Copper bar

[Theo]

I am just getting together the bits that I need so that I can connect the batteries in Gibbo's approved way. I am going to use 16mmsq wires from the batteries to the busbar so I need reasonably hefty chunks of copper to blt them to.

 

Anyone know where I can get the chunks of copper?

 

Nick

[David Schweizer]

I am just getting together the bits that I need so that I can connect the batteries in Gibbo's approved way. I am going to use 16mmsq wires from the batteries to the busbar so I need reasonably hefty chunks of copper to blt them to.

 

Anyone know where I can get the chunks of copper?

 

Nick

Have you tried any Non-ferrous scrap metal merchants. I take all my waste brass and aluminium to one in Bath, and am always amazed at what else they get. It's worth an try.

[Theo]

Have you tried any Non-ferrous scrap metal merchants. I take all my waste brass and aluminium to one in Bath, and am always amazed at what else they get. It's worth an try.

That's a good idea. I shall call in when I am nxt in Grantham.

 

Nick

[NB Alnwick]

Anyone know where I can get the chunks of copper?

 

I have some - what size do you want?

[colin stone]

http://www.tranect.co.uk/ have various sizes of copper bar for busbars. I used 25mm x 6mm (150mm2) bar and then tinned it with solder paste once cut to size and drilled.

[Ex- Member]

Just thought it worth asking is Brass as good a conductor as copper, I have lots of Brass offcut, ny current 12v buzz bar is a bit small and I'm doubling up quite a bit on some connections. I have 30mm x 8mm offcut lengths. Or is copper best.

[Theo]

I have some - what size do you want?

 

That sounds good! About 25mm x 6 mm x 150mm or something around that.

 

Just a quick edit to say that I need two of them. (Pretty Please.)

 

Nick

 

Just thought it worth asking is Brass as good a conductor as copper, I have lots of Brass offcut, ny current 12v buzz bar is a bit small and I'm doubling up quite a bit on some connections. I have 30mm x 8mm offcut lengths. Or is copper best.

 

I have read elswhere on the forum that it is nothing like as good. To get an idea of how much less have a look at the resistivity in ohm-metres and compare them.

 

Copper: 1.72×10-8

Brass: 2.26 times as big.

 

 

Nick

 

http://www.tranect.co.uk/ have various sizes of copper bar for busbars. I used 25mm x 6mm (150mm2) bar and then tinned it with solder paste once cut to size and drilled.

 

Is it necessary to tin it?

 

N

Edited April 4, 2009 by Theo

[Ex- Member]

I have read elswhere on the forum that it is nothing like as good. To get an idea of how much less have a look at the resistivity in ohm-metres and compare them.

 

Copper: 1.72×10-8

Brass: 2.26 times as big.

 

Copper it is then

 

Someone mentioned a Bath scrapyard earlier, there's also company caled Avery Knight & Bowler in Green Park opp old train station now Sainsbury's, has all metals any shape any size, can be a bit pricy but you can get almost anything you want cut to size, they also have offcut bins with all sorts of sheet, bar rod offcuts.

 

They have a website now, but you need to go directly to the shop to get metals cut to size. They basically have everything you can think of to do with metal and engineering.

 

http://www.averyknight.co.uk/itemclas.php/findclas/288

 

Handy for those on the K&A It's a 2 minuet walk from the riverbank at Green Park also.

[NB Alnwick]

I have read elswhere on the forum that it is nothing like as good. To get an idea of how much less have a look at the resistivity in ohm-metres and compare them.

 

Copper: 1.72×10-8

Brass: 2.26 times as big.

 

 

This may be true - though it does depend entirely on the proportion of copper in the alloy - some brass contains more than 50% copper. Even so Admiralty spec brass is only 28% as good as pure copper in terms of electrical conductivity. Nevertheless, on a 25mm x 5mm section over a distance of 150mm, the difference in resistance will be so small that I doubt if you could measure it unless you have scientific laboratory instruments that can measure accurately to many decimal places. And brass can offer superior qualities in terms of machinability, strength, rigidity and hardness.

 

Is it necessary to tin it?

 

Probably not but if you are able to tin it using good flux and an old fashioned lead based tinning stick it will look nicer and it will always be easier to make good electrical connections because the lead compresses slightly. If the copper or brass bar is to be drilled and tapped - I find it more convenient to do this before tinning (very slightly oversize) and then just clean out the holes or threads after with a reamer or tap after tinning. Like brass lead tinning does not conduct electricity nearly as well as copper so the coating shouldn't be too heavy - the posh alternative is to have the copper silver plated - silver is the only common metal that beats copper in terms electrical conductivity. Surprisingly, gold is not much better than brass but infinitely better than anything else in its resistance to tarnishing.

 

 

It's a 2 minuet walk from the riverbank at Green Park also.

 

Would they be danced to music by Bach or Händel?

Edited April 4, 2009 by NB Alnwick

[Guest]

My bus bars are brass and have been fine. Many components for electrical connecting devices are made from brass and have been for decades. The small busbars for neutral and earth connections in mains fuse boards are generally made from brass. I suspect copper is used in some instances because it is cheaper, but will stand corrected.

[David Schweizer]

Copper it is then

 

Someone mentioned a Bath scrapyard earlier, there's also company caled Avery Knight & Bowler in Green Park opp old train station now Sainsbury's, has all metals any shape any size, can be a bit pricy but you can get almost anything you want cut to size, they also have offcut bins with all sorts of sheet, bar rod offcuts.

 

They have a website now, but you need to go directly to the shop to get metals cut to size. They basically have everything you can think of to do with metal and engineering.

