New NM Colors, Wago vs Ideal Connectors, Knipex, Klein, & More! - Upper Midwest Electrical Expo 2023

Knipex XS Cobra & Pliers Wrench Set: amzn.to/40udW7F
Wago Wire Connectors: amzn.to/3ox1GWK
Ideal Wire Connectors: amzn.to/3KZtqL9
Ideal Lever Connectors: homedepot.sjv....
Blue NM CerroMAX: homedepot.sjv....
Purple NM CerroMax: homedepot.sjv....
Wireless Leviton Switches: amzn.to/40rfX4p
Klein Modbox: blog.acmetools...
3D Printing Company: advancedtek.com/
#NCELEXPO
Wanted to bring you guys a few highlights from the 2023 Upper Midwest Electrical Expo. I didn't have a huge amount of time there but did manage to find some pretty cool stuff! Cerrowire has released their new colors for their line of NM CerroMax SLiPWiren in light blue for 14/3 and purple for 12/3 which should be a really nice feature for contractors. We also tested some wire connectors from Wago and Ideal to see if I could pull them apart or if they would pass the test.
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Thank you for your support!
Ben

[@GalenOKane]

Hi Ben, Love the EXPO Video! I am mid Maine and do not get to go to many of these and really enjoy seeing all the new ideas these guys have to offer. Having somebody else with you really helps with the whole experience of being there. Please do more of these trade shows big or small.

[@timbuckll]

Most excellent resource for DIY folks who never get to the trade shows to see the new tech. Olaf is great.

[@roimorrison3646]

Hey, Ben. Do more videos like this, too. I usually learn at least one new thing from each video and this was no exception. Thank you. And 👍 to your young camera guy

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

I think Ole & I could become trade show junkies. Only thing I don't like is the big cities they are generally held in and paying for parking!

[@JCWise-sf9ww]

@@BenjaminSahlstrom I would highly agree with you on going into big cities. I don't like them ether.

[@DavidMarkun]

Thank you for going, so I didn't have to. Loved your "Snoozall" crack as you edited. Will check out the Knipex.

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

My co-worker Josh came up with that. I thought it was brilliantly hilarious too!

[@michaeldezelar6264]

They've had the new Cerro wire colors at Home Depot since at at least January.

[@OtisPlunk]

Love the colored 14/3 and 12/3... Great idea.

[@n9wox]

Reminds me when I took my son to the Chicago Auto Show when he was young. Good times.

[@aaron74]

Shoot, bummer you didn't get in there earlier. Heck I wish I had gone there, I love trade/product shows.

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

Next time I'll definitely plan on being there sooner! Trade shows are really pretty awesome.

[@checopacheco420]

Ben I been following you for awhile love your content I have learned so much that I feel like a pro I been rewagerig my house in California upgrading all electric stuff tanks 🎉

[@Eddy63]

Very nice vid Benji & your son was very good as well ... Thx

[@bernlitzner2739]

Thx Ben and Ollie...Nice work. Found the video to be very informative.

[@EK--ry3lr]

Looks like a good time was had.

[@Dave-ei7kk]

Thumbs up on the video. I learned a lot especially about the newer products at the Ideal and Wago displays. Appreciate you doing this for us.

[@cbarr0288]

Really like your well explained content . Will watch later, entering the attic! I like the wagos for stranded to solid connections.

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

Definitely awesome for the solid/stranded for sure!

[@glenb.559]

Yes I enjoy videos like this

[@johngutmanis3580]

Hi Benjamin, thanks for making these videos! I have been a hands on landlord for the past 30 years and have tackled many DIY fix it projects over the years and really enjoy watching the variety of stuff you get into!

[@aDifferentJT]

Great camera work

[@1McMurdoSilver]

Thanks Ben. Had I known it was going on, I would have attended also. I'm not that far away.

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

It was pretty neat. Definitely worth it despite having to pay for parking...

[@jdargonaut]

Excellent job guys!

