So far it's been 10 years and I haven't burned down my house yet.
Strange concern. As long as you are somewhat paying attention, those levers shouldn't be lifting at all. A stronger closed detent would be a good thing, but I don't think it's a real concern.
Thanks for testing this.
I've noticed that too-- another thing I've wondered is whether a Wago that has been used once or more times loses its holding power, especially when sort of tripped in the open position.
It would need to be much more than once or twice unless you damaged it during the process.
I was tripping last night. I’m still a bit damaged.😮
@@rob379lqz that's the stuff you should share. Or sell in a legal state. Make a mint.
I've heard that they are reusable, but only with equivalent gauge or heavier.
@@surferdude642 That's for the push-in Wagos like the 773. The 221s are just flatly reusable.
Thanks for conducting a good examination of the connections. Your methodology was sound and clearly demonstrated a reduction in strength do to the losening of the cam lock. Keep up the good work.
My thoughts of the issue / concern is not so much the lessening of connection from the partial opening of the lever. It is more the concern of the lever being easily moved to that position and then placement of a device (folding of wiring) within the electrical box applies additional pressure on the lever resulting in the lever becoming fully open and releasing the wire from the connector.
We replaced them in a factory in a plastic box on a pump motor that continually runs near the tempering furnace. The connector melted. They will work well in LED light fixtures. The factory has 100s running all the time. The little demand they have in the home would not cause problems.
I have wired our complete new built home with Wago 221 lever nuts and never had a problem with a wire pulling out. Even in crowded junction boxes where multiple modifications and multiple movements occurred none of the levers were half opened.
I would also recommend against wrapping Wagos with electrical tape as it takes away many of the advantages: cannot visually inspect wires through the clear plastic, harder to insert a tester for measurements, harder to make changes. I have never seen any German electrician recommend wrapping Wagos with electrical tape who have worked with some type of Wagos for decades. Additionally, this may even violate code in some countries as this is using a product in a way not intended or certified by the manufacturer.
It's a UL listed product. It's safe if used as intended. The level being another to chime out further is due to the spring being opened up due to the wire in there. Smaller wire means the lever comes out less.
Scott, a great test with surprising results, BUT I would argue there is a greater chance of failure, even danger, while replacing a switch or receptacle. I think that a protruding WAGO lever could hook on something while the bad device is being pulled out of the box, thereby releasing the associated wire --- and the person performing the work may not even notice!
Thanks for the feedback and I would have to agree with you. The partially opened lever arm hooking another wire is a real possibility. Thanks for the feedback!
@@EverydayHomeRepairs I don't know if you have ever mentioned this, but there is a handy 11 mm strip gauge printed right on the side of the Wago 221 lever nuts. Reviewing this feature can help viewers get the strip length right and prevent problems at the same time!
How does the adjustable weight work? Turning the dial changes the weight somehow - I am very perplexed.
I’ve been using these for a while now, with zero failures. Long before seeing this video, I made it a habit to put a single electrical tape wrap around the finished connector, just to be sure nothing would hang on the levers. Having seen this test, I’m glad I did that… not because I think it’s a flaw, but because it eliminates the concern altogether. Once a connector is properly secured in a box, nothing is going to be pulling on the conductor anyway, but an additional ‘security blanket” doesn’t harm anything.
I should note that I always taped wire nuts as well. I’ve seen them loosen and fall off in time, so why not secure them too? Like it is with these new connectors, there was a time when the old guard didn’t trust wire nuts. It’s the nature of people to trust what they know and scoff at new ways. This baby boomer has moved on, and Wago connectors are a great product in my opinion.
I am more interested in comparing the RESISTANCE of the connection with the lever fully down and partially up. I believe that properly installed in a box a connection should never receive that level of pull. But if the resistance increases, that could be a problem.
I don't have any problems with the half-open position. When I am folding the wires back in a box I find the Wago lever nuts allow me to position the wires much better than a twist connector. I can bend each wire almost independently so they fold in very cleanly. I have had only once or twice where the lever popped up to the half-open position and that was easily corrected. You don't have a bunch of wire pushed in willy-nilly all over with the Wagos and they create so much space because of the folding action. I love them for the Zwave switches and controllers I use because boxes are FULL UP and the 221, even better than the earlier gray ones, just let me fit everything.