 

http://www.averyknight.co.uk/itemclas.php/findclas/288

 

Handy for those on the K&A It's a 2 minuet walk from the riverbank at Green Park also.

I am pretty certain that Avery Knight and Bowlers only stock Brass these days, although I expect they could order Copper in for you. I use them quite a bit, and do not find them that expensive, considering that their stock is good quality stuff, not cheap Asian imports.

[Nickhlx]

I am pretty certain that Avery Knight and Bowlers only stock Brass these days, although I expect they could order Copper in for you. I use them quite a bit, and do not find them that expensive, considering that their stock is good quality stuff, not cheap Asian imports.

 

 

I built a couple of Interconnect Bus Bars out of solid copper, 150mm long 20mm square section, drilled and tapped with 5 8mm holes and 3... 6mm holes as I was having 5 x 135 Ah for the domestic bank, but then went for some BIG Trojans...

 

The copper bar I bought from some nice chap in Birmingham for about £18 inc P + P for the 300mm length of 20mm sq. section and cut in half.

 

I will try and find the supplier again if anyone wants to get something from him - I Googled for metal suppliers

 

Nick

[Ex- Member]

I am pretty certain that Avery Knight and Bowlers only stock Brass these days, although I expect they could order Copper in for you. I use them quite a bit, and do not find them that expensive, considering that their stock is good quality stuff, not cheap Asian imports.

 

That's a surprise, I last bought some 8mm S/S rod a couple of months ago. Previously bought brass bar; steel tube; alloy sheet; copper sheet, they're great if you want just a few machine screws or specialist screws, they will sell individually so not having to buy box full when you only need a dozen. I've used the place a lot over the past 4 years, I can't remember them not having something i wanted in stock.

 

It's a shame if they've slimmed down, they're quite a big supplier to the engineering trade too. Maybe recession affecting them.

[ThePiglet]

I use them quite a bit, and do not find them that expensive, considering that their stock is good quality stuff, not cheap Asian imports.

This is my favourite shop at the moment. As I'm doing up my boat I go there almost every weekend, if they don't have something in stock they'll get it in for you.

One of the guys that works there lives aboard on the K&A too.

[Ex- Member]

This may be true - though it does depend entirely on the proportion of copper in the alloy - some brass contains more than 50% copper. Even so Admiralty spec brass is only 28% as good as pure copper in terms of electrical conductivity. Nevertheless, on a 25mm x 5mm section over a distance of 150mm, the difference in resistance will be so small that I doubt if you could measure it unless you have scientific laboratory instruments that can measure accurately to many decimal places. And brass can offer superior qualities in terms of machinability, strength, rigidity and hardness.

 

Right back to Brass then save meself a few quid. I would probably ruin any threads i tapped in copper by overtightening anyway

 

Brass is lovely to work with too, would brass screws be best or would S/S be ok as i have a load of them left over too

Edited April 4, 2009 by Julynian

[NB Alnwick]

Right back to Brass then save meself a few quid. I would probably ruin any threads i tapped in copper by overtightening anyway

 

Brass is lovely to work with too, would brass screws be best or would S/S be ok as i have a load of them left over too

 

Stainless steel is good for remaining bright and resisting acid. I have used tinned brass bolts and nuts but only because I had the time to make them. The terminals on my batteries are stainless steel so the battery manufacturers must to be happy with it . . .

[David Schweizer]

That's a surprise, I last bought some 8mm S/S rod a couple of months ago. Previously bought brass bar; steel tube; alloy sheet; copper sheet, they're great if you want just a few machine screws or specialist screws, they will sell individually so not having to buy box full when you only need a dozen. I've used the place a lot over the past 4 years, I can't remember them not having something i wanted in stock.

 

It's a shame if they've slimmed down, they're quite a big supplier to the engineering trade too. Maybe recession affecting them.

I could well be wrong, but when I searched on their website for copper it came up with no results, perhaps someone forgot to put into their on line catalogue. My son lives just round the corneer from them, next time I am aover there, I will pop in to find out.

 

Edited to add:- I have just been on their website again, and there is a qualifying statement that not everything they stock is currently listed, so phone for information. I missed that first time.

Edited April 4, 2009 by David Schweizer

[Ex- Member]

I could well be wrong, but when I searched on their website for copper it came up with no results, perhaps someone forgot to put into their on line catalogue. My son lives just round the corneer from them, next time I am aover there, I will pop in to find out.

 

 

They don't sell metals on their site, almost everything esle though. I suppose metals and postage is difficult so not worth the bother. I recently bought a 3 metre length of S/S rod, not postable. The weight issues also come into play.

 

I hope their still selling the whole gamut, as I'll be needing more stuff. I usually get my dad to pick up stuff from there as he lives in Bath and he brings it to the boat for us.

 

Another good outlet is Davies of Bath in Monmouth St, great for paints and varnishes brushes sundries etc although they are mainly suppliers of home decorating stuff. But they do sell good quality products and stock owatrol.

[Smelly]

Don't spose and could link me to Gibbo's battery connection method could they? I reckon running a search for those terms would be nebulous to say the least...

[Amicus]

Don't spose and could link me to Gibbo's battery connection method could they? I reckon running a search for those terms would be nebulous to say the least...

 

Thissun??

http://www.smartgauge.co.uk/batt_con.html

[Smelly]

Thissun??

http://www.smartgauge.co.uk/batt_con.html

 

I should've guessed really shouldn't I...

 

Ta!

[Martin Nicholas]

Radio Spares (rswww.com) have copper bar in small(ish) quantities, otherwise Metal Supermarkets who have a branch near Hawkesbury or MetElec in Leighton Buzzard. The last two will cut to size and you can buy any quantity AFAIK.

Edited April 6, 2009 by Martin Nicholas