Anderson connectors

[BossHawk]

Can I cut off the Anderson connectors and just install a more common connector or is there a reason Anderson connectors are more often used ?

 

[OffGridForGood]

Application ?

 

[DIYrich]

Duty rating - number of connect/disconnect cycles. Ease of connecting/disconnecting (ring terminal is more secure, but takes a lot of time).

 

[Bluedog225]

If authentic, they are high quality and rated. Some other good attributes depending on application.

 

[Bop]

Anderson connectors are a reliable and commonly used connector for systems that need a 'disconnect', are readily available worldwide and are easy to install- which is why so many use them... (in a pinch you can install the terminals with nothing more than a hammer and a small bolt/large upside down nail lol)
(in fact my tilt tray came with one already installed (handy for the electric winch on the car trailer), as did my Hilux ute, (originally for towing caravans to charge the onboard battery bank while driving and fitted to most newer caravans here)

I would ask which connector is 'more common' where you are as they are literally the only thing with the ratings they have I have seen in common use anywhere...

 

[robbob2112]

Note - the genuine Anderson connectors are not nessasarily interchangeable or connectable to the generic/cheaper connectors. Most of the cheap connectors on Amazon for instance won't reliably connect to other brands without causing a bad connection and making the connection overheat.

For Anderson connectors for things like the dump trailer they make a nice solid enclosure that is water tight so thgey don't corrode like the picture.

Genuine connector pins are solid copper with a thick silver coating and they test for a minimum number of make/break cycles and the plastic is flame resistant.

I have found a couple of others on amazon that are of similar quality at 1/2 the cost. I've also found a number that I immediatly sent back because of brittle plastic or poor pin fit that cracked the plastic. There are a number videos on people intentionally overheating the generic and watching the flames.

A note to the comment of installing with a hammer and a nail to "crimp" the pin on - that would be an emergency where you are lost in the desert and your life depends on having power to whatever is powered by it. And you actually do replace the connector when you get to your destination.

That method of crimping is just plain dangerous in any other circumstances.


You can cut it off and replace it with any other type connector you want. Anderson connectors are for things you need to be able to disconnect for whatever reason. In my case I use one between the invert and battery because my normal workload and charge is running off straight 12v. A couple of times a year when I loose power I connect the inverter and run the fridge from it.

 

[Bop]

Note - the genuine Anderson connectors are not nessasarily interchangeable or connectable to the generic/cheaper connectors. Most of the cheap connectors on Amazon for instance won't reliably connect to other brands without causing a bad connection and making the connection overheat.

For Anderson connectors for things like the dump trailer they make a nice solid enclosure that is water tight so thgey don't corrode like the picture.

Genuine connector pins are solid copper with a thick silver coating and they test for a minimum number of make/break cycles and the plastic is flame resistant.

I have found a couple of others on amazon that are of similar quality at 1/2 the cost. I've also found a number that I immediatly sent back because of brittle plastic or poor pin fit that cracked the plastic. There are a number videos on people intentionally overheating the generic and watching the flames.

A note to the comment of installing with a hammer and a nail to "crimp" the pin on - that would be an emergency where you are lost in the desert and your life depends on having power to whatever is powered by it. And you actually do replace the connector when you get to your destination.

That method of crimping is just plain dangerous in any other circumstances.


You can cut it off and replace it with any other type connector you want. Anderson connectors are for things you need to be able to disconnect for whatever reason. In my case I use one between the invert and battery because my normal workload and charge is running off straight 12v. A couple of times a year when I loose power I connect the inverter and run the fridge from it.

That is an Anderson (genuine) and it is also over two decades old (thats a 1999 Hilux- regularly used for beach fishing lol)
It still gets used occasionally on the car trailer winch- plug it in once or twice and the contacts go back to shiny and clean (thats one of the big advantage of andersons, they are 'self cleaning' on insertion)- most of that is mud btw lol- I had been out 'playing' in it that day... (well actually I was towing out bogged cars in the floods at the time- but it was still fun lol)
Mind you I actually got bogged myself- in my own driveway no less in a 4wd- luckily I got a tilt- tray as well...
;-)

Although having the proper hydraulic crimper is nice (I do actually have one although I haven't used it in several years- basically semi retired these days from the electrical game), the punch ones are adequate, and even the 'small bolt with a hammer' method is ok- as long as it gives a good proper low resistance crimp with sufficient grip on the copper, all is good
(indeed the hydraulic crimpers are only a fairly 'recent' thing, before that all andersons were fitted either by soldering or by the punch and hammer method- god knows I've done enough of them over the decades....)

 

[Brightside]

Yes, you can replace them with something else, just make sure they have the proper voltage and current ratings. Best to have the current rating at multiple times your actual usage, as contacts will go bad over time if not cycled.

Anderson connectors do go bad. I routinely deal with melted/ burnt up powerpoles. I just replaced 8 of them yesterday. These were genuine Anderson Powerpoles. They had been in service about 22 years.

Over time, if not unplugged and replugged, they can build up contact resistance. Once they start to overheat the plastic starts to deform and the pressure is lost on the contacts. This causes the connection to heat more and melt the connection until it fails open circuit, either by complete meltdown or just open circuit.

Most of the failures I've dealt with are in connections of about 20 years or more, that are not disconnected and reconnected. This goes for may types of connectors, not just the Anderson.