To solder or not to solder?
- Thread starter Santa
- Start date
offgriddle
"FOREVER BEGINNING"
Soldering is Divine. Nothing beats a good solder connection for maximum conductivity and minimal current loss via heat as a result of oxidation/corrosion. I even solder crimp connection's on to copper cables sometimes. The key is starting with clean cables and connectors, use soldering flux and heat up your work sufficiently to allow the solder to melt and flow when it comes into contact with the wires and connectors and not just the soldering tip. Note: Acid core solder can be corrosive use resin core. Source: My puny noggin via many skilled & knowledgeable teachers and coworkers who shared their knowledge with me.
JeepHammer
Solar Wizard
- Joined
- Nov 15, 2019
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Sorry everyone, I got this going...
Proper Tin coated MARINE grade wire is hateful expensive,
Each strand in the bundle is 'Tin' coated, usually copper conductor material.
The strands, no matter how small have to be cleaned, then they are run though a vat of tin heated to liquid.
It's really interesting to watch, but the time, energy, tin & equipment drive the price up.
I've only specified Marine Grade tined wire in salt mines & salt water applications.
Marine Grade should be a hint...
-------
'TINNING' as a MEANS OF PROTECTING EXPOSED BARE COPPER is what I was talking about,
And I should have made that clear, sometime I get ahead of myself when explaining things,
And for that I'm sorry to everyone involved.
-------
NO MATTER HOW 'GOOD' THE CRIMP IS...
A 'Hollow' terminal and the space between insulation & terminal is VULNERABLE to corrosion,
The APPLICATION will determine what can attack the exposed copper.
There are 3 rules to anything mechanical, and Murphy's Law applies.
1. APPLICATION.
2. APPLICATION.
3. APPLICATION.
Murphy's Law, Anything that *Can* go wrong, WILL go wrong, and at the WORST possible time.
This shows the 'Parting Line' in flattened copper tubing, and 'Blind Socket' where battery acid/corrosives simply can not enter the connector socket in the first place.
That parting line is a highway to the wire strands, the little barrel type crimp terminals are worse.
IF YOU USE these flattened copper tubing lugs on battery cables, I can't suggest strongly enough you solder the tubing closed from the socket end, even if you don't solder the cable into the terminal!
---------
As for 'Perfect' crimps,
From a metalurgy standpoint there is no such thing.
Metallurgical speaking, it doesn't matter what you do to the copper conductor/terminal, you aren't working g in a clean room, you aren't using chemical/mechanical means to strip copper clean,
The oxygen in AIR it was exposed to at the factory before getting insulation, and the air you exposed it to while stripping/crimping will give the copper a 'Skin Layer', no matter how hard you crimp the strands are never going to bond with the terminal end 100%...
There is a microscopic layer of corrosion ('Skin Layer') on the copper from oxygen/moisture in the air you are breathing while making your crimps...
Metallurgical speaking, you have introduced copper oxide contamination, no matter how microscopic in amount, into the connection.
Grease will help seal further intrusion of moisture/oxygen & other contamination out of the connection,
But consider grease dries out, solder doesn't.
Even conductive grease is resistance between conductors and terminal.
A proper, silver bearing solder is MUCH less resistance, with pure silver being the least electrical resistance, infact conducting electrical current better than the copper itself.
Every big electronics producer has exacting specifications for wire strands size, the hardness of the conductor, the number of strands in the bundle, the terminal thickness & material, and they spend thousands on crimping machines to get exactly the correct sized & compression...
A couple of guys have chimed in already about the lengths manufacturers go to get "As Close" to a perfect crimp as possible...
This is all well & good, but consider their products only need to 'Live' through a warranty period...
And survive consumer products testing.
Decades (plural) aren't even considered, just a 1 to 3 year warranty period for US goods (with few exceptions).
When you consider the #1 warranty complaint, and #1 time consumer for vehicle dealerships is wiring problems (according to Motor magazine, Chrysler & GM),
You start to understand why they do stuff like they do, an obvious (unsoldered) failure is MUCH easier to find than a hidden failure in the harness somewhere...
