Must unused cable-wires be terminated ? And can I use splicing connectors for that ?

JesperMP said:

(are you guys using cables with wires that are not numbered or color coded !? *)

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Sealtite with all the pulled wires needed plus a few spares have to be labelled when cut. So, spares are labelled.

Still have customers demanding Sealtite on new installations and upgrades.

Plus, if a cable is labelled and stripped back to run the wires to the terminals and the spares are laying on the panel bottom it might be difficult to find which cable which bundle goes to - I had to move one line for a customer like this and there were about 20 cables that all had spares bundled and not labelled, just a pile of loops wires of trying to find the one wire you wanted was time consuming.

I_Automation said:

Plus, if a cable is labelled and stripped back to run the wires to the terminals and the spares are laying on the panel bottom it might be difficult to find which cable which bundle goes to - I had to move one line for a customer like this and there were about 20 cables that all had spares bundled and not labelled, just a pile of loops wires of trying to find the one wire you wanted was time consuming.

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Tip: Dont strip the cable all the way back to the bottom of the panel ... !

edit: Another tip. Excess cable length should be placed outside the cabinet, not inside the cabinet laying disorderly in the bottom of the panel.
And.. as to how far back the cable end should be stripped, then it is OK with a bit of slack so that the wires can be moved back and forth within a terminal strip, but should not be more than 20 cm or so.

mad4x4 said:

Those "Screw" on cap/cable joiners should be banned. Worst invention ever.

If you must use something use a WAGO https://www.screwfix.com/p/wago-32a-3-way-lever-connector-50-pack/2803r

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How come? The screw on caps work so well, both on 24vdc and 120vac. Just have 1 wire per cap, and you can get bigger size caps for bigger wires. Then use a tie to strap the spare wires together. Maybe your experiences are different than mine?

i believe those screw on caps are not allowed to be used in the UK

Bobobodopalus said:

i believe those screw on caps are not allowed to be used in the UK

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When you speak of “screw on caps” is this an example of what you you mean?

Like many things, they work fine if installed correctly. They certainly have their place, but usually not as a permanent termination in an industrial control panel.

I like them when used properly and in their intended locations.

dogleg43 said:

When you speak of “screw on caps” is this an example of what you you mean?

Like many things, they work fine if installed correctly. They certainly have their place, but usually not as a permanent termination in an industrial control panel.

I like them when used properly and in their intended locations.

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They are not allowed in UK and a lot of other countries.
Similar to the Wago connectors, discussed in earlier posts, but way more affordable...
These are what is used in Singapore.. I like them way better than unreliable "twist lock" connectors (because a lot of people do not know how to properly use them)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07HHQ6SGD/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

dogleg43 said:

When you speak of “screw on caps” is this an example of what you you mean?

Like many things, they work fine if installed correctly. They certainly have their place, but usually not as a permanent termination in an industrial control panel.

I like them when used properly and in their intended locations.

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These are the ones. Yeah, for permanent terminations, it's better to put wires on a terminal strip. So we may have unused i/o from a plc for example, so we take those wires from a plc into a terminal strip, and the other side of the strip is empty. But sometimes you may get a stray wire or two in the future, so some guys may use a wire cap if there's no good spot to terminate.