chrisski
Solar Boondocker
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Never saw this on any of my searches prior to doing my ferrules. Everything said to crimp beforehand. Nice to hear the procedure from someone who does this for a living.
See this before buying Victron
- Thread starter Bossrox
- Start date
I think the YouTuber David Poz made a video about this method of ferrule use on some welding wire on his inverter builds a few years ago…
pollenface
Solar Addict
I once had a blue solar which overcharged my battery. I connected the solar panel first. Operator error.
400bird
Solar Wizard
That doesn't mean it's the proper method!
That guy does dumb stuff and is learning just like the rest of us...
I agree that ferrules work without crimping, I don't know if it is proper.
timselectric
If I can do it, you can do it.
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My concern would be trying to remove the ferrule, in the future. It could be lodged in the terminal, from being compressed there.
Here is a video by member lithiumsolar using ferrules on his battery cables. He uses a crimper first on them.
I use both hex and square ferrule crimpers. I've had no issues with ferrules getting stuck in terminals. I had to replace a couple double pole breakers a month ago and the square crimp ferrules came out just fine and they looked great. That said, I'm with Tim that I would prefer a lug over a ferrule, but the industry didn't ask my opinion.
Not crimping a larger gauge ferrule (letting the terminal do it) isn't something I considered. For the one situation where I was going to use a 1 gauge ferrule, I don't think the ferrule would have fit in the terminal unless it was crimped. That's speculation on my part though. I didn't come up with a crimper for that gauge ferrule, so I never went forward with it.
To the OP's assertion that Victron is low quality, I say that Jennifer's post is pretty much what I was thinking but wouldn't have posted. Well, I would have posted it, but maybe a little less harsh. Anyone that can kill that many Victron solar charge controllers is doing something wrong and shouldn't be allowed near anything more powerful than a 9 volt battery.
Not crimping a larger gauge ferrule (letting the terminal do it) isn't something I considered. For the one situation where I was going to use a 1 gauge ferrule, I don't think the ferrule would have fit in the terminal unless it was crimped. That's speculation on my part though. I didn't come up with a crimper for that gauge ferrule, so I never went forward with it.
To the OP's assertion that Victron is low quality, I say that Jennifer's post is pretty much what I was thinking but wouldn't have posted. Well, I would have posted it, but maybe a little less harsh. Anyone that can kill that many Victron solar charge controllers is doing something wrong and shouldn't be allowed near anything more powerful than a 9 volt battery.
Oh, I wouldn’t say they shouldn’t be allowed near them, just that they should take a step back, and consider things are incorrect.
No matter how much experience a person has, when out of their element, things can go wrong. And massive experience that is incorrect isn’t a good thing.
People need to be humble and realize they may be incorrect, and take learning when it is offered.
timselectric
If I can do it, you can do it.
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After ruining 4 SCC's. You should think that maybe it's not the SCC.
The OP was complaining the correct size wire “is difficult to remove and reinsert multiple times” and this is wrong, undoing a terminal is not the proper method for de-energizing a battery.
shadowsteve
Solar Enthusiast
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I would think that would require a fair bit of tq on the lug screw considering what it takes to properly compress a ferrule with the proper tool. I'll just stick to putting the stranded cable into the lug where the cable gauge doesn't exceed the lug size.
timselectric
If I can do it, you can do it.
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Those are crimped, before installing in the terminal.
I was referring to using the terminal to crush the ferrule.
Agreed, I think it’d be determined by the terminal connector and the ferrule.
Not everything is black and white.
LithiumSolar
Solar Enthusiast
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I'm not sure which video you're referring to, but I stopped crimping them first on the large terminals. For example, the MPP Solar PCM60X terminals don't accept #6 THHN very well. There is too much space on either side of the screw and it pushes the strands out of the way. I used ferrules, did not crimp, and simply tightened down the terminal bolts. I got a perfect crimp from the bolt that matches the bolt. Zero problems... I'm certainly not saying this is the correct way to do it but it worked fine for me.
See video "Wiring the Solar Charge Controllers in the New Electrical Cabinet" about 1 minute in. It's still not clear to me if I'm permitted to post my own videos or not.
LithiumSolar
Solar Enthusiast
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I'm curious, is there a generally-accepted rule in regards to which gauges stop requiring crimping? Or is it just a matter of looking at the terminal it's being used on and making your own assessment?
MurphyGuy
It just needs a bigger hammer
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When I installed the 2/0 battery cable into my Sunny Islands, I didn't bother to crimp the ferrule at all. If the ferrule fits the wire snugly, and you have the correct kind of mounting terminals, its probably best to allow the terminal screw to compress the ferrule on its own.
In my case, the large 5/8 inch set screw crushed the ferrule into the bottom of the terminal housing and caused the sides to bulge out and make solid contact with the entire bottom 1/2 of the insertion point.
When I can say for sure is that at 150 amps charging, there is no detectable heat build up at the terminals... and that is a sign that the connection is solid.
And a little dielectric grease never hurts either.
Judging from the original poster's other youtube videos, I'm going to guess that he's doing something wrong. His workmanship seems sloppy, amateurish, and cobbled together in a sort of backwoods redneck fashion.
Someone suggested his VOC was toasting the charge controllers.. I'm going to second that guess.
Also, I would not suggest anyone ever connect a battery cable to a charge controller without sending juice through a precharge resistor first.
In my case, the large 5/8 inch set screw crushed the ferrule into the bottom of the terminal housing and caused the sides to bulge out and make solid contact with the entire bottom 1/2 of the insertion point.
When I can say for sure is that at 150 amps charging, there is no detectable heat build up at the terminals... and that is a sign that the connection is solid.
And a little dielectric grease never hurts either.
Judging from the original poster's other youtube videos, I'm going to guess that he's doing something wrong. His workmanship seems sloppy, amateurish, and cobbled together in a sort of backwoods redneck fashion.
Someone suggested his VOC was toasting the charge controllers.. I'm going to second that guess.
Also, I would not suggest anyone ever connect a battery cable to a charge controller without sending juice through a precharge resistor first.
timselectric
If I can do it, you can do it.
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Individual preference and assessment.
Everyone's out of step but my Johnny…. Exactly.
I'm a little disappointed that he removed this post he made towards me
Oh well... I'll find someone else to play with. ?
Jen
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