Big trucks in particular, pounding 100k miles a year through road salt...
You can't even buy an extended warranty on the wiring harness past the mandated 36 months, and they are $160,000 to $250,000 vehicles.
Salt water and calcium chloride are common on road ways, and are in concentration up to 100 times sea water.
-----------
In solar applications, salt air on the coast, and corrosive battery electrolytes are what we deal with.
Dip bare clean, shiny bare copper wire in salt brine or battery electrolyte and leave it sit just a couple of days and you will prove to yourself what it does to copper.
Run a DC current through that conductor and see what happens...
ANYTHING to keep the corrosives off the bare copper is useful, as the stories above, and a million more like them will tell you.
----------
Solar systems as a whole, don't have the vibration problems aircraft, automotive applications do.
The wires vibrating work hardens the copper strands just behind the terminal crimp, and wires get brittle.
Battery cables were the subject of discussion, big, heavy 3/0 cables, not little fine wires in a vehicle.
Just the MASS of the cable, and the bundle size dampens movement.
Unless you can make a *Perfect* crimp with *Perfectly* cleaned conductor & terminal end... ?
I've spent my entire life battling corrosion, and unless someone comes up with a conductor other than copper that DOESN'T corrode with breathing air and the moisture in that air, I'm probably going to battle corrosion the rest of my life...
I'm 60 years old, I've been doing this stuff since the 1st grade or before, and it's been my business for 25+ years.
I don't want to degrade or crap on anyone, and I'm not going to.
It's application,
The guys in the desert with low humidity/moisture, no salt, and higher elevation where the oxygen level is reduced (O, O2, O3) they won't need nearly as much protection as someone at sea level next to, or on the ocean.
Some guys have about zero corrosion issues...
Ask a big truck mechanic in the north eastern snow belt what kind of issues he sees with corrosion on copper wires carrying DC current and you brain will melt...
---------
If you know a way for the common, everyday electrician or working guy to beat corrosion better than hard mechanical crimp, silver bearing electrical solder and glue lined heat shrink I'd sure like to know it!
When I'm soldering on terminals, I 'Tin' the unprotected copper strands between insulation and terminal socket,
I solder the terminal into the cable so NOTHING can get into the copper.
Since I've sawed and milled apart, cross sectioned hundreds of heavy cable terminals and done microscopic failure analysis, including metallurgical micrographs,
I can tell you the 'Best' DIY crimp job with ANY crimp tool is a LONG WAY from 'PERFECT' (and that includes mine using $1,000+ crimp tools),
Proper silver bearing electrical solder solves a WHOLE lot of problems, makes a WHOLE lot of mistakes 'Right', and is the best thing you can do for heavy, COSTLY cables that MUST conduct high DC Amperage.
When we are talking small wires, I usually only worry about a wiring harness, something not easily removed.
Short connection wires are replaceable for a few cents, common wire, and 'Consumable' for me.
Low amperage and easy to replace, no issues. (higher the amperage, the faster the conductor degrades)
A final note for when you hear a solder line breaks wires...
Keep in mind the 'Breakage' issue can happen with just crimped connections.
A crimped square end (wire socket 'mouth') will bend wires at exactly the same place every time.
If the socket doesn't have a belled/flared mouth to allow the conductor a long radius bend, it's exactly the same as a solder line (square).
Now, just to show off...
A micrograph showing a 'Hardness' punch mark to be measured to determine 'Hardness' of the material,
Sample Scientifically sectioned, mounted in epoxy, polished down to 2 microns (rubbing a finger over it would ruin the inspection surface), chemically etched & stained for micrograph inspection under the microscope...
Another micrograph with margins being inspected, the edges show finer crystal grains, work hardening breakage as the material was mechanically sized, and the darker corrosion layer from exposure to 'Air' atmosphere.
All copper/copper alloy (brass, bronze, etc.) Is crystalline in nature.
Notice the slight 'Green' cast color at the edges? That's oxygen in the air doing that...
