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Help plz. This short, pasted excerpt from the Anderson Connector data sheet confuses me.

Terrapin

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The except is italicized. Why is there two different amp ratings in the bullet points below? .o_O I am trying to figure out what the smallest connectors that will carry 12v DC 120A will be. This I just can't decipher on my own ..

Based off the design pioneered by Anderson in 1953, APP®’s two pole SB® connectors set the standard for DC power distribution and battery connections. SB®50 connectors feature a one piece plastic housing using stainless steel springs to hold low resistance contacts in place. Wires sizes from #16 (1.5 mm²) to #6 (13.3 mm²) are held in the smallest of the SB® series housings.

• Low Resistance Silver or Tin Plated Copper Contacts Allows UL rated currents up to 120 amps

• UL Rated for Hot Plugging up to 50 Amps Great for battery or other applications where the ability to interrupt circuits is required

• Wire, PCB, and Busbar Contacts Allows one connection system to meet multiple needs
 
It looks like Hot plugging is the ability to add and remove "devices" to a system while the system is "hot" . So if this anderson plug is for batteries and you expect one side to be "hot" while connecting or disconnecting you probably should use the 50A rating.

For example, if you had circuit breakers between the Anderson plug and a battery bank you could flip the breaker "off" and connect or disconnect with both sides dead so this would be considered not hot plugging and you could probably use the 120A rating in this case.

my 2¢
 
What she said ?

However I would use the SB 120 in your case.

That will take some good sized wire which will not fit in a SB50 shell with a max wire size of 6 AWG.
 
It looks like Hot plugging is the ability to add and remove "devices" to a system while the system is "hot" . So if this anderson plug is for batteries and you expect one side to be "hot" while connecting or disconnecting you probably should use the 50A rating.

For example, if you had circuit breakers between the Anderson plug and a battery bank you could flip the breaker "off" and connect or disconnect with both sides dead so this would be considered not hot plugging and you could probably use the 120A rating in this case.

my 2¢
TY I missed that lingo (pretty basic, Doh!) ...sooooo close to the build... need to slow and be smart about connecting it all.
 
The except is italicized. Why is there two different amp ratings in the bullet points below? .o_O I am trying to figure out what the smallest connectors that will carry 12v DC 120A will be. This I just can't decipher on my own ..

Based off the design pioneered by Anderson in 1953, APP®’s two pole SB® connectors set the standard for DC power distribution and battery connections. SB®50 connectors feature a one piece plastic housing using stainless steel springs to hold low resistance contacts in place. Wires sizes from #16 (1.5 mm²) to #6 (13.3 mm²) are held in the smallest of the SB® series housings.

• Low Resistance Silver or Tin Plated Copper Contacts Allows UL rated currents up to 120 amps

• UL Rated for Hot Plugging up to 50 Amps Great for battery or other applications where the ability to interrupt circuits is required

• Wire, PCB, and Busbar Contacts Allows one connection system to meet multiple needs
I would suggest the PP180, that's what I am using.
 
Last edited:
The SB50/PP50 would be to small for 120A.
I would go with the SB120/PP120 kit.


The SB175/PP175 kit is also available.
 

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The SB50/PP50 would be to small for 120A.
I would go with the SB120/PP120 kit.


The SB175/PP175 kit is also available.
Are those terminals crimpable with a battery lug crimper?
 
Are those terminals crimpable with a battery lug crimper?
BTW, if you want to carry 120 amps, get the next size up. They will get warm at their rated capacity, I routinely carry 40 amps on their 45 amp connectors. I am using the 180 rated connectors for 145 amps.
 
Genuine PP120 terminals are thicc, really heavy duty. To crimp PP120 I used the hammer crimp tool below.
I have used a ton of the Anderson PP connectors 15/30/45amp. Those things are picky about the crimp. If you don't use a tool made for APP, then the connectors don't want to slide into the sleeve.

I have the hammer crimper. Good to know that works. I didn't want to buy another pricey crimp tool
 
I have used a ton of the Anderson PP connectors 15/30/45amp. Those things are picky about the crimp. If you don't use a tool made for APP, then the connectors don't want to slide into the sleeve.

I have the hammer crimper. Good to know that works. I didn't want to buy another pricey crimp tool
Yes, I bought the special tool for those (15/30/45 amp connectors) and it works well.

The larger power ones can use a larger crimp tool for battery terminals, you just might have to sacrifice a couple of the pins to see which die to use. I'm pretty sure if you can crimp a battery lug, you can crimp the larger connectors. The hammer crimp tool should work as well.


 
Yes, I bought the special tool for those (15/30/45 amp connectors) and it works well.
When I started using the APP 45A connectors I had no idea the APP insertion tool existed; those were bad times as fitting the contacts into housing without the insertion tool was an utter nightmare.

The tyranny of the 45A APP connectors! LOL! They were the bane of my existence until I caved and purchased the TriCrimp. You can get similar tool in Amazon.

 
When I started using the APP 45A connectors I had no idea the APP insertion tool existed; those were bad times as fitting the contacts into housing without the insertion tool was an utter nightmare.

The tyranny of the 45A APP connectors! LOL! They were the bane of my existence until I caved and purchased the TriCrimp. You can get similar tool in Amazon.

Yes, the correct tool for the job is important when dealing with this sort of power, even the 45 amp rated connectors. A slightly cheaper alternative that I use:

 
No way for the SB50 and larger, the APP connectors have thicker walls.

I used to solder them but now I use this from Will's tool page:


Er, isn't that a battery lug crimper?

Here is a cheaper alternative that looks suspiciously similar to the one powerwex recommends for the smaller sizes:


Vs:
 
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