[@BurbSK-bi2wh]

Thanks for the video , Ben . Slim version of Ideal wire nut looks good .

[@exrezcnm]

This is great. Keep doing them!!!!

[@stevenroyer4271]

I think this was a great idea for a video. Great thank you.

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

Was fun making it! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@jacksak]

Yes, do more like this one... very interesting...

[@number6396]

Your rough in videos teach well, but I wish you had videos that showed installation of the switches/outlets etc. What conductors attach to which screws may not be intuitive to the DIYer. Do you have follow up videos like that? If so, please let us know. You could refer to them when you end the rough in videos and get more views/likes/subscribers!! Thanks.

[@rkramer5629]

Leviton has switches and outlets that use the Wago style lever in place of screw terminals! They’re great so far, $25 for a box of 10

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

That's awesome!

[@JasonW.]

Are they spec now? iIRC the original ones last summer were contractor grade

[@sk8infreek]

I so badly want to go to this convention, as I live about 20 minutes from the convention center, but the hours are only during the work day while I'm at work!

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

Totally get that. I almost didn't make the trip as it's about a 3 hour drive for me. Personally I don't love being downtown in large cities but in this case it was definitely worth it.

[@brianleeper5737]

I never pre-twist wire nuts. I've found that if you install them like you mean it, the wires will twist around themselves.

[@throttlebottle5906]

that's how your supposed to install them if not pre-twisting. as for pre-twisting, many people do not pre-twist them tightly, then buttery finger the wire nut on and end up with loose arcing connections. I've seen that thousands of times over the years. it's as bad or worse than older homes wired through backstab devices, aka random fire starters or if lucky just intermittent partial circuits. I was trained to always pigtail for all devices, use wire nuts and twist until it starts to twist them together down the insulation a bit, and never ever use backstab. which is also why I'm rather against push-in/on/lever nuts of any brand, except for end devices, ballast replacements/bypass and low current lighting. while I have never found push-in/on/lever type melted, burnt or thermal cycle disconnected(yet) I'm sure there will come the time. I have seen them cause too much voltage drop at end of circuit when used for all the splicing and higher start currents needed, like a small direct drive air compressor. /end rant.

[@grassroot011]

Yup, Appreciate the run down of new and improved products. Those Wago connectors good product. And I especially like the ballast quickcon connectors. Could have made my job a lot easier a while ago. Haa Thanks

[@cengeb]

Twist wire connectors are so 20th century. It actually stress the wires, WAGO, for the WIN

[@fredjames7680]

Yes I always like new technology. Do more videos like this

[@bnasty267]

I like that Ideal is giving some competition to Wago for the lever style. Wagos are super handy, but pricier than they should be. Not sure I see much point in new colors for an extra conductor. To me, the value in yellow/white is being able to identify the gauge instantly to make sure nothing dangerous is done like dropping to 14g on a 20A. The 3 conductor wire just isn't used enough to need new colors. MWBCs are getting rare, and that's the only time you're running that to a panel with a bunch of other cables to distinguish.

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

Great points.

[@peehandshihtzu]

I've heard that style of plier referred to as "Multi-Grip", "Tongue & Groove" & "Groove Joint" pliers. :)

[@PERFECT-ly7li]

It would be a good idea to do a review on connectors for stranded wires!

[@firsttimewatchingthehomest6054]

Very good episode. Did you see any cool new doorbell cams

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

Not as much on that front. This show was really geared towards electrical installations and not as much for low voltage/communication stuff.

[@mkraulis]

I hope you bought Ollie a nice dinner after that convention.

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

I did indeed! Hong Kong Buffet was his choice. Was fabulous although we were half starved so anything would've been good at that point in the day.

[@donhuffer5167]

After watching you and your buddy do the Wago vid. I picked up some Ideal push connectors and used them in my new home I’m building. Sorry, nobody stocks Wago brand around here. Electricians are still poo pooing them around here.

