6x255
Martez Fields
The dome head Allen bolt under the edge of the plastic panel is an M8, I put teflon tape around the thread so it doesn't rub against the steel even though it is painted. Stainless is not good with steel, galvanised is the best! The Allen bolt is an M6, with a 12mm nylon washer within the larger hole so the bolt won't move around & a still larger nylon washer 16mm below then a large stainless washer & Nyloc nut. On the under side of the 3mm x 50mm anodised aluminium is some sail cloth repair tape so the metal won't rub. The Anderson plug is bolted on with M6 bolts, also tapped all the 6mm holes in the aluminium, & Nyloc nuts.
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Technical drawing! (print on an A4 without scaling)
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The positive cable is about 510mm before assembled & the negative about 410mm. Had to use two 120 watt soldering irons & it still took ages. I have a swaging tool but prefer to solder as it is neater, & all heatshrinked. To get the lugs through the plastic panel I had to cut out a few mm below each cable, only a small cut & pressed the lug through, so you don't see the cut. Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!
Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18
Last edited by Lightwater on 8th Jul 2019 2:02 am. Edited 1 time in total
I thought about it at the front but it just adds to the length of the cable. Will be using this to power the compressors mostly so the further back the better otherwise I need a longer lead for them as well.
I have a Victon plug on the battery as well but want to route that to the drivers side due to our narrow garage so I can easily plug that in while the bonnet is closed.
One of my old welding cable jumper lead sets I put Anderson plugs on the ends & shorter cable has Utilux 200amp 2mm solid copper clamps. They may only be 200amps but it must be a continuous rating, cross sectional area of the thinnest part is 56mm2 x 2 with bridging strap, so 112mm2 cross sectional area. They are a lot more solid than the so called 800amp BS everyone flogs off!
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To solder on these heavy lugs drill a hole in a block of wood & stand the lug on end & stick in the soldering iron. 2/3 fill with solder, a bit less if it is really large wire. I use 2 Jaycar 85/120watt soldering irons made in Japan. The block of wood also acts as an insulator to retain heat which is really necessary. Once I have enough solder in I use the second iron to preheat the copper wire for a couple of minutes while the lug is getting ready hot as well. Have yourself organized so you get the wire in quickly but gently. Use the tin lead solder, the tin only is a bit harder to work with, I use some of each so there is some lead in there.
Click image to enlarge Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!
Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18
While on the subject of lugs, to get 4AWG cable into a 6AWG lug for longer cables to reduce resistance.
I drilled a block of wood to the right depth to support the end of the lug & the bottom of the cup. With a bit of grease I first used a Dynabolt which was 6mm at the end & hammered that in. That worked really well & I could wiggle it back out. The next stage was more difficult as I couldn't wiggle the punches out.
Using progressively larger (old) drill bits, I filed a small taper on the back, only needs to be larger by the diameter of the previous size, so 0.2mm at most, & hammered in. It is better progressively work down the cup with larger sizes. Not try to go all the way down with one size then all the way down with the next larger size as that is more difficult to get that punch (drill bit) out because you don't have wiggle room so to speak.
I did have to drill a hole in the piece of metal (make the hole a bit loose) to make a tee handle & put that over the drill bit & then drill bit backwards in a drill to clamp the drill bit, to be able pull the lug off the back end to the drill bit a few times.
Cleaned off the grease & the lugs looked in pretty good shape. Wouldn't want to do this all the time but for the odd 4AWG cable is wasn't too difficult & didn't have to buy any extra tools. Buy a Dynabolt (back end 6mm) if you don't have one, as it would be the worth getting for the first enlargement as the was easy.
Click image to enlarge Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!
Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18
175amp to 50amp adapter measured to the mm so it is nice & solid as most of the time 50amp is what I need. My jumper leads are just a bit too much to deal with on a daily basis for the compressors.
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Edit: Heat gun is great for soldering heavy wire. Much quicker than my 2 soldering irons. Lead/tin solder is better as well. Tin only is a pain (tin only gets these tiny hairs, a problem on circuit boards)
Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!
Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18