[Al Skierkiewicz]

OK,
Time to clear up a few misconceptions and fix some other notions.
1. I believe that the DIN rail is a required part of the Power Block. Although I have seen aluminum DIN rails, they are not easy to find. The steel rail when cut down to size (you do not need to use all of the blocks) is fairly light in the big scheme of things. The DIN rail is the designed mounting for this system and allows all the components to be firmly mounted and held together.

2. The wires pull out of the block for two reasons. One is the screws are not tight and two the wire is not stripped to specification of 5/8". Any shorter and the wire doesn not fill the entire depth of the clamp and the result is the wire will be forced out like a banana from a peel. As you tighten the clamp and wire is forced further out, the screw will seem loose and you will tighten it causing more more wire to be pushed out. The use of wiring retention devices and strain relief will only delay the failure of an improper strip, it will not prevent it.

3. Tinning the wire prevents the wire from being squeezed out of the clamp but prevents full contact between the clamp and the wire. This raises the series resistance and causes spot heating.

4. Although the IFI distro panel is a far better alternative in this application, I do not think it will return in the future. As a second best choice, last year's distro block fills the need for both veteran and rookie alike. I expect it to return in the 2008 KOP.

5. Although the power drawing was a little misleading, good practice recommends (read that as "requires") separate return wiring for each fuse block in use. What ever current passes through the red wires also pass through the black wires. Don't fall into the belief that no current flows in the common wiring. #6 or larger on both red and black wires, please. Daisy chaining of the fuse block power wiring causes all current from the block at the end of the chain to flow through the next block in line.