Even my suggestion that possibly even another branded solution would be better for OP was jumped on like crazy. Given the current price of copper, it's possible custom doesn't make sense cost wise IF theres a ready made solution that fits the "shape" op is looking for. But the cost of the busbar is only part of the picture. The rest of the cables, mounting, any raceways, possible expense if the total system area needs to change are ALL factors that could influence what is right for OP.
Anybody sell custom bus bars?
- Thread starter AlaskanNoob
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Hey man, I wasn't intending any attitude, so sorry it seemed that way.
Generally speaking fakes on Amazon are mainly in 2 categories: The "obvious to anyone with some knowhow in that product category" (things like "2TB" microSD cards for 90 bucks that will fool the unaware and even LOOK like they work", and the fakes/clones of legit products MIXED IN with legit products that look the same or close to it. These are infuriating because you can buy "from samsung" on Amazon but due to how they do inventory all of the "same" product gets the same internal code, so "Bob-not-a-scammer" sends a bunch of "Samsung 512Gb SD cards" to sell on amazon and they get mixed in with the legit ones and what you the customer get is a lucky dip.
I'm going to go over my thinking, not because I am saying you don't know it, but half to share with anyone who doesn't and half to see if I misunderstand
Now, my understanding is that the *purity* of the metal greatly impacts heat and electrical transfer (they seem to be related closely due to some science stuff I forget
), and that purity is part of what makes for the cost. Getting 90 or even 99% pure copper isn't impressive and won't have as good conductivity as 99.99%. From what I can find online depending on the exact impurity it doesn't take much to double the resistance (99.6% pure with iron, silicon or platinum mixed in for example)I'm not doubting your skill or expertise, but I'm not sure you'd be able to tell 99.9% from 99.5% purity by anything like workability, looks, etc. You'd have to test with a sensitive micro-ohm meter (and compare to a reference, make sure it's calibrated and all that joy).
Given the current prices on copper, it would be VERY lucrative to pass off mid-grade recycled copper thats 99-99.5% pure as 99.99% pure. And in a lot of cases thats going to be FINE, sane people over-spec, the ampacity limits usually have a margin of error and so on.
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That's an awesome history of machining stuff! I'm perhaps more surprised at the flatness, a lot of the commercial busbars (even the Lynx) are less flat than that. I think the oval holes are useful for cells with terminals, but agree they can suck on the smaller welded ones. I've had to send a commercial busbar back (not naming names so we don't start anymore flamewars) becuase it was so warped I could see light under the terminal when fully torqued and 2 of the other holes were not 90deg to the bar.
Awesome work on those pieces, very nice! I'm very envious of whatever setup you're rocking, any totally DIY busbars I made would be clown level in comparison!
You got my curiosity up so I checked the resistance and it the lowest resistance of anything I’ve checked using approximately the same spacing on each sample. A sampling of known busses that usually read .07 to .06 and this material is in the .03 to .04 range, tined or not. Did some testing on cable & Lugs a while back.
https://diysolarforum.com/threads/surprising-cable-buss-test-results.49208/
https://diysolarforum.com/threads/surprising-cable-buss-test-results.49208/
Not sure if that's really economical. AC busbars from breaker panels
Nice!
I need to get a good micro ohm meter to really check all my crimps and such beyond "run system at max and check if things get hot" lol
Related, it bugs me that "buss bars" refers to both "what is used to connect 2 cells in series" and "where I connect all my batteries (and or loads) in parallel.
I know it's a legit use either way, but still :D The quality of copper is important in either case.
My worry with Amazon is that even if you and I and Will and half the forum buy something from a listing and it's all great, the moment someone says "ah, a product I can fake and ship to Amazon and have it listed with the legit item" some people could end up with garbage. In some ways ebay is less sketchy (you buy from a seller, you buy FROM that seller); but then listings don't always last and it's a bit harder to deal with issues/scams.
Everything sucks
TorC
Solar Enthusiast
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A lot of AC panels these days are going to aluminum busbars. Not so nice for machining into something else for electricity. Also, there's a lot of specialty forming of lugs for the breakers to tag onto, so you're paying a lot for that.
Unless the shape of something commercial and listed were what I wanted, if I wanted peace of mind that something would perform as advertised, I'd rather pay the premium from some place like McMaster Carr to get something I know is what it's supposed to be. Ampacity of copper is known, and you can design it for any current capacity you want. For that matter, you can design it to your preference for how much loss (heat) you are willing to accept. Commercial products are as likely to be "this won't catch fire inside our enclosure" as anything else.
Unless the shape of something commercial and listed were what I wanted, if I wanted peace of mind that something would perform as advertised, I'd rather pay the premium from some place like McMaster Carr to get something I know is what it's supposed to be. Ampacity of copper is known, and you can design it for any current capacity you want. For that matter, you can design it to your preference for how much loss (heat) you are willing to accept. Commercial products are as likely to be "this won't catch fire inside our enclosure" as anything else.
I got my curiosity up again so I had the tester out.. At the bottom picture is a bar of aluminum It’s 6061 T-6 alloy that’s one of the most common used and it can be found at most big box stores in many shapes. I’ve used it before for electrical buss. It’s reasonably corrosion resistant as long as it’s not influenced by galvanic exposure at junctions (use No-Ox Special A for this alloy, not zinc or carbon compounds like Noalox for alum cables). From the manufacturing process it has an oxidized surface that helps in its weather resistance but also initially makes it a poor conductor and gives it a bad reputation however there is a simple fix. The area of contact must be sanded down with 240 grit Emory to get the “skin” off and you will know when you are through when it’s more difficult to sand (softer metal). Aluminum oxides immediately so you should spread antioxidant & assemble. Once the skin has been removed, subsequent preparations only require a buffing of 3M cloth prior to assembly. It is a very good conductor, thou inferior to copper, with additional preparations for most applications there’s surprisingly little difference. The 1/8” X 2” aluminum and copper samples were tested at 5” (its what I had). They were prepped just before the test. The aluminum read .07 and the copper was .05, basically insignificant for many applications AS LONG AS PREPARATIONS ARE TAKEN. As mentioned, copper is proven, less hassle and I’ll probably stick with it when possible. 
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