A quality control test strip from my production machines, forming the material into something useable, precisely sized and properly heat treated for 'Hardness'...
The point is, I'm not just talking out of my butt or quoting 'BoobTube' videos,
I have industrial & even military contracts, and I have to PROVE on a microscopic level the work was done correctly,
And YES, manufacturers/military even specifies the cross sectional density ('Hardness') of the material, as well as alloy makeup, contaminants, impurities, size down to 0.0001" (or less), the humidity control during manufacture & shipping, ect.
Proper Tin coated MARINE grade wire is hateful expensive,
Each strand in the bundle is 'Tin' coated, usually copper conductor material.
The strands, no matter how small have to be cleaned, then they are run though a vat of tin heated to liquid.
It's really interesting to watch, but the time, energy, tin & equipment drive the price up.
I've only specified Marine Grade tined wire in salt mines & salt water applications.
Marine Grade should be a hint...
-------
'TINNING' as a MEANS OF PROTECTING EXPOSED BARE COPPER is what I was talking about,
And I should have made that clear, sometime I get ahead of myself when explaining things,
And for that I'm sorry to everyone involved.
-------
NO MATTER HOW 'GOOD' THE CRIMP IS...
A 'Hollow' terminal and the space between insulation & terminal is VULNERABLE to corrosion,
The APPLICATION will determine what can attack the exposed copper.
There are 3 rules to anything mechanical, and Murphy's Law applies.
1. APPLICATION.
2. APPLICATION.
3. APPLICATION.
Murphy's Law, Anything that *Can* go wrong, WILL go wrong, and at the WORST possible time.
This shows the 'Parting Line' in flattened copper tubing, and 'Blind Socket' where battery acid/corrosives simply can not enter the connector socket in the first place.
That parting line is a highway to the wire strands, the little barrel type crimp terminals are worse.
IF YOU USE these flattened copper tubing lugs on battery cables, I can't suggest strongly enough you solder the tubing closed from the socket end, even if you don't solder the cable into the terminal!
---------
As for 'Perfect' crimps,
From a metalurgy standpoint there is no such thing.
Metallurgical speaking, it doesn't matter what you do to the copper conductor/terminal, you aren't working g in a clean room, you aren't using chemical/mechanical means to strip copper clean,
The oxygen in AIR it was exposed to at the factory before getting insulation, and the air you exposed it to while stripping/crimping will give the copper a 'Skin Layer', no matter how hard you crimp the strands are never going to bond with the terminal end 100%...
There is a microscopic layer of corrosion ('Skin Layer') on the copper from oxygen/moisture in the air you are breathing while making your crimps...
Metallurgical speaking, you have introduced copper oxide contamination, no matter how microscopic in amount, into the connection.
Grease will help seal further intrusion of moisture/oxygen & other contamination out of the connection,
But consider grease dries out, solder doesn't.
Even conductive grease is resistance between conductors and terminal.
A proper, silver bearing solder is MUCH less resistance, with pure silver being the least electrical resistance, infact conducting electrical current better than the copper itself.
Every big electronics producer has exacting specifications for wire strands size, the hardness of the conductor, the number of strands in the bundle, the terminal thickness & material, and they spend thousands on crimping machines to get exactly the correct sized & compression...
A couple of guys have chimed in already about the lengths manufacturers go to get "As Close" to a perfect crimp as possible...
This is all well & good, but consider their products only need to 'Live' through a warranty period...
And survive consumer products testing.
Decades (plural) aren't even considered, just a 1 to 3 year warranty period for US goods (with few exceptions).
When you consider the #1 warranty complaint, and #1 time consumer for vehicle dealerships is wiring problems (according to Motor magazine, Chrysler & GM),
You start to understand why they do stuff like they do, an obvious (unsoldered) failure is MUCH easier to find than a hidden failure in the harness somewhere...
Big trucks in particular, pounding 100k miles a year through road salt...
You can't even buy an extended warranty on the wiring harness past the mandated 36 months, and they are $160,000 to $250,000 vehicles.
