Wago Gelbox - Instant Waterproof High Voltage Connections
Your dream of easy waterproof connections is here with the waterproof Wago! But it's a little different than you might think & I am super excited to share it with you.
Wago Gelboxes: amzn.to/3SQgNrf
Wago Gelbox Specs: www.wago.com/us/wago-gelbox-o...
Do not do any of the tests shown in this video. They are for entertainment purposes only.
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Disclaimer:
Due to factors beyond the control of Silver Cymbal, I cannot guarantee against improper use or unauthorized modifications of this information. Silver Cymbal assumes no liability for property damage or injury incurred as a result of any of the information contained in this video. Use this information at your own risk. Silver Cymbal recommends safe practices when working on machines and or with tools seen or implied in this video. Due to factors beyond the control of Silver Cymbal, no information contained in this video shall create any expressed or implied warranty or guarantee of any particular result. Any injury, damage, or loss that may result from improper use of these tools, equipment, or from the information contained in this video is the sole responsibility of the user and not Silver Cymbal.
What do you think of this new Wago? - Check them out here: amzn.to/3SQgNrf
put the meter in circuit with the power you should see a voltage drop.
A bit pricy, but probably worth it. Fortunately, you probably only need a few.
holy cow. It's $26.
Please put some on your roof. I want to see how these handle a year of sun and rain and weather they remain water proof.
During the 1990s I worked for a company that represented Wago , both companies on that time under the umbrella of the british holding "Bowthorpe PLC" . I introduced in some territories Wago products , mainly industrial conectors\interfaces with so called "Cage clamp" [ spring connection instead of screws ] technology . Wago has been innovative for a long time , I can recall there were many different things going at the plants of the company in Germany , including what may be considered a prototype of a small box to protect splicing connectors.
In-ground irrigation valve boxes was my first thought. Then I realized that Waterproof Wagos will cost about $8 per connection, whereas generic wire nuts filled with automotive grease cost 10 cents and outlast the valve solenoids. In-ground lighting is probably a better application.
For that money I would go with silicone.
@@ikemkrueger which can be acidic and thus corrosive
@@arion_vulgaris Only when it's curing and also .. your not putting paint buckets of it on your connections. Have you ever used silicone before? I have and seen old silicone ... there was absolutely no damage to whatever it was touching
The link in the video shows $26.35 per box! It looks nice but seriously $26? Only 4 for $100! For that I'll stick to heat shrink tubing. I'll add some RTV or silicone if I want to submerge it.
Thank God they started making Wagos, because there are too many people that don’t know how to connect conductors, and this allows those without any wiring skills to get a job done.
Holy moly, you weren’t kidding when you said “not the cheapest”! I just checked them on Amazon 😵
$7.50 a pop. No thanks.
@@harborcbs Cries in £ - about $9 - $10 here at the moment per unit.
Wagos are so awesome they make fixing Outlets way easier.
ONLY IF your conductors are not made from aluminium.... otherwise oxidation / corrosion will occur.
Love the WAGO stuff, but my two electrician friends are old school and can’t get past their ingrained belief in wire nuts. I’ve wired a ton of houses for them, using nuts, but I use the WAGO’s now for everything. Cool waterproofing for all my irrigation and pond lighting.
Your electrician friends should visit something beyond their local department store. Take any modern industrial cabinet and it will be filled with thousands of push in or other lever style connectors, including incoming supply. Phoenix contact make a terminal block that takes up to 95mm2 (0000AWG, what a stupid measurement system) wire and is 232A rated (lever) or 16mm2 70A rated as standard push in (no lever). edit: Actually they make an ever bigger one, I just haven't seen one in real life PTPOWER 185 is 309A rated.
@@UhOhUmmawg ends at 1 awg I'm pretty sure. After that we have 1/0, 2/0, 3/0, and 4/0. After 4/0 (4 ought) it goes to 250mcm
You probably never were in the electrical trade doing this for a living sleeping at night knowing you did a best job you could that you didn't wire for fire show me at the UL listed no respect for proving wiring methods and no respect for electricity
Hate the WAGO stuff, but my engineer and electrician friends are old school and can’t get past the well proved superiority of wire nuts and the potential high resistance issues of WAGOs. I’ve wired many electrical circuits, industrial and residential using wire nuts, but I won't use the WAGO’s for almost anything except very low current small wire connections like in light fixtures. OK waterproofing concept might be useful in very moist areas. Although these may now be listed for use in the US, make sure you don't use the IEC ratings!! UL ratings are considerably less that IEC ratings. Too many people assume ratings are universal,. They are not!! Specification standards between IEC and UL, NEMA and NEC, are very different. What IEC EN standards allow are not acceptable to any US standards.
