Battery cable crimps

[Wiltshire Moonraker]

I've finally got a load of hefty cable and a box of goodies from ASAP Supplies with bus bars, spade crimps, fuse holders, lugs, rubber wot-nots and other bits and bobs.

 

I've got a red/blue/yellow ratchet crimper but was wondering if anyone on the K&A around Bradford-on-Avon might have something suitable for 25mm² battery cable crimping that I could borrow or borrow for money over the weekend.

 

HSS want £60/day , it'd be cheaper to buy one from eBay, but I only have a few ends that need doing

 

TIA.

 

I've got a hydraulic crimper at work here at Dursley about an hour away from you, probably too far though.

PM me if it's any help.

[MtB]

Plumbing-type flux is a bad idea: it will remain in the cable and cause corrosion. This isn't a problem with plumbing, where flux inside the pipe gets washed away by the water and flux outside is easy to clean off.

 

In that case why is plumbing flux not a problem when soldering copper gas pipes in houses? No water to wash it away.

 

Excess flux inside household gas pipes causes no problems over extended periods stretching into decades. Not even the aggressive, 'self-cleaning' fluxes such as "LaCo".

 

Cheers, Mike

[ChrisPy]

In that case why is plumbing flux not a problem when soldering copper gas pipes in houses? No water to wash it away.

 

Excess flux inside household gas pipes causes no problems over extended periods stretching into decades. Not even the aggressive, 'self-cleaning' fluxes such as "LaCo".

 

Cheers, Mike

maybe the absence of oxygen is a critical factor?

[MoominPapa]

In that case why is plumbing flux not a problem when soldering copper gas pipes in houses? No water to wash it away.

 

Excess flux inside household gas pipes causes no problems over extended periods stretching into decades. Not even the aggressive, 'self-cleaning' fluxes such as "LaCo".

 

Cheers, Mike

My understanding is that the type of flux that can be used on gas pipes is limited to the passive ones that only react at high temperatures, analogous to the flux in electrical solder.

 

 

There does seem to be some disagreement about that though, Googleing found this discussion.

 

MP.

Edited June 13, 2009 by MoominPapa

[Guest]

I know nothing about soldering gas pipework. I can say that certain fluxes used on water pipework can eventually cause pin holes in copper pipe. We had a leak at work last year when exactly that happened. The pipe had a green stain where clearly the flux had not been cleaned away after soldering, and the pipe was like an aero bar.

[ThePiglet]

Well, big thanks to Wiltshire Moonraker (Chris) above, I got my big cables crimped and in service this weekend!

 

 

 

 

Thanks again

[Gibbo]

Well, big thanks to Wiltshire Moonraker (Chris) above, I got my big cables crimped and in service this weekend!

 

(snipped pics)

 

That's a neat and tidy installation. Puts many boatbuilders to shame that does.

 

Gibbo

 

If i had to solder battery cables I'd do something along the lines of this:

 

 

That said it needs some forethought, skill and practice to get good results.

 

That's quite a nifty system that. But what usually happens in practice is people use normal copper tube terminals which have a hole in the end so the solder runs out as fast as it melts. This leads to an almost perpetual "heat it up, put some more solder in" cycle which ends up with the solder wicking up the cable several inches.

 

With the right crimp tool, anyone can make a perfect crimp.

 

Absolutely. It's as close to foolproof as it's possible to get. It's also a damned site quicker and easier.

 

Gibbo

[Guest]

That is exactly how we were taught to solder large lugs as apprentices. The only difference is we would place paxoline on the vice jaws (or wood) to prevent heat escaping from the lug. We didn't have heatshrink either, and had to use tape. I still believe that soldering properly is acceptable, but agree that crimping is quicker, cleaner and safer.

 

Edited to add: forgot to say that is a superb wiring installation. You have set the standard.

Edited June 14, 2009 by Guest

[johnjo]

Well, big thanks to Wiltshire Moonraker (Chris) above, I got my big cables crimped and in service this weekend!

 

 

 

 

Thanks again

 

Now that's what you call cabling, looks great.

 

What's the blue lattice behind the cables, it looks like a type of cable tray for tying the cables to with ties, was that its intended use?

 

And where did you get it please?

[ThePiglet]

What's the blue lattice behind the cables, it looks like a type of cable tray for tying the cables to with ties, was that its intended use?

