On the cutting edge of saving a few bucks and expensive home insurance claims from a house fire, we find clones of certified and tested electrical connectors, even when many would argue that so-called wire nuts are a fire hazard, no matter how many certification labels there are on them. When it comes to hassle-free wire connectors, Wago terminal connectors are an attractive target to save some money on due to their perceived high cost. But how expensive are they really?

This was the thinking behind a recent video from [GreatScott!] (also embedded after the break) when he hopped onto everyone’s favorite e-commerce website and searched for ‘clamp lever terminal’. The resulting selection of seven connectors come in a wide variety of shapes, colors and configurations, although all are supposedly rated for mains voltage (250 VAC) and are safe enough to be placed in a permanent installation.

While testing the connectors with high current, fire and mechanical strength tests, the conclusion was that they are all good enough for hobbyist use and some short connections during testing, but only those with independent certification marks (such as VDE) filled him with enough confidence to consider using internal wiring. One of these are the connectors from the German brand ViD, which seem to be a slightly cheaper alternative to the Wago connectors, with similar safety guarantees.

In the end, it’s the certification that matters, as long-term reliability is paramount in home wiring, not whether or not a few dollars have been saved on material costs.

This post Testing 7 Wago-Like Wire Connectors for Science and Fire

was original published at “https://hackaday.com/2022/04/25/testing-7-wago-like-wire-connectors-for-science-and-fire/”