ELK 912 wire capacity

[sda]

I can't find any info on what's the max size wire that will fit in the ELK 912 relay terminals.
 
Will they accept a #12 or #14 solid?
 
 

 

[Monk]

Gauging by this picture, I would say that they are not designed to accept household sized wire.
 
 

 

[archstenton]

Gauging by this picture, I would say that they are not designed to accept household sized wire.

 
What's the point of a having a contact rating of 10A @ 125 VAC then?
 
I have a 924 delay module.  Looks like the terminals are probably the same part or pretty close.  I can fit a #12 solid in mine.
 
SInce it's only a 10A rating, doubt they would ever expect more than that in it.

 

[gatchel]

Most terminals of that size are good for 16awg or even sometimes 14 awg wire with no problems. If you are switching 120volt loads then you should be using a relay that is sized for the protected ampacity of the circuit not the load IMHO.

 

[Monk]

Don't do it. Just because something fits doesn't mean it is a good idea, IMHO - Those type terminals are better suited to smaller gauge wire. 

 

[sda]

I dug in my parts box and found some terminal blocks that look to be of similar size (5 to an inch).
Looking at the Mouser catalog, most of the 5 terminal blocks at 5mm pitch take a max of #14.
A piece of #14 solid fits just fine and makes good contact.  I can't pull it out by hand - I tried!
That should be good enough to switch a single flood.
For switching multiple floods, I'd have the ELK relay engage a contactor.