pvb
Well-Known Member
In the context of a busbar, it'd make no significant difference.
Standardising battery terminals
- Thread starter sarabande
- Start date
In the context of a busbar, it'd make no significant difference.
PaulRainbow
Well-Known Member
You're perfectly at liberty to post whatever you want Roger, alternative suggestions or otherwise, it's an open forum.
But if you post suggestions that are an unnecessary bodge, such as crimping battery cables in a vice, expect some comments.
vas
Well-Known Member
thanks for all the ideas guys!
I guess if someone decides that he needs a decent crimping system, he has some understanding of the implications of his options.
FE, I know I have only a relatively small vice for simple jobs which I mount on different places, more often the f/b alloy steps. No way I can use that for this job tbh.
so afaik, the option of decent vice plus dies vs a cheap hydraulic vice with dies in a neat box is a no-brainer.
One option not mentioned is the manual crimping tool which I've borrowed from a friend and used on the boat. Problem is that almost 80cm long, heavy and impossible to store neatly onboard, neither easy (read impossible!) to use in cramped places...
so chinese hydraulic tool it is for me!
cheers
V.
I guess if someone decides that he needs a decent crimping system, he has some understanding of the implications of his options.
FE, I know I have only a relatively small vice for simple jobs which I mount on different places, more often the f/b alloy steps. No way I can use that for this job tbh.
so afaik, the option of decent vice plus dies vs a cheap hydraulic vice with dies in a neat box is a no-brainer.
One option not mentioned is the manual crimping tool which I've borrowed from a friend and used on the boat. Problem is that almost 80cm long, heavy and impossible to store neatly onboard, neither easy (read impossible!) to use in cramped places...
so chinese hydraulic tool it is for me!
cheers
V.
Daverw
Well-Known Member
Also cheap Chinese crimper can be used with one hand if you practice, useful in small spaces and need the other to hold wire
Moodysailor
Well-Known Member
That might have been me, thanks for the follow-up questions.
Yes, SS is not as good a conductor as other material. But the bus bar is rarely, if ever, the current limiter in the system. Ask any marine electrician and they will likely agree that loose/poor connections and corrosion are the biggest issue on board. Hence the need (as others have well stated) for good quality, crimped and bolted connections and a material suitable for corrosion protection.
I would not choose copper pipe as bus bar material for many reasons, and corrosion is once of those. On vessels with a 'damp' engine bay (powerboats mostly) I would suggest SS bus bards as they will give the best corrosion protection over time. Brass would be fine inside the vessel where it is drier.
With electrical installations, best to think of it as "death by a thousand cuts" and actively minimise the losses. Every connection is a possible source of failure, so reduce what you can, and make the ones that you can't as good as possible and well protected.
Final tip - never use grease for 'protection' either. Grease is a natural insulator and what happens is it thins out if there is any heat and gets between the connections, degrading them. Use a product like corrosion guard if connections need to be protected from the elements.
TernVI
Well-Known Member
Stainless is a poor conductor.
Not only its bulk conductivity, but its surface behaviour, it has insultating oxides, tendencies towards pitting corrosion and local heating.
A recipe for unreliability.
It has poor thermal conductivity too.
Not only its bulk conductivity, but its surface behaviour, it has insultating oxides, tendencies towards pitting corrosion and local heating.
A recipe for unreliability.
It has poor thermal conductivity too.
Moodysailor
Well-Known Member
What would you propose as a suitable material?
Chrome or nickel plated brass sounds like it would cover off most of those concerns?
It's hard to look past SS for use where the environment isn't 'kind' though - not disputing the material properties, as long as the terminals are suitable then it's highly unlikely the rest will be a concern on a 12/24/48VDC supply.
pvb
Well-Known Member
In the context of a properly dimensioned busbar, stainless isn't necessarily a problem. The distances between studs are so small that conductivity isn't important; resistance will be very low and there'll be no heating. Remember that stainless studs are routinely used on commercially available busbars.
Daverw
Well-Known Member
I’ve been using brass bar, drilled and tapped easily with acetal rod used as spacers, easy to work and the bar cheap on line about £5 for 300mm.
TernVI
Well-Known Member
Stainless is a complete no-no in high current contacts in many professionial applications, unless it's plated with something. Gold is a good choice. (just for the plating, obviously!)
What is sold to amateur yotty installers may well be another matter.
I'm told it's all about surface effects, nothing to do with bulk resistivity.
Chemistry of metals is not my thing, but the way it's described it sounds similar to crevice corrosion.
Brass or zinc plated steel are perfectly good.
Some industrial stuff uses aluminium, I think silver plating is favourite?
One thing I would add, I hate seeing big areas of shiny +ve bus bar, completely unprotected from accidental contact.
A strip of clear plastic to guard it would be nice.
lustyd
Well-Known Member
Are these similar to cheap hydraulic crimpers? Not sure what the country of origin has to do with it.
pvb
Well-Known Member
That well-known journalist, Nigel Calder, once wrote an article in one of the yachting magazines claiming that using stainless steel washers on busbars was a bad idea because they'd heat up and cause fires. It was complete bollocks. Someone had told him that, and he repeated it.
Daverw
Well-Known Member
Cheap from China, just a fact, direct from uk suppliers £70 ebay from China £19, don’t know the make or manufacture but don’t actually care
john_morris_uk
Well-Known Member
I was very proud of my hydraulic crimper until the other day.
It's started leaking!
I suspect it's a throwaway item...
It's started leaking!
I suspect it's a throwaway item...
lynallbel
Well-Known Member
I had a thought on thsissubject today, and if any of you have ever removed household wall sockets you are bound to have come across loose wires in the wire/screw holders even though you knew you tightened them many years ago.
So as household sockets are generally pretty static objects, yet they still suffer from loose connections, so what hope does a srew type clamp have in a vibrating/hot/cold/oily enviroment?
So as household sockets are generally pretty static objects, yet they still suffer from loose connections, so what hope does a srew type clamp have in a vibrating/hot/cold/oily enviroment?
lustyd
Well-Known Member
Oh, so you wouldn't buy one if it wasn't from China, gotcha. Didn't realise it was an endorsement of Chinese goods!
Daverw
Well-Known Member
Would only buy branded one if for work use, but for a simple hydraulic hand held ram to be used occasionally it fitted the bill.
Daverw
Well-Known Member
Mine did have a small leak from the return valve screw, changed o ring and fixed
PetiteFleur
Well-Known Member
When I bought terminals and cable from Fox's in Ipswich, they hire a crimping tool for a small sum.
john_morris_uk
Well-Known Member
I’ll have a look. I’ve got an assorted box of ‘O’ rings of a huge range of sizes. One thing is sure. None of them will be the right one!
