Chocblock advice please

sarabande

sarabande

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I am changing 30 yr old fluorescents for LED tubes and the inputs to the driver in the new units are at the 'wrong' end.

Can I use chocblock fittings , or do I need to buy something cleverer like Wagos to extend the wires from the ceiling pls ?
 
The easiest way is just to extend the wires using a crimp connector, but you do need a proper ratchet crimping tool. Or could be soldered with heat shrink tubing to insulate . Or just use Wagos, not choc blocks. Or turn the lamp 180° ?
 
Assuming it's a boat and it's stranded cable not solid core we're talking about.
Using wagos is a neat easy solution if you have them. As has been said, soldering or crimping would also be ok if done correctly.
But nothing wrong with choc bloc in this application. Use the type with the flat insert to spread the load on the cable so the screw is not bearing down directly on the strands. I'll bet the final connection to the light is this type or similar, so no reason not to replicate it in this application.
Used correctly, choc blocks have served us well for donkeys years and in the absence of more modern terminations, can be used safely and reliably.
 
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greeny said:
Assuming it's a boat and it's stranded cable not solid core we're talking about.
Using wagos is a neat easy solution if you have them. As has been said, soldering or crimping would also be ok if done correctly.
But nothing wrong with choc bloc in this application. Use the type with the flat insert to spread the load on the cable so the screw is not bearing down directly on the strands. I'll bet the final connection to the light is this type or similar, so no reason not to replicate it in this application.
Used correctly, choc blocks have served us well for donkeys years and in the absence of more modern terminations, can be used safely and reliably.
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Bur check that none of the parts are steel or they will rust. (I have some Klippon ones which have steel screws and clamping strips.)

If putting cables directly under grub screws use bootlace ferrules
 
PetiteFleur said:
The easiest way is just to extend the wires using a crimp connector, but you do need a proper ratchet crimping tool. Or could be soldered with heat shrink tubing to insulate . Or just use Wagos, not choc blocks. Or turn the lamp 180° ?
Click to expand...
No need for a ratchet tool but they should be used with parallel jaw pliers. Usually ones that don’t completely close.
 
Choc blocks need to have leafs inside, so the screws don't chew the wires, as said above. They also need to have stainless metal parts. I never, ever, use choc blocks, horrible things.

Extending wires can be done with crimp connectors, but need to be done with ratchet crimping pliers, which i seem to recall you have.

Soldering also works, of course, but a bit fiddly working overhead for such a simple job.

Suggestions of using anything else are incorrect and result in poorly made, bodged connections that are unreliable.
 
I would use wagos as much better connection than choc blocks and no screws that could vibrate loose . There is a reason why most electrician s use wagos and not choc blocks .
 
PetiteFleur said:
The easiest way is just to extend the wires using a crimp connector, but you do need a proper ratchet crimping tool. .......
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I have always thought that to be correct, but my ratchet crimping tool is on the boat in Turkey and I needed to fit some crimps recently so I had to use the simple plier type. I made a test crimp on 2.5mm section stranded cable and tried to pull it apart, and it held firm against a much stronger pull than anything it could have faced in use. The real issue is selecting crimps that fit reasonably well onto the wire in the first place, and that is particularly true of a ratchet tool which releases at a pre-set point. If the wire is a bit too small for the uncompressed crimp a ratchet tool will not make a secure job, whereas the simple plier type used with a firm hand will keep squeezing down until the wire is gripped.
 
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Electricians like wago connectors because they save time and need no skill to use.

If you want to make your choc-block connection 'proper' with stranded cables, put a bootlace ferrule on the wire before inserting in the chocblock.

But everyone's house is half full of mains plugs with screws onto stranded cables as connections. It generally works. If it doesn't work for you, maybe one should ask why that might be?
 
lw395 said:
Electricians like wago connectors because they save time and need no skill to use.

If you want to make your choc-block connection 'proper' with stranded cables, put a bootlace ferrule on the wire before inserting in the chocblock.

But everyone's house is half full of mains plugs with screws onto stranded cables as connections. It generally works. If it doesn't work for you, maybe one should ask why that might be?
Click to expand...

Your house is wired with fine stranded cable, as used on boats ? Mine is wired with t&e, not hardly what i'd call stranded, unless you wanted to be pedantic and call three wires "stranded".
 
I have never had an issue with chocblocks, I use ones with brass innards, a size up than necessary so I can bare the wire, fold the core back over the sleave and insert it into the block with the sleave side facing the screw. Then when you screw down on the sleave it forms a strong vibration resistant joint.
 
LadyInBed said:
I have never had an issue with chocblocks, I use ones with brass innards, a size up than necessary so I can bare the wire, fold the core back over the sleave and insert it into the block with the sleave side facing the screw. Then when you screw down on the sleave it forms a strong vibration resistant joint.
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I don't think that's a good idea. The insulation can compress or split in due course, leading to relaxation of pressure on the wire and a poor connection. Wires are best clamped securely.

I quite like the convenience of Wago connectors, but they end up a bit bulkier than small choc blocks. For the tiny currents involved in LED lights, gel-filled crimp connectors (Scotchlok or lookalikes) are OK.
 
pvb said:
I don't think that's a good idea. The insulation can compress or split in due course, leading to relaxation of pressure on the wire and a poor connection. Wires are best clamped securely.
Click to expand...
As I say, I've never had an issue (in 50+ years)
.For the tiny currents involved in LED lights, gel-filled crimp connectors (Scotchlok or lookalikes) are OK.
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Good when there is damp or water about.
 
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