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Post by brucew268 on Apr 5, 2024 18:00:34 GMT
I’ve long preferred a hydra-style distribution block in order to save hundreds on plugs and sockets in favour of hard-wired copper contacts. However, my previous iteration that handled 5-6 mains leads was a bear to work with whenever changing in a new lead because the leads all came out through the lid. Previous iteration
A pain to change out leads
So I needed a new design where the leads came out the side and I could remove the lid completely without fiddling with the leads and the valves. I calculated that the distribution box needed to be 95mm tall to provide a working space of at least 67mm tall in order to seat 5-6 leads. Fortunately, Fibox fits that bill with a polycarbonate box 170 x 140 x 95mm. (@https://uk.rs-online.com/web/) Since I’m hardwired at the wall also, I need the function of a fuse/cutoff and so make use of a circuit breaker. In my case, the circuit breaker is in output of the balanced mains transformer a meter away. However, if I didn’t have such I would have housed a circuit breaker directly in the distribution box like in my previous iteration but that needs a larger 230 x 140 x 95mm Fibox, also available from RS. I really like the Wago 221 series because: • They are all copper contacts • Meet electrical code and handle 30A • Have options to fit 4mm2 or 6mm2, bare wire or boot lace ferruled • Are a doddle to mount/unmount cables • Make for a tidy connection stage. I superglued the Wago connectors with 10mm acrylic spacers to raise the connectors off the metal plate, and on the corners put an extra 10mm spacer so the connectors wouldn’t interfere with the adjacent bank of connectors.
Note: for the wire leads to reach the Live, Neutral, and Earth connector banks, the outer sheaths were stripped back 12cm, so that needed to be taken into account for the overall length of cable purchased. The result looks tidy, is easy to maintain, and sounds great, better than my old setups by every measure. This is not a recommendation but an explanation of what I did and why I like it. Don’t mess with mains-level voltages unless you know your way around it and appreciate safety codes. |
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Post by misterc on Apr 5, 2024 18:32:41 GMT
Very clean & neat Bruce
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Bigman80
Grandmaster
AA Founding Member & Bigbottle Audio Creator
Posts: 16,099
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Post by Bigman80 on Apr 5, 2024 21:14:10 GMT
brucew268 I love this. It's an absolutely perfect implementation for mains. Well done sir! Those Wago...are they definitely copper?
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Post by brucew268 on Apr 5, 2024 21:58:06 GMT
brucew268 I love this. It's an absolutely perfect implementation for mains. Well done sir! Those Wago...are they definitely copper? Thank you. Yes, the data specs say the contacts are copper and the housing is polycarbonate. |
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Bigman80
Grandmaster
AA Founding Member & Bigbottle Audio Creator
Posts: 16,099
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Post by Bigman80 on Apr 5, 2024 22:02:03 GMT
brucew268 I love this. It's an absolutely perfect implementation for mains. Well done sir! Those Wago...are they definitely copper? Thank you. Yes, the data specs say the contacts are copper and the housing is polycarbonate. I've just ordered some to have a good look at. I like.low mass connections these days. Excellent work mate. How is the system sounding with all of this effort you've been secretly been investing? |
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Post by brucew268 on Apr 5, 2024 22:10:44 GMT
How is the system sounding with all of this effort you've been secretly been investing? Better in most respects. The changed furniture arrangement this week brought some better resolution, showing that I previously had a reflection causing some hidden muddiness. I am chasing down an issue that only shows up in a few recordings, which reveals that the appearance of good balance and transparency is partly due to certain forces compensating for each other. |
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Post by brucew268 on Apr 5, 2024 22:14:27 GMT
I've just ordered some to have a good look at. I like.low mass connections these days. Excellent work mate. Here is a cutaway look at the interior:
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Bigman80
Grandmaster
AA Founding Member & Bigbottle Audio Creator
Posts: 16,099
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Post by Bigman80 on Apr 6, 2024 8:34:19 GMT
I've just ordered some to have a good look at. I like.low mass connections these days. Excellent work mate. Here is a cutaway look at the interior:
They are cool aren't they. I will take one apart and check everything is what I want it to be then I may make one of my own. Wondering if it's even more beneficial to do the hydra straight from the mains socket and add collets to a blanking plate. The brain is working lol |
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Post by brucew268 on Apr 6, 2024 10:48:31 GMT
Wondering if it's even more beneficial to do the hydra straight from the mains socket and add collets to a blanking plate. The brain is working lol You mean like this?  2024-04-06_11-46-48 by Bruce Warren, on Flickr |
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Bigman80
Grandmaster
AA Founding Member & Bigbottle Audio Creator
Posts: 16,099
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Post by Bigman80 on Apr 6, 2024 10:49:46 GMT
Wondering if it's even more beneficial to do the hydra straight from the mains socket and add collets to a blanking plate. The brain is working lol You mean like this? 2024-04-06_11-46-48 by Bruce Warren, on Flickr I do!....but four of them! |
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Post by brucew268 on Apr 6, 2024 11:04:17 GMT
I do!....but four of them! Oh, right! You could, but the main problem I've found is that there's not much room in a pattress box and rather fiddly when not configured like I did in the hydra box. So if using a blanking plate, you'd want a deep, probably surface mount pattress box and not get in there to change things much. When things were set up in the lounge, I had enough trouble adding one flexi as a spur connectd into a socket until I used a 45mm surface mount box. But then I have interior brick walls less than 2cm behind the plaster. In this pic, I disconnected the sockets altogether in order to make things easy, but using four flexis into that space would be cramped if even possible. |
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Post by brucew268 on Apr 6, 2024 11:06:54 GMT
BTW: my flexi feed from wall into the distribution box are 4mm wires.
Also fixed "patten" to "pattress" above. Brain glitch.
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Bigman80
Grandmaster
AA Founding Member & Bigbottle Audio Creator
Posts: 16,099
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Post by Bigman80 on Apr 6, 2024 12:51:52 GMT
I do!....but four of them! Oh, right! You could, but the main problem I've found is that there's not much room in a patten box and rather fiddly when not configured like I did in the hydra box. So if using a blanking plate, you'd want a deep, probably surface mount patten box and not get in there to change things much. When things were set up in the lounge, I had enough trouble adding one flexi as a spur connectd into a socket until I used a 45mm surface mount box. But then I have interior brick walls less than 2cm behind the plaster. In this pic, I disconnected the sockets altogether in order to make things easy, but using four flexis into that space would be cramped if even possible. Yup, it is quite snug in there. I'll give it some thought. |
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