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| UK diy (uk.d-i-y) For the discussion of all topics related to diy (do-it-yourself) in the UK. All levels of experience and proficency are welcome to join in to ask questions or offer solutions. |
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#1
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Poor quality connections
I was having some difficulty getting a good tight fitting of some terminal strips and when I examined them I realised why.
http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php/...nal-blocks.jpg They have fractured with the force of tightening the screws on conductors. Now I'm wondering where else in the house they're lurking ... No wonder there are electrical fires. Owain |
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#3
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Poor quality connections
On Thu, 25 Apr 2019 05:27:35 -0700 (PDT),
wrote: I was having some difficulty getting a good tight fitting of some terminal strips and when I examined them I realised why. http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php/...nal-blocks.jpg They have fractured with the force of tightening the screws on conductors. Now I'm wondering where else in the house they're lurking ... No wonder there are electrical fires. I managed to over-tighten screw on an MK socket, which stripped the screw. When I made a warranty claim, they did not dispute it. Surely a screw should be close to indestructible? |
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#4
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Poor quality connections
On 25/04/2019 13:27, wrote:
I was having some difficulty getting a good tight fitting of some terminal strips and when I examined them I realised why. http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php/...nal-blocks.jpg They have fractured with the force of tightening the screws on conductors. Now I'm wondering where else in the house they're lurking ... No wonder there are electrical fires. Owain Well hopefully they are accessible so the smoke might attract your attention. OTOH, there's no knowing what a previous owner has done. |
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#5
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Poor quality connections
On 25/04/2019 13:37, Erik the Pink wrote:
wrote: I was having some difficulty getting a good tight fitting of some terminal strips and when I examined them I realised why. http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php/...nal-blocks.jpg They have fractured with the force of tightening the screws on conductors. Now I'm wondering where else in the house they're lurking ... No wonder there are electrical fires. Owain I recently discovered Wago connectors. So far they seem pretty good. Were they contained inside a box of some sort ?. |
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#6
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Poor quality connections
On Thursday, 25 April 2019 14:35:06 UTC+1, Andrew wrote:
Were they contained inside a box of some sort ?. I was trying to put them in a box, yes. These were new terminal strips which I think I bought a couple of years ago, although I can't find the original details, and was fitting today. I know I bought a bulk load of them in various sizes in preparation for rewiring. Owain |
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#7
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Poor quality connections
In article ,
wrote: I was having some difficulty getting a good tight fitting of some terminal strips and when I examined them I realised why. http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php/...nal-blocks.jpg They have fractured with the force of tightening the screws on conductors. Now I'm wondering where else in the house they're lurking ... No wonder there are electrical fires. Where did you buy them? I'd expect the head of the screw to become chewed up long before the housing split. -- *Kill one man and you're a murderer, kill a million youand 're a conqueror. Dave Plowman London SW To e-mail, change noise into sound. |
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#8
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Poor quality connections
Andrew wrote:
On 25/04/2019 13:27, wrote: I was having some difficulty getting a good tight fitting of some terminal strips and when I examined them I realised why. http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php/...nal-blocks.jpg They have fractured with the force of tightening the screws on conductors. Now I'm wondering where else in the house they're lurking ... No wonder there are electrical fires. Owain Well hopefully they are accessible so the smoke might attract your attention. Does accessible imply no effective smoke barrier? I'm not convinced. OTOH, there's no knowing what a previous owner has done. -- Roger Hayter |
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#9
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Poor quality connections
On 25/04/2019 13:27, wrote:
I was having some difficulty getting a good tight fitting of some terminal strips and when I examined them I realised why. http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php/...nal-blocks.jpg They have fractured with the force of tightening the screws on conductors. Now I'm wondering where else in the house they're lurking ... No wonder there are electrical fires. Owain I've had exactly the same thing. Bill |
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#10
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Poor quality connections
On 25/04/2019 13:42, Scott wrote:
On Thu, 25 Apr 2019 05:27:35 -0700 (PDT), wrote: I was having some difficulty getting a good tight fitting of some terminal strips and when I examined them I realised why. http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php/...nal-blocks.jpg They have fractured with the force of tightening the screws on conductors. Now I'm wondering where else in the house they're lurking ... No wonder there are electrical fires. I managed to over-tighten screw on an MK socket, which stripped the screw. When I made a warranty claim, they did not dispute it. Surely a screw should be close to indestructible? Don't be silly, they are easy to strip with all that mechanical advantage they offer. Screw terminals as crude as terminal strips should be banned. Any good screw termination would have a little "tongue" under the screw to make contact with the wire not some rough finished screw. |
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#11
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Poor quality connections
On 25/04/2019 15:38, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article , wrote: I was having some difficulty getting a good tight fitting of some terminal strips and when I examined them I realised why. http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php/...nal-blocks.jpg They have fractured with the force of tightening the screws on conductors. Now I'm wondering where else in the house they're lurking ... No wonder there are electrical fires. Where did you buy them? I'd expect the head of the screw to become chewed up long before the housing split. Screws tend to be made out of fairly hard materials like brass or steel. The housings could be made of anything like copper or brass. |
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#12
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Poor quality connections
On Thu, 25 Apr 2019 05:27:35 -0700 (PDT)
wrote: I was having some difficulty getting a good tight fitting of some terminal strips and when I examined them I realised why. http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php/...nal-blocks.jpg They have fractured with the force of tightening the screws on conductors. The metal block used to be solid brass (or nickel alloy?) in a rectangular section, now it's extruded in that keyhole shape to save metal and machining - I imagine if the extrusion isn't done at the right speed/temperature or there are inclusions then that's the place it's going to fail. I wonder if the screws are brassed steel these days, rather than proper brass. |
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#13
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Poor quality connections
On Thursday, 25 April 2019 19:50:49 UTC+1, Rob Morley wrote:
The metal block used to be solid brass (or nickel alloy?) in a rectangular section, now it's extruded in that keyhole shape to save metal and machining - I imagine if the extrusion isn't done at the right speed/temperature or there are inclusions then that's the place it's going to fail. I estimate it's considerably less than 1 mm at the thinnest place. I wonder if the screws are brassed steel these days, rather than proper brass. Some of them were slightly magnetic, so probably. Owain |
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#14
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Poor quality connections
On Thursday, 25 April 2019 15:40:01 UTC+1, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Where did you buy them? I don't know. I can't find a record of an online purchase, so I wonder if it was Wickes? Owain |
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#15
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Poor quality connections
On 25/04/2019 19:50, Rob Morley wrote:
On Thu, 25 Apr 2019 05:27:35 -0700 (PDT) wrote: I was having some difficulty getting a good tight fitting of some terminal strips and when I examined them I realised why. http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php/...nal-blocks.jpg They have fractured with the force of tightening the screws on conductors. The metal block used to be solid brass (or nickel alloy?) in a rectangular section, now it's extruded in that keyhole shape to save metal and machining - I imagine if the extrusion isn't done at the right speed/temperature or there are inclusions then that's the place it's going to fail. I wonder if the screws are brassed steel these days, rather than proper brass. Good call. Also some brasses can suffer from stress corrosion cracking. This might be "out of spec" brass. |
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