House Wiring (Romex) Push In Connectors

[caver]

Low amperage stuff they would be ok. These could be crap but Ideal generally makes decent electrical products in my experience. Before I retired we were replacing many of the 70's era fluorescent lamps in the power plant with LED. Often that type of connector, in the amazon link, would be included. I had a few of them that were junk out of the box (may have been some other chinesium brand). I like wire nuts and take the time to twist the solid copper wires together before screwing the nut on. I would often treat stranded wire the same way but not as religious. Someone early in my career taught me that...probably in the Navy.

 

[4570Man]

I’ve used thousands of those and they’re fantastic. I’ve never had one fail under its own fault. I rate them better than wire nuts especially trying to connect 3-4 wires. Another plus is most light fixtures now days come with small stranded wire. Have fun trying to connect that to 2 12 gauge solid conductor wires without these.

 

[bcp]

Can't use any available locally. My house is all 10 gauge wiring. Stuffed into little boxes by gorillas!

Bruce

 

[Industrial Toys]

I never use the push in connectors in a receptacle if I can use screw terminals. Call me old fashioned.

Suspected push in lamp sockets are giving me grief with an Arc Fault breaker, but the jury is still out on that one.

 

[dlctcg]

We have been using them for years.... wire nuts have there place (when installed correctly) & so do the push on connectors. The Ideal ones are definitely UL listed... I would guess 85% +++ of all the recess lighting fixtures (& others) we use come with them pre-installed & they are all UL listed or we would not use them...

Industrial Toys - OMG, I hate Arc Fault breakers... so many issues... Can't say we have ever seen Push-in connectors be a problem, but we specialize in lighting control & automation systems & Arc Fault is our nightmare...

 

[Industrial Toys]

They made STAB loc breakers for years that were Listed, but apparently very dangerous. I wouldn't put much faith in a listing. So someone got taken out to a nice lunch! lol

At least with a GFI you can measure return current, but how do you even begin to troublehoot an ARC fault breaker, short of by process of elimination.

 

[dlctcg]

They made STAB loc breakers for years that were Listed, but apparently very dangerous. I wouldn't put much faith in a listing. So someone got taken out to a nice lunch! lol

At least with a GFI you can measure return current, but how do you even begin to troublehoot an ARC fault breaker, short of by process of elimination.

I agree with you... Arc fault are code because of really nice lunches also... & I hate them...

As far as the push-on connectors.... I'm just stating this on "our experience" with the push-on connector which we have installed over the 10++ yrs & have not been an issue for us & I'm guess the number is in the thousands for us.

I only mentioned the UL Listing because someone else mentioned that they might not be... UL Listing is not a cheap process & there are tons of fixtures out there that are not listed at all (UL, ETL, etc)... or otherwise..

 

[cqaigy2]

I've used the for a while. I think they are much better then most people using wire nuts.

 

[radios1]

they are not the same as the spring terminals in receptacle, these are apparently significantly better. i will say my utility trailer from 2010 is wired 100% with them, and i have 0 failures.

agreed, the spring terminals in receptacles and switches should NEVER be used!!.. that's a shortcut that has consequences..

 

[Tractor Seabee]

I won't use them. Ever!! They rely on spring tension to make contact. The contact area is pretty small. I don't know if they are even UL approved. Anyhow, over time the spring tension leaves the metal and you're left with an intermittent connection. That can cause overheating. If you're using them on aluminum wire (found in a few houses built in the seventies) the problem is multiplied as aluminum compresses over time. It becomes a fire hazard. Yes, I actually did work for about forty years in the electrical construction trades.

Amen, After several burnouts on that option for wall switches and receptacles I now use the screw terminals.

Ron