Doug,
>From my archives.... (I took a deductive-reasoning approach back in 2008) The use of wire nuts on short wire pigtails in a wiring box for connection to the building wiring is primarily a North American wiring method. You can deduce this by looking at the marks on the box that they came in. They most likely have listing marks for the US, Canada, and/or Mexico, and wire sizes are in "AWG". If, on the other hand, you saw the CE Mark or wire sizes posted in "mm2", or some other international certification markings, you would have evidence that the use of those wire nuts is an acceptable wiring method elsewhere. More evidence of this can be seen in national deviations found in Annex NAE of UL 60950-1/CSA C22.2 No. 60950-1 vs.the group deviations of EN 60950-1. UL/CSA 69050-1, Annex NAE 3.2.3 describes leads for field wiring connections to be not smaller than 150 mm (6 inches) in length, making reference to sections of the National Electrical Code and Canadian Electrical Code, Part I. Annex NAE 3.2.9 further describes box volume calculations required by the NEC and Canadian Electrical Code for the number of conductors being connected in a wiring box, normally by wire nuts. On the other hand, EN 60950-1 has no such deviations or notations. However, written into the body of the IEC 60950-1 and EN 60950-1 (and other national derivative standards) is a wiring method for permanent connection to the mains not acceptable in the US and Canada - the use of a non-detachable power supply cord for permanent connection. The most universally accepted means for permanent connection to the mains is to use a field wiring terminal block with a current rating 125 % of the current rating of the product it is installed in, certified for the country of deployment. In conjunction, holes should be supplied nearby for accommodation of a conduit system or cable-securing glands. Best Regards, Don Gies, N.C.E Senior Product Compliance Engineer Alcatel-Lucent Murray Hill, NJ 07974-0636 USA -----Original Message----- From: Doug Powell [mailto:doug...@gmail.com] Sent: Monday, October 08, 2012 11:45 AM To: EMC-PSTC@LISTSERV.IEEE.ORG Subject: What's the deal with Wire Nuts? At the risk of redundancy, I would like to re-open a question from 2008 "What's the deal with Wire Nuts?" <http://www.mail-archive.com/emc-pstc@listserv.ieee.org/msg56599.html> http://www.mail-archive.com/emc-pstc@listserv.ieee.org/msg56599.html The original discussion seems to track well with my own opinion on the use of these wiring devices, but this is based my opinion. I am aware of many American appliance manufacturers who use these devices and still obtain their safety certifications. It is my *opinion* that any equipment destined for the European market should not use these devices but I cannot find any direct prohibition on their use. The IPC 620 standard may have limits but this is more like a workmanship standard. Several reasons might be used to prohibit their use: 1) Temperature ratings 2) Secondary securement of conductors 3) Insufficient coverage of bare metal parts and resulting electrical tape used (creepage problem) 4) No limit to the number of conductors 5) Over/Under twisting of the connector 6) Metallic insert or non-metallic This time around my context is equipment that falls under the scope of IEC 61010-1 and its derivatives. Has anyone seen a definitive answer to this question? -- Thanks, -doug Douglas E Powell <mailto:doug...@gmail.com> doug...@gmail.com <http://www.linkedin.com/in/dougp01> http://www.linkedin.com/in/dougp01 - ---------------------------------------------------------------- This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc discussion list. 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To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to <emc-p...@ieee.org> All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: http://www.ieee-pses.org/emc-pstc.html Attachments are not permitted but the IEEE PSES Online Communities site at http://product-compliance.oc.ieee.org/ can be used for graphics (in well-used formats), large files, etc. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ Instructions: http://listserv.ieee.org/request/user-guide.html List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html For help, send mail to the list administrators: Scott Douglas <emcp...@radiusnorth.net> Mike Cantwell <mcantw...@ieee.org> For policy questions, send mail to: Jim Bacher: <j.bac...@ieee.org> David Heald: <dhe...@gmail.com>
