Re: Newbie to Lazy Daze
Reply #42 –
I had plenty of experience soldering in non-RV/non-boating situations, so I was initially inclined to go that route. But ABYC recommends against soldering connections on boats, and their reasoning applies equally to RVs or any mobile application. The reason is that solder stiffens the end of the wire, and that can lead to metal fatigue and breakage when there's vibration and flexing. They recommend crimped connections.
For large gauge wire, big crimp sleeves are available. These Ancor heavy-duty butts are available in sizes from AWG 8 to AWG 2/0. (I use FTZ "Power Splice" butts, which I believe are heavier-duty than the Ancor ones, but I can't find them on Fisheries' website at the moment. However, they are available on eBay.
Of course you'll also need big lugs. I use FTZ power lugs, which are heavy-gauge plated copper. Don't make the mistake of using cheaper "battery lugs," which are less durable.
For large wire gauges, you will need a bigger crimper. There are three ways to go. In order of increasing cost, they are hammer crimpers, hydraulic crimpers, and long-handled compound crimpers. Hammer crimpers don't do the best job, but they're cheap--twenty bucks or so. They can be dangerous if you don't keep both hands clear! I saw Mike Sylvester, a very experienced technician, go to the hospital after crushing a finger using one of these. If you must use one, get one that can be screwed down to a board that you can stand on, or mounted to a workbench.
I don't have experience with hydraulic crimpers. I've read that there are some bad ones out there--bad meaning the dies are the wrong sizes--but that's all I know. Hopefully somebody here has experience with this type, and can recommend a good one.
Because I have had to work with cables up to 4/0 in the past, I use an FTZ 94284 "Correct Crimp" compound crimper. It has handles about 18" long--believe me, for large wire gauges you need all the leverage you can get! It handles wire gauges from AWG 6 up to 4/0. It sells for about $150, and believe it or not, that is about the least expensive compound crimper you can find for these large wire gauges. $300 and up is more typical.
If you want to know about connections from A to Z, I highly recommend two articles on the Marine How To website. The first, "Marine Wire Termination," covers smaller, everyday crimping. The second, "Making Your Own Battery Cables," covers the big stuff. The writer, Rod Collins, is an ABYC Certified Marine Electrical Systems Specialist (whew) of long experience, and the whole site is full of solid, authoritative information.
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