Screwless socket

[JohnRoss]

These new fangled 16A sockets, I am looking at one by legrand. You just poke the wire in a hole and it grips it, fine, but what are the three coloured buttons below the holes for? Do they release the wires? Don't want to risk nadgering it!.......JR

[Dave&Olive]

[quote user="JohnRoss"]These new fangled 16A sockets, I am looking at one by legrand. You just poke the wire in a hole and it grips it, fine, but what are the three coloured buttons below the holes for? Do they release the wires? Don't want to risk nadgering it!.......JR[/quote]

 

 

           in a nutshell.... yes  

                        Dave

[JohnRoss]

Ta Dave...........JR

[La Guerriere]

Yep, but the spring grips the wires very well, so you do have to push quite hard to release

[JohnRoss]

Indeed you do but thanks for the info.......................JR

[Gluestick]

Being a professional cynic, I would be somewhat concerned over the Contact Point Resistance at 16 Amp.

Screwless compression junctions have been around electronics and Telcom for many years: and automotive electronics/electrics too, come to that.

Give me soldered connection every day!

[:)]

[Ian]

I have heard it said that "spring grip" connections like that and Wagos (sp?) are better than "screw clamp" connections, as these can loosen over time?

[Jonzjob]

[quote user="Gluestick"]

Being a professional cynic, I would be somewhat concerned over the Contact Point Resistance at 16 Amp.

Screwless compression junctions have been around electronics and Telcom for many years: and automotive electronics/electrics too, come to that.

Give me soldered connection every day!

[:)]

[/quote]

I remember being in an R.A.F. transit hotel in Blackpool several lifetimes ago and the light bulbs were soldered in the sockets! Was that anything to do with you???

IBM always used to use wire wraps, where the wire was wrapped round a pin a certain number of times, on all of the huge mainframe logic boards. It gave a much better connection than solder and never oxidized like solder can

[Gluestick]

[quote user="Jonzjob"]
I remember being in an R.A.F. transit hotel in Blackpool several lifetimes ago and the light bulbs were soldered in the sockets! Was that anything to do with you???[/quote]

To prevent "Light" fingered tea leaves, Jonz![:D]

Sorry about that! Sun's got to what passes for me brain today. Hope all well with you both?

Bit of a bugger to change the bulbs when they blow at 3.00AM though..............[blink]

[quote]IBM always used to use wire wraps, where the wire was wrapped round a pin a certain number of times, on all of the huge mainframe logic boards. It gave a much better connection than solder and never oxidized like solder can
[/quote]

Wire Wrapping was very common with logic boards: that said a good soldered joint and strain relief on connecting wires is preferred: solder joints don't corrode, if the flux is cleaned off and the connection then laquered with that gooey green stuff.

Of course, since so much now is "On Chip" and the chips invariably surface mount and the whole board lacquered, one only has the headers for the In-Outs, rather than interconnecting wires all over the show.

[gyn_paul]

Meanwhile back at the subject......

 

How do people feel about the 3 and 4-wire bornes for circuit wiring as compared with what I call choc-block connectors, and the French seem to call dominos?

p

[Sydney and Huggy]

Gyn_Paul

Did you mean chocbox or terminal blocks.

Our sparky asked us to send him a supply of chocbox

(http://www.screwfix.com/prods/46538/Electrical-Supplies/Cable-Accessories/Connectors-Blocks/Chocbox) and all the connections were done with them.

[gyn_paul]

Are you sure ?? I mean.... well... that is to say.... in as much as they look like anything, I think they resemble a box of chocolates even less than a block.

Yes, those ghastly things with two screw terminals for each wire. As you can probably tell, I quite rate the bornes.

 

p

[JohnRoss]

Are you sure that you did not mean chocblock or barrier strip? This is chocbox http://www.chocbox.info/ .............JR

[gyn_paul]

No, I mean the actual connectors which I've never been keen on; my father (electrician after the war) would always use them single-ended : i.e. both wires in the same side, cut long enough to be held by both screws.  solid conductors in multiples, I find, have a nasty habit of working themselves loose no matter how tightly screwed in. But then bornes are pretty useless for multi-strand cables... so I suppose it's a case of horses for courses.

 

p

[Gluestick]

And this is precisely why I like solder coating such wires, whether solid or stranded; 'cos the solder is soft and the screws bite down into the solder and grip: whereas copper is hard enough to not compress even with steel screws.

Which is how and why they work loose.

 

[Jonzjob]

You just need to be a bit carefull on multi strand wires that you don't get the solder running up and under the insulation too far or it can make it so as it breaks easily? But I suppose that if it's in a boxin the wall it ain't going to get much movement?

[JohnRoss]

Don't know if the copper they use in electric solid core wire in France is softer than the stuff you get in the UK but when I have modified stuff I have previously connected in chocblock the wires have had a significant dinge in them and appear really squashed. Maybe I do screws too tight but I doubt that they would loosen and I would have thought that good metal to metal contact was assured. As others have suggested I try to put all the wires in from the same side so both screws bite on all the wires ..............................JR  

[Gluestick]

[quote user="Jonzjob"]You just need to be a bit carefull on multi strand wires that you don't get the solder running up and under the insulation too far or it can make it so as it breaks easily? But I suppose that if it's in a boxin the wall it ain't going to get much movement?
[/quote]

If it is liable to significant movement, Jonz.................then that's what strain relief sleeves/grommets were made for!

It's the same prob when one solders multi-strand direct to PCB or solder pins; whatever.

My prob with most connectors and say e.g. 2.5 m.m single is the wire is round: and the screw basically flat. Thus the contact point is tangenital.

And this becomes more of a prob when two or more wires are connected in.

A nice blob of soft solder et voila !