Nice vid and test. I'm a EE (and long time software engineer) and a big proponent of testing to failure. I come from a machine tool family/background, so this kind of thing is in my blood. I just finished an electrical job for my friend's house and chose to stick with twisting 12 and 14 gauge with good quality wire nuts rather that Wago as the little lip on the tab made me unseasy especially with pushing the connections back into the boxes. One thought I've had was to file off the lip to lessen the chance of having one pop open and not being able to see it once the outlet or switch was tucked into place.
I'm using the inline connectors for replacing 2 fuse boxes with a main panel. Nice and clean.
I'd like to see you do a 4-wire measurement of the resistance of the connections. In conjunction with the infrared temperature measurements you have done before, this will give a definitive assessment of the quality of the connections in various configurations.
Pull out force had a whole different meaning in high school….
Thank you for sharing, I love the Wago's too. I don't think this has many effects on the wiring in the electrical box unless someone pulls it out, especially for 20lbs force
Someone with common sense.
20 lbs, very impressive -- Project Farm
You showed that it isn't holding as tight. As many have mentioned, the connector is unlikely to experience that much pull. I'm curious if there is more electrical resistance when the lever is pulled out due to the looser connection.
I would really doubt there would be any difference in electrical characteristics between something that can hold 20 pounds vs 25 pounds. Those are both _very_ firmly in full contact with the wire...
What I'd be more concerned about is what happens when even a little bit of extra force is applied to that tab (for example, by getting caught on another wire in the box when pushing everything back in), as I suspect that could easily make the force on the contacts much less, and possibly start to cause electrical issues.
I noticed this when I started using Wagos some years back. It's not great. My main concern is the level fully opening when I'm pushing wires back into a cabinet or box. That being said like many, I simply throw some tape around it and that has eliminated problems. I would like to see Wago remake these so they positively locked in the closed position when a wire was installed.
My additional fear would not be the pull out wire, but with the lever partially up, the risk of another wire touching it and fully opening it when pushing it back into the box. Then the wire contact is loose. I wrap a layer of tape like many other suggest. I was called out by someone in the comments in the past as an “amateur move”, but I’m not burning my house down because of playing it safe and having a redundancy.
In Europe when i used them we usually put some electrical tape around the lever to avoid them to be triggered by accident in the installation.
Young man, you always catch my attention on great products you user...👍👍👍
I’ve always kept an eye on the lever nuts as I tuck and push a device back in the box with a light of course and never had any issues.
They're not my primary connector but I like them for lighting fixtures and as an alternative to the 454 big blue wire nuts. I don't like how they flip up like that but as long as you're careful they don't snag on something and release the wire, they're fine.
Would you perform a similar test with a traditional wire nut? Curious what the failure weight is, using your same setup.
Ideal has started making a similar product. It would be interesting to compare them. I’m not a brand snob, so If the performance is similar, I’d be willing to use various brands.
Two problems with this test:
1. The weight are swinging which introduces wiggle in the and therefore helps pulling out the wire as is has a downward force pulling on it. The can 'walk' out the Wago.
2. Does the lever still move freely in the second test or is it sort of jammed? When jammed, you start applying pressure on the spring and therefor reducing the clamping force.
This test justifies are re-do under more controlled environment.
I love the WAGO units
When I'm able to I use them daily at work
Only time I use wire nuts is in high temp setups where I use hi temp wire nuts
It isn't stated during the video whether the second round of three trials (with the lever partly raised) used three fresh new WAGOs, or reused the three WAGOs that failed at 27.5 pounds in the first round. Pulling a wire out of a WAGO might compromise the future strength of the WAGO's bite on the wire. It would be nice to test whether pulling a wire out of a WAGO that has its lever down reduces the WAGO's future ability to hold a wire.
For each of the 6 trials I used new WAGOs. When the wire pulls out it does damage the internals and wouldn't make for an apples to apples comparison. Thanks for the feedback.