@@UhOhUmm Any modern industrial cabinet?? You mean global stuff built to IEC standards, Virtually none of this is NEMA approved. But industry can put in whatever they want because they assume liability for the installation. They decide what spec they want to build to. Corporate bean counters make the purchasing decisions and low cost always wins. Additionally, most equipment suppliers build to IEC specs because the stuff is cheaper, smaller and need less labor to assemble. Buy something off the shelf and it's IEC rated and not NEMA approved. Very few US equipment manufactures build to NEMA spec and it's almost always custom. When you quote a rating, you need to clarify whose rating that is. IEC ratings are junk! You'd be a fool to use this junk on any critical dangerous process. If you have a critical/dangerous process, you're better off to build to custom NEMA specs. Just because this stuff dominates the global market, doesn't mean it is as good as the old standards. I've seen enough of this junk in 50 years as an electrical engineer in heavy industry. In the end corporations look at cost of the equipment vs cost of failure. If the cost of failure is likely to lead to loss of life, the calculations change. When the risk is some damaged equipment and maybe some production loss, it's probably tolerable. That's likely to fit 90% of applications. But this stuff is not very good for heavy use and when it fails, it fails catastrophically. .(it blows up!) But it's cheap, albeit over priced for what you get. I really hate the stuff except for low power use like PLC and control module stuff. But you do see a mix of levels in some of these equipment cabinets which is a disaster waiting to happen. The plastics they use don't hold up to high energy faults and will burn like it's drenched with kerosene! I've seen some of these panels completely burn down from a fault that should have been sustainable. I know this stuff is compact, and easy to wire, but that doesn't speak to long term reliability. My guess is that you don't own and maintain this stuff, but wire up installations. But it's a different story when you have to live with it!
Awesome find, I can't think of any applications currently, but now when the not suitable for wet thought goes through my head when picking up my box of Wago connectors it will be followed with these gel boxes
Excellent! I never heard of these before. I will definitely get some. Thanks for the info my friend.
Thank you very much
An amazing product made even better.
Been an industrial sparky for 50 years and we had two 100 HP 480 volt motors in a pit that got filled with 6' of dirty water at least once a year. I would tape bugs with garnished Cambridge tape ( not waterproof like rubber or silicone tape ) then at least 12 wraps of Scotch 33 tape down at least a inch on wire insulation. Motors were TEFC ( totally enclosed fan cooled with a rubber basket on cast iron pecker head. Motors would continue to run submerged for at least halve a hour until winding shorted out. Even used wire nuts on 480 volt control wires that were covered in a few inches of water but taped in same matter and never blew a fuse.
The reason the GFCI didn't trip is because the short was through the neutral so there was no current differential.
Yes. We know.
Yeah, he mentioned that.
Should have thrown a ground into the water as well. Should trip right away without the clamshell. Shouldn't trip at all with it.
@@emmettturner9452actually he said it was because there was no ground… which is false.
@@kbud3442 Did you even read what you just wrote?
No way!!!! This sounds amazing!!!
Thanks for sharing all the best possible details 👍🏻👍🏻 Subscribedddddd❤
Wago solving problems. I like them and started using them. I think Wago should make a multi straight thru connector for things like connecting the multiple wires between an A/C unit and the thermostat. Seems like those connections are always rats nests.
Always useful information thx 🙏
These look cool. I've been using the 3M moisture lock connector or 3M Electrical IDC (Insulation Displacement Connector) with good success for landscape lighting
Very concise and informatic video
This is really really cool. This is one of the big features that the WAGO 221s were lacking, and now it's available in what looks like a really well done form (I love the fact they even appear to have one designed for the inline connectors too). Still not as convenient (or cheap) as the "jelly bean" connectors for things like sprinklers, I think, but I could definitely see using these for an extra layer of protection when dealing with mains-voltage connections in potentially wet areas, or when dealing with some low-voltage higher-current applications (such as low-voltage outdoor lighting or vehicles)... A much better way to test these would have been to: 1. Measure the current flowing through the supply wires before and while they were put in the water. 2. Place a ground lead in the water, which should actually cause the GFCI to trip (and is a better test of the sort of water-ingress scenario you really want to prevent happening, particularly on a non-GFCI-protected circuit).
I use to work at a theme park and we had to hook up switches under water would love to see how these would hold up in that environment we did several experiments to find the best solution for us it was fill a but splice with silicone and heat shrink over each wire then heat shrink over all of them that would hold up pretty well
WAGO are the best connectors out there. And now they’re even better!
