On 20/04/2025 14:00, Chris Green wrote:
This continues from the "How to remove knockouts....." thread. I'm
beginning to think I must be incompetant or something but I've never
had so much trouble before with a relatively simple requirement.
I now have a Wiska outdoor box and their spring earth clips.
The knockouts work! That's one improvement on the Toolstation box.
Simply screwing a gland into a hole in the box pushes the knockout
out, so that's one hurdle overcome.
ok good start...
However, it's all downhill from here on.
This is a replacement box, the old one got damaged, so the wires are
already in place and can't be moved much as they disappear into the
ground. So this produces problem one, you have to remove the gland
from the SWA, screw the gland into the box and then re-do the SWA
clamping into the gland. It's possible but it's not easy, I'm just
glad the weather is reasonably warm. It would be much easier to
terminate the cables first and then fix them into the box with a nut.
I think maybe I'll have to do this, but see below.
Then on to the Wiska 'Earthing Springs':-
https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/WKESPR20.html
It sounds a wonderful idea but it doesn't really work. With standard
M20 glands there really isn't enough thread exposed to clip the spring
on, it's also well-nigh impossible to actually do it because squeezing
the eylets doesn't open the spring enough to clip on, it opens on the
skew and just doesn't work. If there was a lot of thread exposed it
might be possible but in reality it doesn't. I'm also not at all
convinced about the long-term security of such a connection, I don't
think I want to rely on it.
Not tried those so can't comment.
So, back to square one, how to replace an outdoor connection box with
three M20 SWA glands into it? I think I need to go back to a plain
box without threaded holes as one can then secure the glands with a
nut **after** fixing the gland onto the cable. However that raises a
couple of issues:-
Yup, when all the wires are fixed length, it can be difficult trying to
do too many jobs at once. I would fit the glands to the SWA, then fit
the glads to the box, then fix the box, and lastly wire it up. That
makes it easier to work with shorter lengths of SWA, and only fight one
at a time. Fixing the box after attaching the glands allows a bit more
wiggle room if necessary.
Can one get brass 20mm washers for the glands, and brass nuts?
The supplied banjo tags are IME normally non ferrous - although not as
shiny and bright as the brass glands themselves.
ones I took apart from the old broken box were steel and very
corroded.
The thin backnuts are usually steel though. That matters a bit less
since they are there for clamping force rather that electrical connection.
How to tighten the nuts given the limited accessibility, I guess a
custom made box spanner - short box with a handle - might be the
best answer.
There is a variation of the bush spanner that will fit over the backnuts:
https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/CKT4765.html
Any/all advice (and sympathy) welcome! :-)
Go with a plain unthreaded box, bin the backnuts and banjo tags, and use Piranha nuts or similar:
https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/PRPEN20.html
Here is one I needed to put back in place with three of the 4 SWA fixed
in length (but new glands)... Turns out I had one fewer Piranha nut in
stock than I thought - hence the banjo tag used on one!
https://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php/File:ExteriorJBWithPiranhaNuts.jpg
--
Cheers,
John.
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