@@EverydayHomeRepairs : Should viewers be warned not to reuse a WAGO that was tested in this manner?
Would love to see this test and others for the new ideal lever nuts. I also use wago after discovering them on ur channel but i hate that i have to order them and cant buy them in store. My lowes is now carrying the ideal lever nuts
I use them but I started wrapping them with electrical tape because I found pushing them back in the gang box sometimes pushes the tab open, other than that issue I find them convenient.
Informative yet succinct, I appreciate your video.😊
I used them for the first time just recently and had the levers open. You need to make sure they’re closed when you put them in the box. This equals another step… I will only use Wagos when I have a space constraint. I’m going to try the ideals next time.
I also did the same, wrapped electrical tape around the closed Wago . Thanks Don
If you feel it, it's just loose because the latch is stopping on the wire, but the level can keep going. Either way it's still holding the wire
I think the issue is not the static loading. The issue is when you try to push the wires back into the box, the leveler can get caught on a wire and forced open as you push it. At that point, it is probably very difficult to see even if you try to visually inspect. Wrapping it with insulating tape simply addresses any concerns.
WAGO's are great and my go to when I have short wires in a Box but for all solid wires with enough length I still use wire nuts. Also when using solid & stranded they are good to use but if your so concerned about grip wrap electrical tape around the WAGO to make sure the levers remain down though it's more likely an over kill.
I have been using these since they first came out and observed early on that pushing the connector back into the box lever first could be a problem. I would like to see WAGO resolve this, perhaps with a cover of some sort.
Do you think that wrapping the Wago in electrical tape would result in increased heat retention?
I'm anticipating more pushback from the electricians in the audiance.
(Just a curious engineer.)
I use electrical tape to wrap it once over the levers once I’m done setting up. This prevents from knocking the levers.
Not sure the weight thing concerns me as I don't understand why anyone would implement them with under stress and potential failure from wires pulling out. What concerns me a bit more, is the wiggle ... which indicates that the contact area on the wire is minimal for current and potential heat issues. But, thx for the vid.
As a statistician, I salute your willingness to do a serious experience here.
Have you pull tested wire nuts?
Water is 8 pounds per gallon, a full 5 gallon pail weighs 40 pounds, add some lead if needed. With a funnel and hose you could add weight smoothly, and measure failure to the ounce.
I have been using 221 Wagos for at least seven years and they are the BEST. Always verify the wire is properly seated and just as a safety precaution in case someone gets into the wiring and is not as careful as I am, I tape the Wagos shut with a 2" strip of 3M Super 88. I also run some tape around the perimeter of GFCI and regular outlets just as a precaution. I know it's not necessary, it is just the way I do it.. seems to upset some electricians. Many electrical best practices and / or codes are intended to protect the next guy.
Thanks for the feedback and you are right taping outlets and wire connectors usually sparks a pretty healthy debate 😂
Nice testing. Between the 20 pound load (plenty high) and having an awareness of the lever being in the proper position, I agree with yoiu-no problem using the Wagos.
Do you think that flaw could be gotten rid of by just throwing a band of electrical tape around it after making the connections? Going to be installing a smart dimmer wired off of an outlet with pigtails to control some under cabinet lights and want to do it the safest way and avoid burning my house down so trying to learn😅
I have had problems when tucking those things back into a standard box, especially when converting a series set of wires into parallel. It's easy to misaligned the wire in the lever although it's clamped down.
Another flaw in this connector is the orange plastic is not UV stabilized. If left in the sun for 6 months the orange lever crumbles like a cookie. The clear part is ok. Im in the outdoor lighting business a we use thousands a year but will try the new Ideal lever connectors.