Salt water and calcium chloride are common on road ways, and are in concentration up to 100 times sea water.
-----------
In solar applications, salt air on the coast, and corrosive battery electrolytes are what we deal with.
Dip bare clean, shiny bare copper wire in salt brine or battery electrolyte and leave it sit just a couple of days and you will prove to yourself what it does to copper.
Run a DC current through that conductor and see what happens...
ANYTHING to keep the corrosives off the bare copper is useful, as the stories above, and a million more like them will tell you.
----------
Solar systems as a whole, don't have the vibration problems aircraft, automotive applications do.
The wires vibrating work hardens the copper strands just behind the terminal crimp, and wires get brittle.
Battery cables were the subject of discussion, big, heavy 3/0 cables, not little fine wires in a vehicle.
Just the MASS of the cable, and the bundle size dampens movement.
Unless you can make a *Perfect* crimp with *Perfectly* cleaned conductor & terminal end... ?
I've spent my entire life battling corrosion, and unless someone comes up with a conductor other than copper that DOESN'T corrode with breathing air and the moisture in that air, I'm probably going to battle corrosion the rest of my life...
I'm 60 years old, I've been doing this stuff since the 1st grade or before, and it's been my business for 25+ years.
I don't want to degrade or crap on anyone, and I'm not going to.
It's application,
The guys in the desert with low humidity/moisture, no salt, and higher elevation where the oxygen level is reduced (O, O2, O3) they won't need nearly as much protection as someone at sea level next to, or on the ocean.
Some guys have about zero corrosion issues...
Ask a big truck mechanic in the north eastern snow belt what kind of issues he sees with corrosion on copper wires carrying DC current and you brain will melt...
---------
If you know a way for the common, everyday electrician or working guy to beat corrosion better than hard mechanical crimp, silver bearing electrical solder and glue lined heat shrink I'd sure like to know it!
When I'm soldering on terminals, I 'Tin' the unprotected copper strands between insulation and terminal socket,
I solder the terminal into the cable so NOTHING can get into the copper.
Since I've sawed and milled apart, cross sectioned hundreds of heavy cable terminals and done microscopic failure analysis, including metallurgical micrographs,
I can tell you the 'Best' DIY crimp job with ANY crimp tool is a LONG WAY from 'PERFECT' (and that includes mine using $1,000+ crimp tools),
Proper silver bearing electrical solder solves a WHOLE lot of problems, makes a WHOLE lot of mistakes 'Right', and is the best thing you can do for heavy, COSTLY cables that MUST conduct high DC Amperage.
When we are talking small wires, I usually only worry about a wiring harness, something not easily removed.
Short connection wires are replaceable for a few cents, common wire, and 'Consumable' for me.
Low amperage and easy to replace, no issues. (higher the amperage, the faster the conductor degrades)
A final note for when you hear a solder line breaks wires...
Keep in mind the 'Breakage' issue can happen with just crimped connections.
A crimped square end (wire socket 'mouth') will bend wires at exactly the same place every time.
If the socket doesn't have a belled/flared mouth to allow the conductor a long radius bend, it's exactly the same as a solder line (square).
Now, just to show off...
A micrograph showing a 'Hardness' punch mark to be measured to determine 'Hardness' of the material,
Sample Scientifically sectioned, mounted in epoxy, polished down to 2 microns (rubbing a finger over it would ruin the inspection surface), chemically etched & stained for micrograph inspection under the microscope...
Another micrograph with margins being inspected, the edges show finer crystal grains, work hardening breakage as the material was mechanically sized, and the darker corrosion layer from exposure to 'Air' atmosphere.
All copper/copper alloy (brass, bronze, etc.) Is crystalline in nature.
Notice the slight 'Green' cast color at the edges? That's oxygen in the air doing that...
A quality control test strip from my production machines, forming the material into something useable, precisely sized and properly heat treated for 'Hardness'...
