Where to buy crimped battery cable
I'm looking to finish a DYI inverter install and want to buy battery wire in fat gauges around 0, crimped. I want to keep all the runs as short as possible so want to specify an exact length, like 14 ...
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Thanks for all the suggestions. I called a few places and ended up going with a battery supply shop near San Diego. They cut to length, crimped and used heat-shrink between the lug and the cable casing. No solder.
One problem was that according to the guy who did them, it's tough to get the length exact (I had measurements down to 1/4 inch), so he erred on the side of slightly longer, so most of the cables ended up about 1/4 inch longer than I asked for.
The most problematic cables were 4.25" cables for a direct connection between lugs which ended up at 4.75". To use up the extra space, I had to bend the cables at almost 90 degrees, which was just barely possible (they were welding cable). I'm not happy that the cables will be under nearly constant strain, but those are the breaks, I guess. I was able to get a much cleaner and safer system than what I had before (with 4 AWG cable).
BTW, I've seen lead acid battery banks where the terminals were connected not with cables, but with flat metal links that simply go directly from one terminal to the next (they must be of exact length). I couldn't find out what they were called or even if they are made commercially - perhaps they are just a homemade thing. Anyone know?
One problem was that according to the guy who did them, it's tough to get the length exact (I had measurements down to 1/4 inch), so he erred on the side of slightly longer, so most of the cables ended up about 1/4 inch longer than I asked for.
The most problematic cables were 4.25" cables for a direct connection between lugs which ended up at 4.75". To use up the extra space, I had to bend the cables at almost 90 degrees, which was just barely possible (they were welding cable). I'm not happy that the cables will be under nearly constant strain, but those are the breaks, I guess. I was able to get a much cleaner and safer system than what I had before (with 4 AWG cable).
BTW, I've seen lead acid battery banks where the terminals were connected not with cables, but with flat metal links that simply go directly from one terminal to the next (they must be of exact length). I couldn't find out what they were called or even if they are made commercially - perhaps they are just a homemade thing. Anyone know?
