I’m starting work on a new project, and planning for all the wiring connections is already getting out of hand.
I’ve been using Wago Lever Nuts, which I’ve been using for a few years now, but even they’re not enough to tame everything.
I came across DIN-mounted terminal blocks, such as the screw-mount terminal from Phoenix Contact that’s shown above, and they seem to be almost perfect.
These types of terminal blocks are often used in industrial systems to help make wiring easy to manage, and so it makes sense that it’s the next choice for my gazillion-wire project.
It’s taken me some time to learn about all the nuances – what size blocks to get, what style, how the jumpers work, and what the different accessories do, but it all makes sense now.
The one confusion I have so far is about to utilize disconnect or test disconnect blocks to set up easy to toggle test and measurement contacts, such as for voltage and current measurements. I’m sure there’s an easy way to do it, but from how it looks now, my options are to use extra smaller blocks, or to use much larger blocks which have multiple connections.
The one annoyance is that you have to use them with DIN rails – special industry-standard steel channels, although there are some direct-mount options with limited features and capabilities.
There are multiple ways to wire up a project, and I’m happy to have found one more way to do things.
A number of brands offer these types of accessories, such as Phoenix Contact and Wago.
If you’ve worked with DIN-mounted terminal blocks before, do you have any tips you’d like to share?