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
Digging into connections and terminations, I have found only mechanical connections are accepted on aircraft and marine applications with only some exception. Vibration and movement will eventual cause a pure solder joint to fail. Crimping a joint that has been soldered will most likely break the solder joint. Soldering a crimped joint is possible if you can apply sufficient heat transfer quick enough without getting solder wicking up the wire. For my use, I will focus on reliable yet economical crimping methods. The scope of my entire project will require 60+ crimps to completion, so I am looking at tools that will last long enough without falling apart and still provide a consistent connection.
This is getting away from the topic of my thread and the final design keeps changing based on the number of batteries I have available, weight capacity reserve of my vehicles and intended application of this energy store. The gauge of wire or amount of conductive material being used depends on the charge and load that will be placed on the battery bank rather than the capacity of the bank. Efficiency will increase with larger conductors up to the point where there are diminishing returns on investment. My plan is to have a large reserve that is slowly charged and drawn down, so I am not looking for high amperage discharge. I understand charging will require more energy than I pull from the store, but I will eventually have multiple charge sources (solar, automotive, generator/shore power) and don't expect the system to be self sufficient from only solar under typical draw. Once I start putting together my distributed decentralized system, it may make more sense. Until then, realize that I am not putting all my eggs in one basket (all the batteries in one big bank and location).
This is getting away from the topic of my thread and the final design keeps changing based on the number of batteries I have available, weight capacity reserve of my vehicles and intended application of this energy store. The gauge of wire or amount of conductive material being used depends on the charge and load that will be placed on the battery bank rather than the capacity of the bank. Efficiency will increase with larger conductors up to the point where there are diminishing returns on investment. My plan is to have a large reserve that is slowly charged and drawn down, so I am not looking for high amperage discharge. I understand charging will require more energy than I pull from the store, but I will eventually have multiple charge sources (solar, automotive, generator/shore power) and don't expect the system to be self sufficient from only solar under typical draw. Once I start putting together my distributed decentralized system, it may make more sense. Until then, realize that I am not putting all my eggs in one basket (all the batteries in one big bank and location).