Maybe the better way to test for voltage leak would be to put the hot splice in the water and then measure voltage from the neutral wire to the water. You might pick up a couple millivolts of inductance, but any more than that is a good sign it's leaking.
@@bountyhunter4885 I'm not sure what the UL testing requirements are, but I assume they would have done some sort of continuous weatherproofing and temp cycling tests. I think these would be good for somewhere that might have moisture exposure, rather than guaranteed exposure. Unless you're running low voltage where a leak won't cause dangerous situations.
Just used my first Wago last weekend (hard to find the real deal) and I am sold and they are now my go to. A waterproof version is great !
Hard to find? You can buy them online at hundreds of websites.
Wow .. interesting! Thank you!
I mean in a vs neither wago or wire nuts are waterproof but glad to see wago stepping up and creating new products 😊
Another way to test. Leave the neutral wire out of the salt water. Put a WAGO on the hot lead and a second WAGO on the other hot lead with no connection between them. Put both hot leads in the salt water. With a low wattage bulb (10 watts or less) you should see a dim glow. If your Fluke meter measures AC current you can check the current through the bulb. Then add a GELBOX to only ONE hot lead and dunk again. There should be less than 1 ma current flow and the bulb won't light. Some vinegar may help make the water more conductive.
I can see myself using these for automotive use for sure.
This is pure genius.
I seen old fashioned wire nuts with the gel already in it for outdoor uses. But for the rest of the trades, I have a not so well kept secret, that were best kept from the customers. Customers do not get a good job, but only to code minimum sometimes (sometimes below), not because we do not know how to do a good job, but because we do not want to. On the job, usually one price were given, and the faster we get out of there , to the next job, the better. To do a good job require organizational skills, not everyone have it. When I did outdoor light fixtures, I used aluminum corrosion inhibiting compound in the wire nut, and when done, I seal the bottom with more compound. Bosses often refused to buy the compound or do not want you to take the time to use it. Those joints can easily last over a year and that is all they are responsible for. Ilsco make a compound that is not as messy to use. Why take more time to piss off the boss and the customers do not appreciate?
Yep not trying that anytime soon fantastic 👍
been using a very similar product for years in the cable industry for coax splices.
Thanks!
Love the Wago brand!
They are pretty smart cookies over there
I have used something similar for direct burial LAN cable splices... usually where the homeowner left it on the ground instead of burying it and animals got into the wire.
That is crazy testing. Won't catch me doin' that. There are also relatively new things like silicon putty and Flex Seal products that you might find to find ways to use. For instance, those cheap PWM charge controllers I like to use on my lead acid car batteries want some extra insulation and water protection where you shove the wires in and screw them down (it helps to mount the controller on a piece of wood, too). Or those sprinker situations. I like the boxes, but there are options. In any case, wago type connectors are way better than those screw in wire connectors
Great video, analysis, and you know if you're getting good meter results... it's gotta be a Fluke. I'm wondering how well that gell will do in Arizona's 110°F sun, but if it's in an enclosure likely not a factor. Thanks again, upvoted, and have a great weekend! Ehud in Tucson
Nice toolbox
I've used the gelled wire nuts for my low-voltage landscape lighting. Can these be buried as well? If so, they're perfect!
A similar product has been used for traffic light loop detectors for decades
As you say they've been in Europe for years, I've not had much call to use them but the one place I have is to replace a terrible junction box setup that was used to install the cabinet lights in my kitchen, so unlike the installation that was there before they're moisture (i.e. steam and grease) proof. There's one downside to them - the 221's have various test points on them which is super useful when you're doing electrical testing, to use those test points you then need to remove the gelbox which effectively destroys it; you probably could reuse it if you're careful and maybe it'll reseal around where you shoved sharp/thin test probes in, but you'd probably lose all hope of maintaining the 'official' rating.
It would be great if Wago would add in some strain relief to make in line splices for Romex style cabling. Tycon did it but the cost of the splice connectors was insane.
These look conceptually similar to the Volt Lighting Micro-Junction and Nano-Junction connectors, which I've used for my landscape lighting. Definitely a heck of a lot better than the gel-filled wire nuts! I assume the Volt ones aren't approved for line voltage, since they're sold for low-voltage landscape lighting. I'll have to compare pricing and maybe switch to the official Wago version if it's comparable, since those seem a bit more vertsatile.
You are 100% corrrect. Volt brings them in and low voltage is exempt for approvals. While of course they work fine, its great to see these for higher voltage stuff too.
Because they are 100% knockoff of the original Wago lever connectors.
Ideal makes a direct burial wire nut as well as a less extreme weatherproof version that gives above grade moisture resistance. Worth a price comparison at least...