[@brianleeper5737]

I think those lever nut style connectors are better than wirenuts in the case where you don't have much wire to work with, like when you've replaced one of those mobile-home style outlets with a normal one.

[@Humphretj]

You're A Great Dad Ben.

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

It's entirely too much fun.

[@JCWise-sf9ww]

The Wireless remote Switch is neat, but what happens when the battery in it goes dead, is the battery easily replaced?

[@Dmitrytln]

What is sense to test mechanical fatigue of electrical connectors? Nobody will move cables in junction box few times per day. Much more useful is to test impedance of contacts and gauge in joining point.

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

True! Just an interesting experiment.

[@jdr03272]

Great coverage Ben! Hey, this is neither here nor there so not sure if you want to answer it but any chance you could comment on use of wire ferrules In the States? Recently bought the $200 knipex tool and some assortments on Amazon to better terminate 10 AWG STR THHN that I ran through some PVC conduit redoing my pool pad and surprised that the standards seem to be all over the place. Two different yellow color ferrules are completely different caliber, lengths, seems like it is hard to find ones that are long enough for example to terminate 10awg in wago 221s? Did I make a mistake venturing into ferrules for this application?

[@tedlahm5740]

Yellow case 12/2. a different color for 12/3. Is this a new standard?

[@dwighttravis5484]

Hello Ben, I have a question. I want to use my meter box to supply a subpanel in my garage. It has a ground rod driven in the ground beside the pole. If I put a breaker in the meter box and run the 4 wires to my proposed subpanel, do I have to drive another ground rod in the ground for the subpanel? I love your videos!!!!!!!

[@throttlebottle5906]

if it's a detached garage, yes. it's more for static/terrestrial/nearby lightning strike discharge, than to provide equipment grounding, there should also be an "intersystem bonding bridge" installed at the location the grounding wire exits the building going to the rods, in case of any tv antenna/sat dish or other external device requiring a ground. generally, two ground rods spaced over 6feet apart at minimum anymore are installed with a continuous unbroken/unspliced conductor ran from panel to both of them in series.

[@RobertKohut]

Not fair for the WAGO lever connector since you incorrectly installed the wire into it. ... 🙂

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

Exactly!

[@davidbruce3632]

Dad called them Water pump pliers.

[@Christiane069]

OK, so the "pull test" is interesting. However, when you do your installation, what is going to pull on the connectors? It looks like they all about the same. The price point will decide.

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

The pull test definitely doesn't have much real world application. Just a fun and interesting way to observe durability in an unusual way.

[@throttlebottle5906]

it's more an issue of them being twisted back and forth by loose devices or spring tension in the wires and thermal cycling, making them back off. ALL of them can be removed by gently pulling outward and rotating the wire or connector back and forth. yes it scratches the wire which needs cut and re-stripped, also throw away any connector you do that too. not knocking them only, I have seen plenty of failures with every type of connection over the years and most of it stem back to poor installation practices.

[@Christiane069]

Thank for the feedback.@@throttlebottle5906

[@kpdvw]

new stuff is always nice but I stick with what works for me, to wit Ideal Wing Nuts...!

[@BenSegal-iu6zn]

How can I buy these wiggled home Depot doesn't have them maybe I could order them

[@gorf9711]

When Lightning strikes 88 miles n hour The Flux capacitor relies on that

[@andrewallen8764]

Milwaukee...hummm...and there from Minnesota are they not?

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

Almost! Wisconsin is their official headquarters.

[@UGotTheFunk]

I hate when companies patent things that should be standardized across the board. The color coding cable is a great idea, but it will just introduce more confusion if other companies have to change their color scheme if they want to implement the same concept. This leaves the electrician or DIYers to have to remember the color codes for each cabling manufacturer instead of just keeping it the same.

