1 awg battery cables that turned out to be 4 awg.
- Thread starter Mattb4
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Tomthumb62
Solar Wizard
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- Sep 25, 2022
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Yes, they make very good cables, I have a few. What I like about BatteryCablesUSA over Windy is their ordering website:
- Choose cable type (marine grade, "extreme" version with super thick double insulation, etc)
- Cable length (by the inch)
- color (black or red)
- End #1 terminal end (lug/size, bare end (less cost), battery post, etc.)
- End #2 terminal end (lug/size, bare end (less cost), battery post, etc.)
They will make it to your specs and put on good quality marine-grade heat shrink. Seems they use some kind of high-quality hydraulic die-crimper for those sexy-looking hex crimps.
Don't want a black cable and red one? Maybe you want two red ones or two black ones for whatever reason? Most cables on ebay and elsewhere are a matched set and only come in black+red. Or maybe you have a damaged cable and only need one cable? Of the few other sellers out there I have found who will make you a custom single cable, all of them are charging a serious premium for that...BCUSA seems to just be selling high quality custom cables for a very good price. I figure they can do that because they don't have an ebay or amazon presence and thus aren't paying a 13-17% premium just to sell on those platforms AND they don't offer free shipping. But their shipping isn't expensive either. I mean it's some cables coiled up in a padded manila envelope that probably doesn't cost that much to ship for what are probably a lot of small orders like mine. Ahem, Current Connected...why do you charge so dang much simply to ship a couple of cables? Love the service you offer and I know that doesn't come free, nor are in the specialty biz of battery cables, but c'mon, $17 to ship 6 feet of cable??
Need a 90-degree bent lug for a tight spot? BCUSA do that at no extra cost, just put a note in the "comments" section of your order. One time I ordered some silicone battery terminal protectors and they were out of red ones. So I ordered two black ones and put a note that I'd like a red one if they happen to have one...they sent exactly what I wanted, one red and one black. Shipping has been 5 days or less to me on the west coast in a very rural area.
So you can totally order ala carte on their website and unlike many times ordering anything ala carte, they aren't charging a premium for it. You can order exactly type, color, size, length and what kinds of connections you want. Not free shipping, but it's only $4 in the USA for any size order. Windynation and others have fewer options for customization, though if you call or email you might get them to make one for you. I just like the ease and convenience of BCUSA's website in ordering custom cables.
I'm not affiliated with BCUSA, just a happy customer, they have offered no incentive nor asked me to write this, they just seem to be selling quality battery cables for cheaper than anyone else and will customized without a convenience surcharge.
Good to know...thanks!
Tomthumb62
Solar Wizard
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If you're already ordering from Windy (they also sell on amazon and ebay), you can't go wrong with their cables.
One reason I sought out a custom option was for installing the 200A fuse on my positive battery cable. How to do that? Most sets are matched pairs, such as a pair of 3-foot cables, one red and one black. But since I need to put my fuse inline on the red cable, how do I do that and keep the cable length equal? The solution was:
1x 36" black cable
1x 19" red cable
1x 10" red cable (puts fuse closer to the battery)
19"+10"+7" (inline fuse) = 36 inches
I used to buy a pair of cables, then cut the red one and put on crimps. My hydraulic crimp setup works, but it is a major PITA to use...costs maybe $1-2 more to have them make me custom cables with perfect crimps and saved me time having to make my own that never look as nice anyways.
That said, WindyNation does offer a pre-made cable, complete with an in-line ANL fuse, but I could only find it paired with their inverter remote switch which brought the price higher than I could find elsewhere (and I already have a fuse anyways).
The ribbed side is always negative or neutral.
I'm one of those guys with a horrible memory, learned to remember things through association. Hence "Ground has Grooves"
It is the same with 120V outlets. The large blade is the neutral.
rodrick
Free energy enthusiast
Temco is another good cable supplier I use theirs or WIndy mainly or if I need it quick my local welding supplier
Tomthumb62
Solar Wizard
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I did buy some Temco 10AWG PV solar cable recently. Good stuff and wasn't horribly expensive. Their brand is growing on me as they seem to actually sell quality products for a competitive price and do it consistently. If I have 6 options to buy from and one of them is Temco and the price is good or close, I'll choose Temco over an unknown brand. So much junk out there!
rodrick
Free energy enthusiast
And it made in the usa!
