How to deal with all the neutrals in that box!!!

[Illusion]

We all know the frustration. A two or three gang box with a nightmare neutral bundle, especially if you are putting 2-3 Insteon switches in there.

 

I have tried lots and lots of connectors. Wire nuts are out right off. I very much liked the idea of the multi-conductor push wire terminal blocks available at the big box hardware stores, but I had several issues with these; mainly that connections to stranded cable are permanent and they also have limited gauge ranges within a single terminal block. The permanent thing is a killer here. I am sure I am the only person who ever has had to replace an Insteon switch, but when I do I do not want to have to cut the push-wire terminal block off and get a new one. That is totally unacceptable as I would have to cut the neutrals off the Insteon switches that are staying in the box, and restrip them even shorter.

 

So went on a quest for the perfect solution. And I found it! Wago 222 series connectors.

 

• 222-412 two conductor
  222-413 three conductor
  222-415 five conductor
  

 

The Compact Connectors with CAGE CLAMP® COMPACT fitting can connect up to 5 stripped fine-stranded conductors with cross sections from 28 to 12 AWG solid and stranded conductors.

 

From an install perspective they are great!

• You get to work with one conductor at a time. No more wishing you had 5 hands.
  They make a completely positive connection
  They are immune from creep
  They are completely removable.

 

When the time comes to replace a switch they really shine. Simple lift the lever locking the conductor for the switch you are removing and pull the wire out. Insert new switch wire and lower lever. No messing with that giant bundle of neutrals ever again. All the rest of the neutrals stay nicely connected throughout the entire process.

 

I bought a couple of 2 conductor versions to play with, assuming that the 5 conductor would be where I would really love them but I was very pleased with one major benefit to this connector. I was holding a ceiling light fixture up trying to connect it to the power line and could not figure out how to do it with only two hands. I needed one hand to hold up the lamp. Wire nuts take two hands to install. Then I remembered I had a couple of the two conductor Wago products in a drawer from the test purchase. I got them out, installed them on the power line, clamped them down and opened the other side of the connector. Now it was super easy to put the light up. Hold the light up with one hand. Guided the lamp's conductor into the open terminal with the other hand. Easy because with the lever open there is no insertion resistance. Then just snap the lever down!

 

Immediately after putting that light up I ordered a complete assortment of Wago 222 series connectors. I will not be without them again!

 

There are some cons to this connector:

 

• They are expensive, especially compared to wire nuts. You are not likely to use them for all applications, but when they are the answer, nothing else can compare.
  They are not readily available. You are likely to have to order them online.

 

 

 

http://www.wago.us/products/2631.htm

[Brian H]

They look nice.

I have used the 773 series a few times.

They have a push in style clamp and not the nice flip release.

[oberkc]

My bigger difficulty with replacing switches has less to do with wire nuts and more with trying to cram too much stiff wire into too little space, then dealing with the tangled mess when replacement becomes necessary. Once the devices are pulled from the box and the wires untangled, removing and replacing wire nuts becomes pretty trivial in most cases.

 

While I like the concept of these, I don't think I will adopt them for broad use. Price is one reason. Another is that they appear bulkier than wire nuts, taking even more space within my box. I may try some of these for testing devices, however, and for installations where I expect much turnover.

[Illusion]

Oberkc,

 

I understand. My issue in that regard has always been that I need enough wire to pull out of the box, put wire nut on, and then begin stuffing.

 

In my 4 gang boxes with tons of neutral connections I was able to cut most of the neutral wire off because I do not need to get the wire out of the box to make a good connection. I can work inside the box and I only need enough wire to make it to the connector.

 

But yes, they are bigger than wire nuts.

[oberkc]

I was able to cut most of the neutral wire off because I do not need to get the wire out of the box to make a good connection.

 

That is an outstanding point, and one that I might be willing to take, myself. This certainly would make things much easier. Unfortunately, for those to whom this is important, I wonder if this might be a code violation.

[TJF1960]

Nice. Thanks Illusion! Over the course of installing 50+ devices in the last couple of years (not to mention replacement devices) I can think of a number of times that using these would have simplified the installation and allowed me to trim all the wires in the box shorter which would have freed up space and made putting the devices in the boxes a lot easier. I agree I wouldn’t use them everywhere, but certainly in some two-gang boxes and all three-gang and larger.

 

I did a quick search, Amazon has the 5 position connector for about 57 cents each and another place http://www.galesburgelectric.com/Wago-222-415-LEVER-NUTS-5-Conductor-Compact-Connectors.html has them at 38 cents a piece.

 

I think spending 38 cents a piece is well worth my spending 5 + minutes messing with all the excess wiring, or being in a position where I need a third or fourth hand!

 

Thanks for posting Illusion,

Tim

 

Edit: Just checked the galesburgelectric.com site, they are 38 cents a piece but they hose you on shipping. Basically getting them from Amazon or this other place ends up costing about the same with shipping which was about 72 cents each....still worth it IMHO. If anyone finds them cheaper though please post.

t

[ergodic]

Dude, you totally, totally rock. These things are awesome. 15 minutes with these and I never wanted to see another wire nut again.

 

The 5-wire ones are a tad larger volume-wise than a mid-size wire nut, true. (The 2-wire seems smaller, and the 3-wire roughly the same.) But they are a nice rectangular shape and so far I find it easier to stuff them in a corner or side without running into the clearance problems caused by space-wasting, conical-shaped wire nuts. Not to mention the dozen other advantages they seem to have.

 

NEC 300.14 does require 3" extending outside the box. I suppose who's going to care after final permit sign-off? Still, that's a one-way street and like oberkc I'd be very wary of taking wire lengths down much less than that, regardless of the connector. A deep-well or side-cavity remodel box seems to me a better way if the existing box is stuffed full.