[@jasoncevallos4073]

The good thing is as far as I know there’s only 2 big wire companies. Romex as the one showed which I just a few month ago heard of and started using

[@brucehuber4015]

More

[@coldfinger459sub0]

I don’t care about the pull test so much. Run maximum amperage through the connection for 24 hours like the electric space heater left on in the winter time.. then come back with the results.

[@mattv5281]

Purple NM for reclaimed electricity?

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

Purple for 12/3! Not sure about reclaimed electricity...

[@mattv5281]

@@BenjaminSahlstrom just don't drink it.

[@brianleeper5737]

Hah! purple is the underground utility mark for reclaimed water lines. I've never actually seen such a mark, only ever saw it on a color code list.

[@mattv5281]

@@brianleeper5737 purple pipe, valve boxes, and sprinkler heads are pretty common for irrigation systems using reclaimed water where I am. I've never seen a utility locator mark it, probably because they don't usually do irrigation.

[@brianleeper5737]

@@mattv5281 What's considered reclaimed water? I have an advanced treatment (aerobic) septic system which feeds a drip irrigation system. None of the components are purple, though I don't think they are required to be.

[@jensschroder8214]

Wire nuts are not allowed in Germany. That's why WAGO will not manufacture any. I knew that the rigid cable could be pushed into the lever clamp.

[@NewPipeFTW]

Today I learned.. I wonder if there is any WAGO specially made for the US market. Afaik most WAGO connectors available here are rated for 400V/20A not an issue for european 230/16A circuits, but the US runs 120V with higher amperage🤔

[@JasonW.]

I assume from the skywalk this was Minneapolis?

[@JasonW.]

Doh, just restarted the video and you mentioned this was in Minneapolis. I thought I recognized the entrance to the downtown Marriott below the skywalk.

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

Nice recognition either way!

[@andrewallen8764]

Some of the vendors didnt seen to be interested in showcasing thier priducts .Milwaukee for example then others leavin early .thier loss😮

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

Yeah, it's hard to find companies that are really enthusiastic sometimes.

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

The Leviton guys seemed really cool!

[@cengeb]

Knipex tools, make you wonder why you use any other brand? there is a BIG difference. Like Wera and Whia stuff...

[@doc_ineeda_win5834]

11:30 3d printed parts who is that can i get company name at that booth?

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

Sure thing! Here's their website: advancedtek.com/

[@John-dp3ln]

Pull test is not a valid test, voltage drop yes, using as a pulling device, no. If conductors stay put when tucking, this is the requirement.

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

True! Was just interesting.

[@cengeb]

Wago, more German excellence. screw on connectors are so last century

[@cengeb]

K NIPEX...hard K, GERMAN

[@billk8780]

I was taught by my dad who was an industrial electrician. They will have to pry the wire nuts out of my cold, dead hands. Just sayin'.

[@anthonyesposito7]

Patents are stupid

[@MasterShiFu714]

First let's go tesla

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

I kinda want one to be honest... That acceleration is wild! Unfortunately electric vehicles really struggle in the cold...

[@w3vjp568]

@@BenjaminSahlstrom Tesla has sold more cars than any other manufacturer for two years are in a row in Norway, and that includes internal combustion engine cars. I know tax incentives probably have a lot to do with that, but still that’s impressive.

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

@@w3vjp568 For sure. I'm guessing Norwegian commutes are probably a lit shorter? That could be a contributing factor as well.

[@w3vjp568]

@@BenjaminSahlstrom could be. I know there’s a guy in British Columbia who has a KZbin channel that has done some cold weather evaluation on his Tesla. BCTeslaGuy. Might be worth checking out.

[@brianleeper5737]

@@BenjaminSahlstrom I think the newer ones use a heat pump in addition to resistance heat?

[@brianerock]

Very interesting video! Don’t impose English pronunciation on a German name. It’s WAH-go, not WAY-go. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Vowel_Shift?wprov=sfti1

[@BenjaminSahlstrom]

So I've been told! Sorry about that!

[@brothermine2292]

But don't Germans pronounce "w" like a "v"?