Im pretty sure temco was the ebay seller i last bought welding cable from.
The only issue I had was they repackaged it in such a tightly wound roll it damaged the wire, came out kinked in a few spots. As I was sliding about 20+ ft of it into temflex sleeving it did make that difficult.. Got it done but broke my fishtape doing it.
It was old needed another i guess.
littleharbor2
Solar Addict
Speaker wire, Usually comes with clear insulation and has one copper colored side and one silver colored side. . Like when wiring up 120 volt receptacles the positive terminal is copper or brass colored, and the neg terminal is silver. For speaker wiring I doubt it really matters which side you choose for pos. and neg. as long as you stay consistent.
While i did mention speaker wire also thats not the wire we are talking about now. Call it lamp cord if you like but lots of people use it for speaker wire, lamps in the home, and even short runs of low current dc in the car where the ground conductor is same length as positive. Letters on one wire, ribs on the other.
Though for the last use I try to get the red and black 2 conductor.
littleharbor2
Solar Addict
"Using it for speakers or DC, which side is positive?
This may need its own thread."
I was just responding to this. Sorry.
No dont be sorry, I was rambling in different tangents. Its not your fault you werent thinking on the same page as me.
erik.calco
Solar Badger
I got a Rolex for $14 and it predicts relationship outcomes. Best time saver!
That is a serious great watch and concept……even at twice the price…
robbob2112
Doing more research, mosty harmless
To solder a large wire to a lug, clamp the tip in a vice with something to insulate it from the metal jaws so the heat stays in the lug. The cup face up heat it and fill with solder now hold the wire above and once it the solder is nice and melted plunge the wire in and let the solder overflow. Keep the heat on until the solder starts climbing the wire just a touch. Remove the heat and hold the wire still until the solder is shiny and set, maybe 30 seconds. Remove from the vice and let it cool on its own. Quenching in water or something else can ruin the joint. Once you learn the trick it is easy.
But, why when crimps are so easy with the hydraulic crimper?
I don't like the hammer style crimpers because IMO they damage the wires and lugs.. granted I am relatively new at this, but seems more like something to use in an emergency and replace later
But, why when crimps are so easy with the hydraulic crimper?
I don't like the hammer style crimpers because IMO they damage the wires and lugs.. granted I am relatively new at this, but seems more like something to use in an emergency and replace later
Why would you need to fill the "cup" with solder first? Dont you know the solder flows to wherever you apply the heat? I would prefer not to to be sticking the cable into a pool of burning hot liquid, especially if its a tight fit. And you cant crimp it first that way.
And that leaves the cable and its insulation uphill in the heat flow. Most welding cable might be okay with that. If its PVC jacketed bye bye insulation.
Lots of ways to do this. I prefer the way the navy trained us in avionics school back in 1980.
Crimp the terminal onto the wire. Put it in a vise or similar securing tool with the terminal up and the cable down. Heat the top of the terminal first. Then slowly bring the heat down until the solder flows into the bottom of the terminal. Keep the majority of the heat at the top. The solder will defy gravity and flow upwards as long as the heat is applied there. Do not apply too much solder or it flows down the cable. (Which isnt the end of the world but makes the cable inflexible and that can be an issue) Once the solder is cool enough to harden you can apply a soaking wet towel to it to speed up handling time if youre doing a lot of joints. Do not move it until it cools enough to harden.
The soaking wet towel is also handy to have around for safety.
A hard fast rule of soldering is its better to use a lot of heat and get out fast than it is to dick around with a too small iron or torch heating up everything around it. And heat sinks work.
Vigo
Solar Addict
This thread seems like a good place to admit that i had a largeish collection of automotive jumper cables that have mostly been repurposed into my solar system (with crimped ring terminal ends).
I even have some copper clad aluminum (not my fave but they were the only 25ft cables i had) in my 12v system. There is also rebar and gas pipe in my 12v system as conductors, so CCA is sorta high brow in that context. ??
I even have some copper clad aluminum (not my fave but they were the only 25ft cables i had) in my 12v system. There is also rebar and gas pipe in my 12v system as conductors, so CCA is sorta high brow in that context. ??
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