Power Center July 11, 2025, 12:28:23 pm Whilst doing the yearly maintenance task of checking the tightness of the electrical connections in the power center, I noticed these twist-on wire connectors. I don’t recall seeing them before in the past so believe they were added when I had the whole house inverter installed. Is this kosher?
Re: Power Center Reply #1 – July 11, 2025, 12:54:13 pm Ugh! That seems like a bad idea. I'm assuming those are probably solid copper wires. Wire nuts aren't great, and those aren't even taped to prevent loosening. Not to mention that they are right up against the ground bus, so if one did loosen... ZAP!While 3M does make some special wire nuts that are intended for this use, I've read good things about Wago's 221-2401 inline connectors, so if it were me, I'd consider replacing with those. The only caveat is that the Wagos are rated for 20 amps maximum and no larger than 12 gauge wire, so you'd want to make certain those wires from the whole-house inverter fall within those specs.But at the very least, wrap those red wire nuts with electrical tape so they can't loosen. That's something you can do right now, while you consider your options for replacing them. :-) As an Amazon Associate Lazy Daze Owners' Group earns from qualifying purchases.
Re: Power Center Reply #2 – July 11, 2025, 02:03:21 pm Thanks for your reply, Andy. Kind of scary, huh? The wires are all stranded. It was tough due to the shortness of the wires but I was able to get them wrapped with tape for now. I do have some of the Wago connectors but the ones I have are too small. Not sure what gauge these wires are but hoping Wago makes larger ones and will order some.
Re: Power Center Reply #3 – July 11, 2025, 02:24:27 pm Looks like Wago only goes up to 10 gauge. They make side-by-side connectors but not an inline one in that size. Hoping a 10 gauge connector will work.Wire/Splicing Connectors | Products | WAGO USACOMPACT splicing connector (221-612) | WAGO USA
Re: Power Center Reply #4 – July 11, 2025, 04:58:18 pm I'd be surprised if those wires are larger than 10 gauge.
Re: Power Center Reply #5 – July 12, 2025, 12:37:07 am Quote from: Andy Baird - July 11, 2025, 04:58:18 pmI'd be surprised if those wires are larger than 10 gauge.I should receive the connectors on Sunday so will let you know!When working on the wiring for the 120V side, is it necessary to disconnect the coach batteries and pull the solar fuse?
Re: Power Center Reply #6 – July 12, 2025, 06:02:22 am No Greg, leave that stuff alone! Restore the wire nuts where they were. Put a small tywrap to hold the two wires together at the base, so that pulling on the wires won't dislodge the wire nuts. Those wirenuts are everywhere in your LD, and are time proven as reliable and safe. I've been using wirenuts for over 65 years in my hobby and professional career. Good quality (Scotch 33 m+) black vinyl tape if you think it might be exposed to water. I use heatshrink sometimes. If you have water in your power distribution area, you've got other more serious problems. Technician 'rash' is when people disturb stuff without quite enough care or knowledge of their own, and make faults in areas that should be left alone. I have plenty of 'industry' stories about that happening in the past. (I can give you examples Greg if you have a few hundred hours!) RonB p.s. I would consider wagos only suitable for data and very lightweight power uses.
Re: Power Center Reply #7 – July 12, 2025, 09:06:01 am Thanks for your input, Ron, appreciated. So I’m getting some conflicting information here. According to the technical specifications, the larger Wagos are UL rated for 600V and 30A. Is that not adequate for this use? I admit that I’m an electrical dummy so that’s why I depend on ya’ll to keep me from doing something stupid! COMPACT splicing connector (221-612) | WAGO USA
Re: Power Center Reply #8 – July 12, 2025, 09:54:37 am Quote from: Andy Baird - July 11, 2025, 12:54:13 pmWhile 3M does make some special wire nuts that are intended for this use, I've read good things about Wago's 221-2401 inline connectors, so if it were me, I'd consider replacing with those. The only caveat is that the Wagos are rated for 20 amps maximum and no larger than 12 gauge wire, so you'd want to make certain those wires from the whole-house inverter fall within those specs.The 221 line has a 32 amp capacity with the larger wire sizes, and some 221 units can use 10 AWG wire. I recently used a 3 wire unit to connect two 10 AWG solar panel (-) leads to the 10 AWG ground connection - so much easier than wire nuts or crimping. 1 Likes As an Amazon Associate Lazy Daze Owners' Group earns from qualifying purchases.
Re: Power Center Reply #9 – July 12, 2025, 10:57:59 am So my other question is, when working on the wiring for the 120V side, is it necessary to disconnect the coach batteries and pull the solar fuse?
Re: Power Center Reply #10 – July 12, 2025, 11:31:33 am Greg, as long as you can be certain the inverter is off, and there's no shore power connected, then your 120 VAC system is safe to work on. There's no need to disconnect your 12 VDC system.But for any kind of AC work, I suggest getting one of these non-contact detectors. You can just hold it near a wire or connection and it will beep and flash if AC is present. It's a great way to double-check before you start disconnecting and reconnecting wires. 3 Likes As an Amazon Associate Lazy Daze Owners' Group earns from qualifying purchases.
Re: Power Center Reply #11 – July 12, 2025, 01:06:07 pm Thanks, Andy. That’s what I suspected, but wanted to confirm with someone more knowledgeable than I. I had forgotten, but I actually do have one of those testers so thanks for the reminder!
Re: Power Center Reply #12 – July 12, 2025, 04:30:27 pm Found this helpful video for us novices. 👍https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=-jeP1d8PC1I&dp_isNewTab=1&dp_referrer=youtube&dp_allowFirstVideo=1 2 Likes
Re: Power Center Reply #14 – July 14, 2025, 07:42:10 pm Replaced the wire nuts with Wago connectors. They are tight but fit. I taped the levers to ensure they don’t inadvertently pop up. Thanks for everyone’s help! 2 Likes
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