The point is, I'm not just talking out of my butt or quoting 'BoobTube' videos,
I have industrial & even military contracts, and I have to PROVE on a microscopic level the work was done correctly,
And YES, manufacturers/military even specifies the cross sectional density ('Hardness') of the material, as well as alloy makeup, contaminants, impurities, size down to 0.0001" (or less), the humidity control during manufacture & shipping, ect.
Last edited:
Santa
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P.S. I called NAPA and they can't do my connections. I called an RV supplies company and they "might" be able to do it, but they aren't close to me. SMH. Someone else here suggested I ask a welding company. I want to learn to do it myself, but I am trying to get my supplies (after having almost everything cancelled by Amazon for no reason), and rid myself of my sticks n-bricks, belongings, and get the vehicle. I see a vehicle I want, but don't have time to do everything...I am beyond swamped. I may just hire ANYONE with proper skills to do the connections and I will learn the proper way to connect wires later when I meet up with some of you or other caravans?? Thanks guys.
Last edited:
Santa
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https://www.mobile-solarpower.com/simplified-400-watt-fewer-wires-and-alternator-charging.html I will start w/two battleborns only, later connecting the starter battery
Santa
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JeepHammer directed me to a site to get some good solder, thanks!
Santa
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I bought some other connectors (I have a thread asking how to use them) and they screw also. (was told not to use them.) I think I would just feel safer with crimped and soldered connections. Thanks!I think go with what your capability is. If you have a crimper that will do the job then crimp them. If you have a big enough iron to solder what you have solder. If you don't have either and are doing only one job use screw try clamps.
They all work and everyone has there own opinion to what is best. Your choice.
These work really good if you put the wire in the right place. I wouldn't have picked them just looking at them but once I did, now I use them all the time. The wire goes in a so that when the screw is loosened you can insert the wire so it is surrounded by copper and when the screw is tightened the wire is crunched on all sides. The wire does not touch the screw. It is not obvious.
Blackburn Copper Mechanical Wire Connector 3/0 Stranded to #4 Stranded with Single Hole Mount (2-Pack) BTC3104-B2-5 - The Home Depot
The Blackburn #3/0 Stranded to #4 Stranded Type-BC Single Conductor 1-Hole Mount Wire Connectors (2-Pack) are used in power and grounding electrical connection applications including termination of a conductor. These connectors are composed of a seamless copper frame with a zinc-plated steel screw.www.homedepot.com
Good Luck...
Last edited:
JeepHammer
Solar Wizard
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The LiFePo4 batteries aren't going to cause the problems flooded acid batteries will...
Raw acid and terminals/wire never got along and still don't.
Add in heating/cooling cycles & moisture issues and it's a non-stop battle.
Serviceable soldering isn't that hard to learn, and using a torch on heavy terminals makes it cheap.
'Meth-Head' lighter/torch works just fine on simple tubing lugs up to about 4 Ga.
Larger than that and it's a propane torch from the hardware store.
Stay out of the wind, don't breathe the smoke, and practice on scraps.
Lumpy/chunky means too little heat,
Drips & stiff wire mean too much solder,
Dry, crusty, dull means too much heat,
Smooth, shiny, even 'Flow' of the solder means it's just right...
I don't solder with a torch under about 10 Ga. using heavy terminals, instead I break out the (expensive) soldering iron.
The guys are dead right on solder,
The best flowing solder was the really fine Radio Shack stuff, you had to double it over several times and twist it for enough volume in big connections, but it flowed like a champ.
Anything US made works pretty well, just stick to silver bearing (% of silver content) and rosin core (no acid core EVER!) And it will be easy to learn to do a very passable connection.
With the wire/terminal tilted down 20° to 40° the heat 'Should' rise away from insulation (waste heat),
Don't point your torch at the insulation!
When you strip cable, you only want enough cable exposed to fill up the socket, when crimping only, the insulation should touch the the terminal.
When you solder, there should be just enough gap between insulation and terminal for solder to enter.
Crimped before solder,
After soldering,
HEAT THE TERMINAL WHEN USING A TORCH!