Don't forget to consider the insulation on the conductors. Table 310.16 shows that the temperature rating of TW conductors is 60 degrees Celcius (140 Fahrenheit). I'm sure that many DIY'ers in your audience will encounter Romex using conductors with this temperature rating that was in use before the 1984 NEC required upgrade to 90 degree C for this cable, without realizing its lower temperature rating. Your other video, titled "Debunking the Pros" regarding Wago 221 vs wirenuts, in my opinion, actually VALIDATES the pros, because you've demonstrated that the lever connectors that you tested are significantly hotter. The pros also know that having hot connections leads to problems. One example of this is that the insulation on the conductors becomes brittle. UA-camr GreatScott! also tested, and found that the resistance of your Wago 221 connectors was 14 times higher than wire nuts (2.2milliohms vs 0.15milliohms). So, yeah, you validated the pros. They know that what meets minimum legal requirements and what is advisable can be different things. The number of comments on that performance test speaks to the fact that we really appreciate actual performance tests - please keep up the great work!!
2:39 ya know Ideal makes lever nuts (branded something diff name) and the levers are reversed on the “nut” and do like that design much better when putting into boxes etc….as don’t gotta “worry as much” of lever lifting since the design is diff; but does it mean it won’t fail ever…..know ideal and other thing, not a easy to find and buy the ideal version compared to buying Wago’s which easier to find and buy.
Wish had ideal version for this test, for comparison.
Cheers✌🏻
Hey!!!
They make a waterproof case for these now. I have not seen them yet in the big box but I'm sure they are coming soon.
I think some of the concerns comes from when pushing the connector back into the box if it is partially open the partially open latch could catch on something I.e. another wire or something else in the box and open fully without you realizing it.
Just put a single or double wrap of electrical tap with a fold end for easy removal and then they are secure. The new Ideal In-Sure connectors don't have that issue. I use both and if you are aware then you should not really have issues with either brand.
I just use electrical tape and it provides piece of mind that it is secure. Thank you for testing this, I use these connectors as well.
Until you leave.
While your test is interesting, I have never felt the need to hang anything from the wire and have been told never to place weight on electrical wires period. Having said that I am also a fan of the lever nuts and use them exclusively on all my warring projects. My pack out is chucked full of the WAGO lever nuts of all sizes.
Thank for the video
WAY GO.. at least that is how we say it in California. if you want a long lasting trouble free splice, than use a Ideal wire nut. However we use wagos all the time where we know that the load is not max'd out on the circuit.
I understand that Wagos have been in use for 20 years in Europe, but Europe uses 240 volts. That gives twice as much electrical pressure to force it's way through connections. I think more time is needed in North America to prove it's robustness over time. I personally would only use Wagos on low amp connections like light fixtures for the time being. There is a lot to be said for the simplicity of wire nuts. Our house is over 50 years old with aluminum wire and wire nuts. When I run across old wire nuts in service, they're fine. I don't even know if those wire nuts are rated for use with aluminum wire. Wire nuts still provide more than just a tip of surface contact area. Wagos do add extra complexity to a connector that can have more points of failure. I personally am going to stick with wire nuts which are proven to be safe and reliable. Otherwise, do what you want. I don't see anything wrong with using Wagos if you are just more comfortable using them. I do get it, and I hope they prove just as safe and reliable in North America and they have been in Europe.
I wrap electrical tape around them toward the lever end bc I felt like I would pop it over stuffing it in the box. I wrap so I can still see the conductors in the end and have piece of mind that the lever ain’t opening and having a loose connection.
A simple low cost design change could be how slide or rotary switches rest into certain set positions. The lever could have a slight bump on the side, and the body have a small hole. When the lever goes down, the bump and the hole line up and holds the lever in place. That will make it a little harder to lift up.
I noticed that on a fan I repaired using them, and securing the wires to the fan grill with zip ties that they do start to loosen over time. Not knowing if it's fan vibration or just happened naturally, I have just decided to wrap them all with electrical tape, like some electricians and DIY people did with the traditional twisted nuts. At this point, I do not see any reason to stop using them. They're great for many applications and stranded to solid connections too.
Many people use WAGO lever nuts as opposed to wire nuts in industrial applications specifically because they hold better in environments that have vibration. So I wouldn't think there is an issue with the fan producing vibration that loosens things up.
@@EverydayHomeRepairs Only going by observation. But I still love Wago anyway and as I said, I see no reason to stop using Wago. Just be sure to wrap them with electric tape for extra security.