Joining / Extending cable

[pc1966]

The DIN rail option has the advantage of being neat and ordered, but that example uses the green/yellow earth blocks for the CPC which joins them all together at that point.

While that is not an issue for normal operations it makes testing far harder as you cannot isolate a circuit's CPC at the CU, and very confusing for anyone who is unaware of such a common'ing of conductors.

Also most DIN terminals are screw fixing and not maintenance-free so they need to be accessible and checked occasionally in case they loosen. You can get some that are spring loaded and don't suffer from loosening due to vibration or thermal cycling (a bit like Wagos), but off hand I don't know part numbers.

 

[timhoward]

Also most DIN terminals are screw fixing and not maintenance-free so they need to be accessible and checked occasionally in case they loosen. You can get some that are spring loaded and don't suffer from loosening due to vibration or thermal cycling (a bit like Wagos), but off hand I don't know part numbers.

Places like cp farnell / RS sell Wago-like ones. CEF sometimes have Wago ones in.

 

[partplonker]

The DIN rail option has the advantage of being neat and ordered, but that example uses the green/yellow earth blocks for the CPC which joins them all together at that point.

While that is not an issue for normal operations it makes testing far harder as you cannot isolate a circuit's CPC at the CU, and very confusing for anyone who is unaware of such a common'ing of conductors.

It's not exactly a big deal though, you could just use yellow DIN rail connectors for your CPCs instead. It doesn't really matter what colour they are as long as, as you said, you don't use the green/yellow ones with the central screw and metal clips that link them to the rail.

I'm also wondering why they used grey terminals in the video instead of brown or red for the lines, that really triggers my OCD. Must have been what they had at the wholesaler that day.

 

[UNG]

I wonder of the electricians I've had out would feel insulted if I sent them a link to this clip?

If they didn't come up with that solution at the first viewing then they were clearly not electricians and also couldn't be bothered to search the internet or ask on a group like this

It shouldn't be that difficult to find an electrician that can do what you want but listing your location as North West puts you somewhere in an area of approximately 5,500 sq miles do you want to narrow that down a bit as you may be close enough to someone on here

 

[Forty_Two]

If they didn't come up with that solution at the first viewing then they were clearly not electricians and also couldn't be bothered to search the internet or ask on a group like this

It shouldn't be that difficult to find an electrician that can do what you want but listing your location as North West puts you somewhere in an area of approximately 5,500 sq miles do you want to narrow that down a bit as you may be close enough to someone on here

I'm in LIverpool

 

[pc1966]

It's not exactly a big deal though, you could just use yellow DIN rail connectors for your CPCs instead. It doesn't really matter what colour they are as long as, as you said, you don't use the green/yellow ones with the central screw and metal clips that link them to the rail.

I'm also wondering why they used grey terminals in the video instead of brown or red for the lines, that really triggers my OCD. Must have been what they had at the wholesaler that day.

Many places only stock grey & green/yellow, blue is sometimes there at a slight price premium.

As you say you get other colour (like brown and yellow) but not in every maker or size range, and often simply not stocked.

 

[pc1966]

Just to add, often in my work we just have grey (with labels) and the green/yellow for common earth/chassis connection as you often don't know what mix of circuits you will have.

But I also really like to see colour coding of cables (not just black and L1/L2/L3/N labels) and terminals whenever possible as it helps reduce mistakes.

 

[partplonker]

Just to add, often in my work we just have grey (with labels) and the green/yellow for common earth/chassis connection as you often don't know what mix of circuits you will have.

But I also really like to see colour coding of cables (not just black and L1/L2/L3/N labels) and terminals whenever possible as it helps reduce mistakes.

Me too. I just did a 3 phase enclosure, wired in singles and managed to get all the matching coloured terminals and jumper bars from CEF (I think the brand was Weiland?). Looks nice and neat seeing the correct coloured cables going into the matching terminals and as you say, reduces the changes of mistakes.

 

[Dave OCD]

I'm in LIverpool

I'd suggest messaging @telectrix , may well be within his patch and he's a highly experienced top Electrician.