RIGHT AT THE END OF THE WIRE SOCKET, BETWEEN WIRE SOCKET & TERMINAL CONNECTOR PART, IN THIS CASE IT'S A POST BATTERY 'RING'.
When you are doing heavy lugs (ends of wires NOT exposed) hold the solder against the wire.
The solder will 'Kind Of' melt, this is a sign you are getting close to correct heat, very soon the solder will flow silky smooth.
When the solder 'Flows'-- Stop heating!
The heat in the terminal/wire is high enough for solder to flow, so STOP HEATING before insulation melts!
When I remember to put the (expensive) heat shrink on the cable before I crimp/solder
,There is plenty of heat to shrink the tubing down.
Drop it as far down on the connector as you can, the heat in the terminal/cable will shrink it in place.
*IF* you have heat shrink that doesn't shrink, DO NOT hold flame against the tubing.
Wave heat back and forth and give it time to shrink...
Notice the heat shrink is just dropped into place and it's already shrinking in some places?
Direct torch flame will burn/stiffen/crack the heat shrink.
Indirect heat (rising) will do a MUCH better job, but it takes a little time this way.
This is a minute or two later, notice it's shrinking so much it's squeezing liquid glue out to seal up anyplace moisture can enter?
The shrink started at terminal and moved backwards, shrank slower as heat reduced, but the entire cable/terminal connection is now sealed and will stay sealed for decades (if it's kept out of sunlight, UV breaks down wire insulation and heat shrink over time).
I solder/heat shrink anything that will have moisture or acid exposure,
Anything that's going to be outside in the rain, anything that's going to have mud/dirt collect on it, anything that high amperage/no fail application.
The TERMINAL/LUG can corrode, but you can SEE that in inspections/maintenance.
The connecting inside the terminal socket CAN NOT be seen, so it goes from a scheduled maintenance issue to failure without notice/single failure point in the system.
Anything that's hidden (inside the socket) gets soldered & heat shrink.
WHERE to solder is application...
Last edited:
Santa
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I was directed to a site with the 3m glue heat shrink (ty JeepHammer) thank you!
Santa
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So you say use resin but JeepHammer says not to. Confusion has definitely set in, LOL @offgriddle
Even WELL heat shrunk connections in marine or around lead acid need special attention that soldering would solve.
I'm just being devil's advocate. I do not know what is best.
The flattened tube terminals are a mess around acid, the cheap terminals with openings where flattened suck also...
I am fine with crimp around my indoor lithium banks, but on FLA batteries, I have had a mess with crimped, and on mobile applications, I've seen soldered cables fall apart...
YMMV
Anytime I respond to a statement or question, I try to include a quote. If I do include one I am directly responding to the quoted message.
Santa
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General response: I am going to be traveling the entire U.S. I will want anti-salt/ocean water/snow environment protection included. At the moment, I SAVED to be able to buy what is best and necessary. I'm not rich, but I want to set this up in the best way with the best materials (if I can afford them within reason!) If you tell me to buy something, I WILL LISTEN if it's the best for my system!
WOW! This is awesome!
From reading your posts, I think you want what is best, but it also sounds like you want to do this once and not ever worry about it.
No matter what you do, or how you do it, winter salt will creep in and cause issues needing maintenance.
Be ABSOLUTELY sure you know this going in.
Inspect stuff regularly and know what is what and I think you will never get stranded in the dark.
Santa
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@JeepHammer Will's blueprint changed since the first version and the wires for the entire system will be as follows:
10AWG for DC appliances
10awg for solar
4 AWG for most connections
1/0 for inverter to battery connections (with heavy duty lugs you showed me)
2 AWG battery to battery
Here are my questions, please:
You may have answered me in the other thread, so sorry if I'm repeating, but should I solder ALL the connections or just the 1/0 heavy duty ones at inverter to battery? Can the smaller connections just be crimped?
Should I buy heavy duty for ALL connections?