 

And where did you get it please?

 

Thanks for the compliments

 

They're not available off the shelf unfortunately.

They're from cable tray that I stole from a skip at work. It was originally a 'U' tray shape (silver in the picture below) but I cut the sides off, welded a pair of screw blocks to each and painted them blue.

 

(This picture is from engine bay #1, it's much better now)

[smileypete]

That's quite a nifty system that. But what usually happens in practice is people use normal copper tube terminals which have a hole in the end so the solder runs out as fast as it melts. This leads to an almost perpetual "heat it up, put some more solder in" cycle which ends up with the solder wicking up the cable several inches.

Well I did say it needed some forethought, skill and practice.

 

The same people might bash the terminal with a hammer and chisel instead.

 

I'd think of a way to plug the hole, then a way to work out *exactly* how much solder is needed, then do a sample to check all is well.

 

Piglet: Nice job!

 

cheers,

Pete.

[Ewart Hodgson]

No it isn't. It's the worst solution possible. That's why people who know what they're doing don't do it.

 

 

 

It is highly frowned upon by those in the know.

 

All the major industries have stopped doing it because it is unreliable.

 

It is highly unprofessional.

 

40+ years ago people still used thermionic valves because they thought they were better than the alternatives. They were wrong.

 

Drag yourself into the present decade FFS!

 

Gibbo

 

-->> Well, perhaps, but my joints (cable soldered into copper pipe, this then screw clamped in the battery terminal) are fine after 25 years and never cause adverse comment from the surveyor/ BSS guy. But then, the wireless set aboard still uses thermionic valves, as does the one I am listening to in my office right now, because I think they *are* better than the alternatives - they glow warmly and clip softly and are built at a human scale. To some of us, the point of narrow boating is to get away from present decade/ century :-)

Edited June 17, 2009 by Ewart Hodgson

[bastonjock]

ive done a lot of work on both soldering and crimping large cables,i served my apprentiship building switchgear,for heat resistant stuff i would use soldered lugs,for non i would use crimps.

 

If i had to crimp 25 mm cable id go along to an electrical contractor and have them crimped for me.

 

im not convinced with all this reference to cables coroding,i did a bit of research on MICC cable and we found that the moisture saturation reached a certain level and stopped,it would go no further. therefore i would not bother buying tinned cable,i would loop the end of normal multistrand cable referred to as helexing by Electricians,fit a crimped end,paint the end with epoxy and cover with heat shrink.

 

I have spliced loads of signal cables in the marine enviroment and never had one fail.

 

INHO crimps are better as long as you ensure that the lug is of the solid type

[Trilby Tim]

Apparently the reason the Large Hadron Collider at CERN broke down causing £21 million of damage within a week of being turned on was due to a faulty solder joint . You'd have thought they could have afforded a hydraulic crimper of EBay. :lol:

[Guest]

Well I did say it needed some forethought, skill and practice.

 

The same people might bash the terminal with a hammer and chisel instead.

 

I'd think of a way to plug the hole, then a way to work out *exactly* how much solder is needed, then do a sample to check all is well.

 

Piglet: Nice job!

 

cheers,

Pete.

'ow are yer meant to do 'em then?

[mayalld]

Thanks for the compliments

 

They're not available off the shelf unfortunately.

They're from cable tray that I stole from a skip at work. It was originally a 'U' tray shape (silver in the picture below) but I cut the sides off, welded a pair of screw blocks to each and painted them blue.

 

(This picture is from engine bay #1, it's much better now)

 

May I join in with the compliments on a nice tidy installation.

 

There is no excuse for yards of loose wire, and yours shows how it should be done.

 

In comparison, mine (which I always thought wasn't a bad job) looks slightly untidy!

 

[Denis R]

In comparison, mine (which I always thought wasn't a bad job) looks slightly untidy!

And still looks a million times better than many of the installations I've seen, including some 'professional' ones....

And it's nothing a bit of trunking wouldn't 'prettify'.

[Guest]

May I join in with the compliments on a nice tidy installation.

 

There is no excuse for yards of loose wire, and yours shows how it should be done.

 

In comparison, mine (which I always thought wasn't a bad job) looks slightly untidy!

 

Iv'e seen far far worse than that!