Wiring centres/junction boxes

OK, so not exactly the most fascinating subject, but are they the subject of fervered religious views as to whether one is better than another, or does no-one really give two figs?

I'm thinking purely in terms of the multiple choc-bloc styles ones here; amount of room inside for cabling, hooking up lots of connections to the same point, are cable clamps included or not, that sort of thing.

I know they're only a few quid, but there's a choice of half a dozen at the local merchants, so wondered if the real-world could tell me something that a price label on the shelf couldn't. It may be "the standard", but the Honeywell box seems tiny...

Reply to
Peter B
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Wago seem to be getting a good reputation:

Reply to
A.Lee

Wago.

Especially if you're switching a bunch of lights and you need to common five or six wires together.

TLC do handy mixed starter boxes.

Reply to
Andy Dingley

Reply to
The Medway Handyman

They are all pretty similar. The Honeywell one only has a clamp for the supply cable, others (I cannot remember which) do have clamps for all the cables.

Reply to
ARWadsworth

I got a sample pack - very good they seem too. Sod terminal strip.

Now, like the OP, I need to find a convenient box for them.

I got a Wagobox and a Wiska box (100-mumble mm).

The Wago is a neat idea but I find the fact the cables only come out of one end limiting.

The 100mm Wiska wastes a ton of space inside with moulded mountings for terminals and crap but is otherwise a very neat idea.

Both would be find where you want 3-4 cables jointed - but if you were using it as a star point for a complicated lighting circuit (LoopIn, LoopOut, 2 switch drops and a couple of lamps, neither would be any use IMO.

One of the bigger Wiska's might be OK or just a plain box that you drill a few 20mm holes in.

Reply to
Tim Watts

Ahh right, my fault for not being clearer now I've just read it back; I'm talking about boxes for use as the central heating wiring centre, the 10+ terminal ones.

Having said that, those Wagos do look rather spangly...

Reply to
Peter B

If you read the Wago web site, I do believe it states that those terminals (any of the 3 main Wago types) do NOT need to be fixed down, and have a very good (dry) IP rating - ie no possibility of shorts between flapping terminals).

So that does nicely reduce the problem to one of "which box"?

Reply to
Tim Watts

Mine is this, and if that's what you mean, you are right - it is small for all the cables that will eventually be crammed in there.

Honeywell Sundial Plan Wiring Centre

It's currently been hiding on the shelf uninstalled for a year now, me being a wimp to going outside to the cold garage to tidy up the choc block bare naked rats nest that's out there, while not risking the house being without heating while doing it.

I've even had alternative plans of sticking a bit of DIN rail and clipon terminals inside a suitable enclosure, where the advantage would be the wiring arrangement would be more visible to fault-finding. The honeywell wiring centre hides it all on the reverse of the PCB which is glued into the ABS box. And that PCB is made of SRBP and outside is sometimes damp...

So I procrastinate. Project will be a done job in 2012 ...

Reply to
Adrian C

I *think* the larger of these is the one I fitted, difficult to tell from the photo as it doesn't show internals, it had cable clamps, plenty of ways, and space for a relay I needed to control the boiler.

Reply to
Andy Burns

Just wanted to follow-up on everyone's comments from a few weeks ago.

I ordered some Wago pushwire connectors and boxes out of idle curiosity

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and got to use a couple at the weekend, replacing a horrible nest of JBs under the floorboards that had the lights dimming if you moved them.

Net result - I'm converted. Granted, they're probably not the answer to every problem, but they were to this one.

Reply to
Peter B

That's another convert. We will soon have enough converts to make a cult:-)

Reply to
ARWadsworth

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