Using terminal blocks within a CU

[sajeel]

This forum is great although some people are helpful, some arrogant and some plain rude. One should not assume and jump to conclusion I spent 3 years at college soldering so have probably spent more time soldering than most sparks as I studied electronics servicing and have a diploma In electronics aside from my electric qualifications.

 

[princeofsparks]

This forum is great although some people are helpful, some arrogant and some plain rude. One should not assume and jump to conclusion I spent 3 years at college soldering so have probably spent more time soldering than most sparks as I studied electronics servicing and have a diploma In electronics aside from my electric qualifications.

Hi sajeel
I don't think you need to take any comments personally. On every forum that I have been on there is always a mix of people with their own ideas and personalities just like everywhere else. I for one don't comment to insult people but as the main question of the thread has already been answered and I have been reminded to use my membership or loose it I found it a good place to start a few comments.

From my experience I have seen soldered joints ranging from as good as you will ever get to worse than spit although the techie word would be a dry joint. As far as sparks are concerned you are probably right when it comes to soldering skills as most of the good ones (as in trained correctly) very rarely use the art after the mandatory ohms law triangle soldering exercise.

You are right too about making assumptions the old saying is that making them makes an --- out of u and me

Quoting qualifications though does not prove practical abilities though any more than holing a part p qualification makes a cowboy kitchen fitter an electrician. My advice though for what it is worth is as above i.e. don't take anything personally just look for the gems that lay beneath the rubbish.
Best wishes
Vince

 

[funkymonkeytwo]

You say that they are not long enough to be put in numbered order ? I'm now presuming that they will reach the terminal bar but not where you would like them, get your self some numbers and slip them on and connect them where they reach

 

[sajeel]

Hi sajeel
I don't think you need to take any comments personally. On every forum that I have been on there is always a mix of people with their own ideas and personalities just like everywhere else. I for one don't comment to insult people but as the main question of the thread has already been answered and I have been reminded to use my membership or loose it I found it a good place to start a few comments.

From my experience I have seen soldered joints ranging from as good as you will ever get to worse than spit although the techie word would be a dry joint. As far as sparks are concerned you are probably right when it comes to soldering skills as most of the good ones (as in trained correctly) very rarely use the art after the mandatory ohms law triangle soldering exercise.

You are right too about making assumptions the old saying is that making them makes an --- out of u and me

Quoting qualifications though does not prove practical abilities though any more than holing a part p qualification makes a cowboy kitchen fitter an electrician. My advice though for what it is worth is as above i.e. don't take anything personally just look for the gems that lay beneath the rubbish.
Best wishes
Vince

Thank you princeofsparks i have sent friend request. Its true there is a mixture of people on every forum.

 

[princeofsparks]

If we put our heads together we will mastermind and the product will be more than the sum of the individual parts

If everyone shares in the forums imagine what we all can get from it!

 

[Stroppy]

Sorry for being the grammar police but it's a massive pet hate of mine. You weren't like anything, you may have thought or said something but you weren't like it

Had to smirk that to show appreciation of this I pressed the "like" button.

 

[swl83]

Can't you move the CU over so all the cables are long enough??

 

[ackbarthestar]

There is nothing in the regs to say you can't use connector blocks in an enclosure which is accessible for inspection and testing purposes.

IMO, It looks ruff .

There are contradicting veiws about crimping solid core conductors. Solder could be used but its not electronic low current applications here so unless the joint is first made off to be mechanically sound and then soldered and covered with heat shrink, I would think it would be unsuitable.

 

[Edd]

The trouble with soldered joints is they dont really have a raited current! A bit of oil/ crap on the joint and it may look ok but wont draw any current. Do you lay the conductors end to end? or side by side? If side by side do we solder a one inch joint or longer? whats the current carrying capacity of 2 x 2.5mm solid core conductors soldered side by side an inch long?? Does it allow greater current carrying capacity if layed 2" side by side and soldered? What if theres crap in the joint? do we derate the joint by X factor??

Its a block or crimp conector only for me, if you solder then theres two many varibles.. (A Electronics hobiest (i know a dry joint when i see one))

 

[MDJ]

All this solder talk is crap, through crimps and thats that.

 

[ackbarthestar]

The trouble with soldered joints is they dont really have a raited current! A bit of oil/ crap on the joint and it may look ok but wont draw any current. Do you lay the conductors end to end? or side by side? If side by side do we solder a one inch joint or longer? whats the current carrying capacity of 2 x 2.5mm solid core conductors soldered side by side an inch long?? Does it allow greater current carrying capacity if layed 2" side by side and soldered? What if theres crap in the joint? do we derate the joint by X factor??

Block or conector, solder and theres two many varibles.. (A Electronics hobiest (i know a dry joint when i see one))

Making a solder joint with solder alone is a no..no..

electrician's solder goes soft at 160 deg C, which means under a fault condition it may melt at that instant and fall apart,

We were taught to loop the two conductors to be joined and then either pinch or twist the ends, then solder. You are now guaranteed that when the solder melts, if it does, your joint won't fall apart......

 

[Engineer54]

The solid core crimping saga again, dear oh dear!! The use of good crimps with a decent crimping tool (my preference is always to use bare crimps over-sheathed with two layers of heat-shrink) and you'll have a perfectly suitable trouble free joint!! Over the years i've seen literary hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of crimped solid core cables be they butt or terminal crimps types. The only failures i've ever seen or known were due to operator error, not the crimped connections themselves!!


Said it before and i'll say it again, i'm NOT a lover of the coloured PVC butt/through crimps, i'd rather see the heat shrinkable insulated crimps being used, if your intent on using insulated crimps...

 

[Midwest]

Can't see an issue either, using crimps. After all, correct me if I'm wrong, isn't that what Waggo's are effectively?

 

[pmf]

Hi Guys

First time poster. I would go down the insulated crimp and heat shrink route all day long.

 

[IanHug]

All this to avoid not wiring in numbered order?

Is there a reg that says you must wire in order? And would anyone trust someone to have done this without checking anyway?