Very cool!
You should see how wires are spliced in Taiwan. Miles and miles of electrical tape, no wire nut to be found anywhere. Outlets in bathrooms with tape over it to "protect" it. No ground at all (they do not exist, and wires to allow ground also do not exist). But the ironic thing is, WAGO 221 exists here, but is a little expensive.
I think they should make a product for trailer wiring. Seems like one of the biggest wiring pain points.
Snap on tool box? Thats how you know you made it in life.
Damn, $7-13/each. Steep, but not atrocious. Thanks for letting us know about these!
GFCI don't need a ground, it's not tripping because current it flowing between L and N which is normal a GFCI trips when the currents in L and N are unequal meaning there is fault current flowing elsewhere.
Great video, thanks. Layman here but couldn't you put a watt meter on the connection and if there was a short in the water you would see increased watts, rather than just depending on a visual indicator?
The telephone and cable companies use something like this in my area in Canada. I think they call them clickets or gel splice connections. They use them to make connections in wet buried areas.
Yeah, I think they are made by 3M, but also cut into the wire and cannot be opened up again. There's some gel inside that completely surrounds the point where the wires are connected through the metal clip.
Using two water-proof covers doesn't double the chance of detecting a failure, it halves it. Both have to fail before you see any bubbling.
Looks like they are super sweet. But not cheap
That is one serious toolbox.
Thank you, its almost 30 years old. Bought it used almost 15 years ago, they cost about 5x as much now. Truthfully the ICON Harbor Freight ones are better. I would buy one of those now if I was replacing it,
@@SilverCymbal That was going to be my reply. Harbor freight has stepped up the game in the few years.
thats pretty rad. i dont use wagos generally, but when i want to water proof, i usually do polyurethane, but while its not cured, the solvent is highly flammable and will ignite so do not listen to me ;)
The Gel box is single use then right? Or can you repack it after peeling out the connector for reuse?
What about measuring voltage between the water and a ground terminal during the immersion?
Are you able to use regular Wagos with different stranded metal wiring (aluminum with copper) or stay away?
It would have been a bit more compelling with a ground wire immersed in the salt water, or an amp meter during the test before and after the gel box. But, the point was made, sufficiently.
What's the shelf life rating of the encapsulation box? And are there any statements on whether they can withstand continuous UV exposure? Seems like it's a pretty useful product for certain outdoor scenarios.
They claim its unlimited for the shelf life, as far as UV, I haven't seen that listed but they can be buried, but again remember electrical code prevails for high voltage uses, you will likely still need physical protection.
2:49 Great video. However, by using 2 connectors, you have actually halved the likelihood of failure, due to your testing methodology. In order to see the effects you are looking for, there would need to be a leak in both connectors at the same time.
Excelente
Are they certified for explosive atmospheres?
Should have used an insulation tester with a test voltage of 500V or 1kV. But I can assure you that it will be ok. Always use the smallest gel box possible or the displacement of gel might not be enough to seal everything up.
What can be used for 250V AC in Europe can certainly also withstand 120V in the US. You need to take a separate gel box for phase and neutral.
Anyone know what the "gel" is? I can't find a MSDS to see if it's chemically inert or not. Says silicone-free but no other details. In particular it would be nice to know what the temperature resistance is and if anything toxic is released when it burns.
Those bubbles were H2 and O and since it was AC, the H2 and O was generated by both wires, alternating at 60Hz. The electricity was breaking down the water. Would have been interesting to see the current draw on that circuit, maybe 10A based on the humming.
Actually H2 (hydrogen) and Cl2 (chlorine). In salt water most of the conductivity is provided by the salt ions. The cathode would reduce sodium (Na) to sodium metal, which instantly reacts with water creating sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and hydrogen (H2). The anode oxidizes (removes electrons from) the chlorine ion, producing chlorine gas, which escapes as bubbles directly without reacting with the water much. If you wanted oxygen, you'd have to start eg, with sodium hydroxide solution rather than a salt solution.
And eventually the water would simply start boiling because of resistive loses being a large part of where the energy gets used at line voltage in a case like this.
Water is an insulator. That's why it shorts out circuits. It doesn't allow current to flow.
Gel boxes are really common in the UK, where water is, er, a problem....
Love the Wago series P.S second?
$30 for 4 on Amazon definitely not cheap
PLUS the Wago connector! So around $10 to connect 2 wires together! Insane! Amazon has all kinds of 600V waterproof UL wire nuts for ~ $0.75 ea.* Wago: electrical connectors for people who should never even think about doing electrical work. Coming soon: Wago connectors with Bluetootth and an App? * Low Voltage ones for less than $0.25!