I am TRYING to buy everything, and I keep getting more info, which changes what to buy. For instance, will this be a decent crimper for 1/0 wires and adding soldering? Should I buy hydraulic? Space in my RV will be limited. https://www.electricalhub.com/generic-109440-heavy-duty-hammer-crimp-tool Is there a different one you would recommend?
I think that's the only questions for now, thank you in advance.
10AWG for DC appliances
10awg for solar
4 AWG for most connections
1/0 for inverter to battery connections (with heavy duty lugs you showed me)
2 AWG battery to battery
Here are my questions, please:
You may have answered me in the other thread, so sorry if I'm repeating, but should I solder ALL the connections or just the 1/0 heavy duty ones at inverter to battery? Can the smaller connections just be crimped?
Should I buy heavy duty for ALL connections?
I am TRYING to buy everything, and I keep getting more info, which changes what to buy. For instance, will this be a decent crimper for 1/0 wires and adding soldering? Should I buy hydraulic? Space in my RV will be limited. https://www.electricalhub.com/generic-109440-heavy-duty-hammer-crimp-tool Is there a different one you would recommend?
I think that's the only questions for now, thank you in advance.
Santa
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You're wrong. I never thought it would be a one-time deal. I want what is safe to travel! I don't want fires!
JeepHammer
Solar Wizard
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Fires, with exception of some junk/unprotected (fuse/breaker) are almost always caused by cables/terminals/wiring runs.
With a properly (wire) sized system, it's almost always bad terminal ends or insulation rubbed/cut through.
Insulation issues are solved (cheaply) by armor.
Added insulation where the cables touch anything,
Good, properly sized conductor & terminals assembled correctly...
A copper tubing terminal CAN stretch after it's installed, and that's assuming it was crimped correctly in the first place.
This is electrical resistance that builds heat...
If it gets bad enough, it can spark as the current arcs across air gaps.
Think tiny welding arcs, but still building heat and degrading the connection even more every time it sparks, making even more heat...
Compression fittings and crimp are MECHANICAL connections.
They DO NOT seal out corrosives in any way, shape or form, with the excepting of blind sockets that keep battery acid from entering the connection directly...
Solder is a 100% sealed ELECTRICAL connection.
Grease will work for a while, but grease dries & cracks.
If you are lucky, it leaves behind a varnish that protects the wire, but any conductive properties are long gone when the grease shrank up while drying out, leaving an air gap in it's place.
(The guys that used grease are going to learn that one in 1-5 years, I sure did...)
Wattage (inverter, lights, appliances, etc)
2,000 Watt Inverter ÷ 12 Volt battery supply = 166.66 (167) Amps.
167 Amps CONTINUOUS duty cycle, you can not assume you aren't going to load the inverter (load) partly if you want safety.
1 Ga cable is 156 Amps continuous duty cycle without heating,
The POTENTIAL load is 167 Amps, 1 Ga. Is too small.
0 Ga. Cable has a no-heat duty cycle of 185 Amps.
This is big enough for the 167 POTENTIAL Amp load, but very little margin for safety, particularly if the inverter has to 'Surge'.
I've seen a LOT of inverter and cable fails, and almost all were cable/terminal related when the inverter was good quality.
There is a reason I don't use a 1.5 volt, 1/10 amp battery powered multimeter for testing battery cables,
I use a fully charged batter and a full on load tester.
1 good strand of conductor will fool the multimeter, but it can't fool a load tester running battery amperage.
Again, this cable showed no extra resistance, but wouldn't pull 35 Amps on a load tester.
It *Should* have pulled 220 Amps nominal, 100% duty cycle.
The guy with the multimeter couldn't find the issue since it wasn't visible and a multimeter couldn't find it.
When I tried to force 100+ amps though it, it got VERY hot! (As you can imagine)
Keep in mind this is just water damage where the terminal end laid in a puddle (welding leads).
Imagine if it was a non-sealed terminal end that had condensation/moisture soaking the cable regularly...
Santa
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i have 2 100AH battleborns. Will this change what you just said? If so, what gauge wire do you recommend? (I will attach starting battery LATER.) TY
