Serious question, why does everyone swear by Wago connectors now?

I was on a job at the old Miller school gym last month and the foreman insisted we use Wagos for all the lighting retrofits. I've always been a twist-on guy, but I gave it a shot. Two of the six connections on the first circuit were loose after I snapped the levers closed, and I had to go back and redo them. Has anyone else run into this or did I just get a bad batch?

3 comments

3 Comments

brooke4751mo ago

You said they were "loose after I snapped the levers closed" and that's the part that gets me. Were you using the right size Wagos for the wire gauge? I've seen guys try to cram 12 gauge into a connector clearly stamped for 14 and it just doesn't click right. Also, did you strip back enough insulation? If the bare copper isn't going all the way in, that lever won't lock down proper.

anna5671mo ago

I mean come on man, my circuit still works fine even if the lever feels a little floppy. You ever actually had a Wago fail on you or you just going off what you heard? I always hear people online acting like loose Wagos are gonna burn your house down but I've never seen it happen with my own eyes. Last year I did a whole basement rewire with the same box and not a single issue yet. And my wires are stripped fine, maybe like half an inch or whatever. If it holds and doesn't arc I don't see the big deal.

brooke4751mo ago

Half inch sounds a bit short for some of those connectors, I've had them feel loose until I pushed the wire in further and got that extra quarter inch of copper in there. Maybe try stripping them closer to 12mm, that notch on the side of the Wago is actually there for a reason.