Yeah but the cost of something going wrong is loads so Wago gets my money. If you are DIYing then you are saving so much its worth doing it right with WAGO, If your doing it Pro then the labour is so much a bit of money on the wagos is negligible especially given the time saved
@@sm1thershow many wire nuts have you seen fail ?
@@tedbell4416 none, because I live in the UK where they are banned.
@@sm1thersSo you're saying the billions of wire nuts used which, cost several cents, and are everywhere (including in your home) are sub par and not "right"? 😂😂🤣🤣
Are the gelboxes reusable?
I haven't found anything that says these are UL listed. Anyone know otherwise?
I first read the title as "Waterproof Wagyu". Imagine my confusion.
At almost ten bucks a pop THEY CAN KEEP THEM! Wire nuts with RTV is still valid.
Nooice! 😎 STOC
Your recpticals are upside down, remember ground down. 😊 Otherwise great video.
A much more economical option would be solder sleeves it what’s used on airliners so if they’re good enough for commercial airliners it’s more then good enough for home use.
I did a very popular video on those: kzhead.info/sun/gb6tp6iXfWmih3k/bejne.html and they are wonderful for low voltage permanent fixes. They aren't approved or useful for high voltage applications and while an airliner is of course amazing those lines are all lower/voltage amps, where home high voltage wiring needs different connectors.
Very true
Could you not get a 3d printer and make custom boxes along with just stuffing non conductive silicone in it? Seems much better for hobbyist/DIY, $8 per connection seems a bit much. I'm in the UK so I can't do electrical changes technically by law 😅
$7-10 a pop. I'll stick with gel filled wire nuts.
I love the Wago way, but I'l keep using my Polyolefin until the costs come down.
I’ll be the first one to address the elephant in the room. Did you purchase the most Ginormous snap on tool kit or are you shrinking??? Lol As always you have the coolest stuff. Can’t wait to try them.
I imagine that you should do your best to center the wagos inside the housing
If it's water-proof, I think what's inside is supposed to NOT shock me.
Finally
It'd be better to have an ammeter in series, because it'd show immediately, if there is connection through water by current value rise. Also, I'd like to see how resistant are the to heat - what about boiling them in salt water for one hour? It should be able to handle temperatures -55 … 85, has anyone tested if it's actually true?
There is a similar slightly larger product that is used when repairing buried telephone service wires. They work pretty well.
I'd think about installing an RCD if I were you
similar to this has been used in telephony cables repair with goey stuff preventing moisture/water to creep inside so it is not a new thing at all just a new adaptation
Similar to a coax splice as well. Been around for a while.
What is the name of this gel?
Im self-teaching myself about electronics right now, and ive learned that hot glue is a really good way of making connections water resistant. Why would I use this instead of a hot glue gun?
That gel looks like the glue in Glue Traps🐁🐀
Wago may be in the new codes requirements my home is too old.
thats one sexy Snap-on tool box you got there.. LOL
👍👍
3 videos in 3 days? Christmas has come early!
I appreciate that. Finally getting caught up a bit, have a lot of good stuff coming too.
@@SilverCymbal I really liked your robot lawnmower series over the summer, keep up the awesome content Chris. You inspired me to start my own channel in 2020.
You want a strong waterproof connection? (1) solder, (2) soldering gun (3)heat shrink tubing (4, opt) RTV. That is all.
“In some situations, these will be *Ideal*” UHM ACKSHUALLY THEY’RE WAGO
They should use these in the parking lot light poles.
Definitely a great idea for those They take a beating.
3M has been making gel-based Scotchlok wire connectors for decades. They are a simpler one-step process than these Wago's, as they don't require the cover piece. They probably aren't as water tight as the Wago's, but work perfectly fine short of full submersion, and are waaaay cheaper at 14 cents per connection, verse Wago's unreal $6+ per connection. I'd skip the Wago's unless you need full water submersion, and even then look for cheaper alternatives.
The downfall with scotchlocks is they have no ability to open them after, short of crushing the connector and hoping the mechanism doesn't damage the wire. That might be fine for some application, but at some point almost every connection needs to be opened, replace a light, change an outlet, etc. So while they have their place and do technically meet NEC, no one uses them for high voltage work due to the fact they can't be serviced. Remember these really aren't for underwater use, yes they can be but its for super tough environments with repairability. But I have used the little scotchlocks for decades on phone lines, where they work perfectly and are meant to never come off.
Excited up until I saw the price per unit O.O!!
Yes, definitely save for your problem connections that you can't afford to fail.