Thomas & Betts 14RB-FL Locking Fork Terminal (18-14 AWG, Insulated Vinyl)

Two stud sizes are built: 14RB-8FL for a #8 screw or stud, and 14RB-10FL for a #10. Match it to the terminal block or ground screw you're landing on. Both use the same 18-14 AWG barrel, so the only decision is the stud size at the tongue end.

Rated 600V and good to 105 degrees C, with UL and CSA on the terminal and a UL 94 V-0 flammability rating on the vinyl insulation. That combination covers typical control panel, motor control, and fixture wiring duty.

Both are vinyl-insulated fork terminals. The Thomas & Betts 14RB-FL uses a locking tongue designed so the terminal goes on like a fork and stays on like a ring, with a copper barrel, electro tin-plated finish, blue insulation for 18-14 AWG wire, and a 600V, 105 degree C rating. The 3M part is a block fork terminal from the Highland series, so the tongue is a plain block fork rather than a locking style. Choose the 14RB-FL where you want the terminal to resist backing off a loosened screw, and the Highland block fork where a straight slide-off fork is acceptable.

The nearest alternative we carry is the 3M Highland vinyl-insulated block fork terminal, also a vinyl-insulated fork. The difference is the tongue: the T&B RB series uses a locking tongue that resists backing out under vibration, so if that retention is what you're after, stay with the 14RB-FL.

A plain fork slides under a loosened screw but can vibrate back out; a ring has to come off the stud entirely to change a wire. The 14RB-FL tongue is shaped so it goes on like a fork and stays on like a ring, which is why it's used on terminal strips and control panels where you want fast field service without the connection backing off.

Thomas & Betts recommends the ERG4001 for these. Other tools listed for the terminal are the ERG4003, WT145C, WT2000, and WT112M. Use a tool cycled for insulated barrels; a general-purpose plier crimp will not give a repeatable crimp on the vinyl-insulated barrel.

Overall length runs 0.97 inch, with the tongue dimensions at 0.29 and 0.27 inch and an 0.81 inch M dimension. On tightly pitched blocks, check the tongue width against your screw spacing before you crimp a whole harness.

The Thomas & Betts 14RB-FL is specified for the ERG4001 recommended tool, with ERG4003, WT145C, WT2000 and WT112M also listed as application tools, so matching crimp quality assumes one of those dies. If your crews are standardized on a different crimper, the 3M Highland vinyl-insulated block fork terminal is the comparable insulated fork style to spec instead. Both are vinyl-insulated fork terminals for screw and stud terminations.

No. A block fork, like the 3M Highland vinyl-insulated block fork terminal, has a straight open-slot tongue that lifts out from under a loosened screw. The Thomas & Betts 14RB-FL locking fork has a specially designed tongue that goes on like a fork but stays on like a ring, giving it retention closer to a ring terminal while still allowing side entry. They look similar on a shelf, so confirm the tongue style before treating one as a drop-in for the other.

They come 100 to an inner pack and 500 to the outer carton, and the order multiple is 100. So you buy in hundreds, not onesies, which suits panel shops and MRO stockrooms building a bin.

Copper body with an electro tin plating, which is what gives it corrosion resistance and a compatible contact surface against plated screws and bus. Stock thickness is 0.03 inch. It is RoHS compliant.