Crimp, Solder, Crush
For a future project, I need to terminate 2ga, 4ga and 6ga wire. I already have most of the wire and a few bare copper lugs for this size wire but am looking for the best way to mate these two togethe...
Forum Discussion
There are some really great ideas coming off this page. Looking forward to seeing what else others have done.
Like a few, I used the crimping tool with a hammer, purchased off of Amazon, detailed earlier in this thread. Back in the day, when I was in a tight spot at the race track, I would use the sidewalk cracks and a two pound sledge to crimp on a lug to a cable. The Lug and cable are easy to hold in place this way.
Also, I use blue painters tape, taped to the cable next to the stripped portion, to orient the lug on the cable and then mark the position with a Sharpie Pen. That way it puts less stress and twisting on the lug/cable with all the movement going down the road. NAPA and Home Depot have a great supply for Shrink Tubes and Lugs, saving shipping and sourcing, as well as Anderson Connectors in various sizes.
Also, with the Buss Bar pictured by the OP, like you I use Copper Pipe too to make my own Buss Bar. But it is important to remember that it is the area of copper that is important. So with the single pipe you are actually hurting yourself in Gauge and AmpH transfer. I learned as a kid to stack the pipes inside of each other. Which is what I have done with my own large battery bank. By taking 3 different sized pipes and then inserting them into each other (ID), then flattening them you will get the necessary area of electrical transfer. I would certainly rework what you have in the first photo, it is insufficient for that large of a bank. Going with a smaller gauge defeats amount of AmpH capacity that is all so important. I also used Black Electrical Tape wrapped around the areas not attached to the batter terminal, Catastrophic Fuse and cables to and from Invertor and DC connections.
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Like a few, I used the crimping tool with a hammer, purchased off of Amazon, detailed earlier in this thread. Back in the day, when I was in a tight spot at the race track, I would use the sidewalk cracks and a two pound sledge to crimp on a lug to a cable. The Lug and cable are easy to hold in place this way.
Also, I use blue painters tape, taped to the cable next to the stripped portion, to orient the lug on the cable and then mark the position with a Sharpie Pen. That way it puts less stress and twisting on the lug/cable with all the movement going down the road. NAPA and Home Depot have a great supply for Shrink Tubes and Lugs, saving shipping and sourcing, as well as Anderson Connectors in various sizes.
Also, with the Buss Bar pictured by the OP, like you I use Copper Pipe too to make my own Buss Bar. But it is important to remember that it is the area of copper that is important. So with the single pipe you are actually hurting yourself in Gauge and AmpH transfer. I learned as a kid to stack the pipes inside of each other. Which is what I have done with my own large battery bank. By taking 3 different sized pipes and then inserting them into each other (ID), then flattening them you will get the necessary area of electrical transfer. I would certainly rework what you have in the first photo, it is insufficient for that large of a bank. Going with a smaller gauge defeats amount of AmpH capacity that is all so important. I also used Black Electrical Tape wrapped around the areas not attached to the batter terminal, Catastrophic Fuse and cables to and from Invertor and DC connections.
b
