Tinned or Bare Copper Bus Bar Material?

[HRTKD]

I'm rearranging the components in my system and replacing a couple components. The four stud bus bars are being replaced with eight stud bus bars with much higher amperage capacity. A new PSW inverter/charger is going in to replace the separate MSW inverter and the AC-DC converter.

Many of the components are very close together, like the Class T fuse and the Cutoff Switch. Instead of 2/0 cable, I'm thinking of using bus bars to join the components. I have aluminum bus bar material that I'm planning to use for the cell terminals. It may be too thick to work well with the other components. Consequently, I'm considering buying copper bus bar material.

Where are you buying your copper bus bar material?
Are you buying it tinned or bare?

 

[Atomic Ed]

I bought some blue sea systems bus bars, which are tinned copper with 4 studs each and I believe 275a rating.
Ended up not using them yet with my initial build but they sure seem well made. The catch with these is they didn't come with the plastic covers and I have had a hard time trying to find them.

 

[Horsefly]

I bought some copper bus bar material from OnlineMetals.com. I've also gotten both copper and aluminum on EBay.

I've gotten to where I kinda enjoy nickel plating copper, so all the copper bus bars I've made are now nickel plated.

 

[markansas]

flatten copper pipe . think i should do three layers tho

 

[HRTKD]

No, I'm not going to use flattened copper pipe.

 

[Zwy]

I bought it from Online Metals. When I purchased 18 feet of 4261 it was $21.95 per 6 feet plus $22 for shipping. I see now the same 4261 is $40 per 6 feet. https://www.onlinemetals.com/en/buy/copper/0-125-x-0-75-copper-rectangle-bar-110-h02/pid/4261

I did tin it myself with nickel. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B083LJWQYG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 The nickel rod is $4 cheaper now so that makes it a little cheaper for you.

 

[HRTKD]

I've purchased from OnlineMetals.com before. Their packaging was pretty bad. My rectangle aluminum tubing was sticking out of the container. Their prices were a little high too. I switched to MidwestSteelSupply.com and it was a good transaction. I think their shipping is less expensive, at least it was for my last transaction. I just checked and while MidwestSteelSupply is slightly less expensive, it's close enough to OnlineMetals that the shipping cost will be the deciding factor.

 

[Zwy]

I just checked their price on 6" SCH80 steel pipe as I need two 21 footers. 18% higher than my local welding shop and that is without shipping. Yikes!

I found some 5.5 and 7 inch oil well pipe yesterday, it was cheap. I might be able to adapt the 7 inch to use on the MT Solar mount I ordered. Turn down a short section to sleeve into the top of the 7 inch and weld it in. 6" SCH80 is in short supply right now.

 

[HRTKD]

I've never sourced any metal stock from my local welding shop. Heck, I don't know if they even carry that.

 

[Zwy]

I've never sourced any metal stock from my local welding shop. Heck, I don't know if they even carry that.

Most can order it in. You might be surprised what they can purchase copper bar stock for.

 

[upnorthandpersonal]

No, I'm not going to use flattened copper pipe.

What do copper pipes say when they leave?
Cu later!

 

[HRTKD]

I compared the price at a local metal supply shop (Metal Supermarkets) for the same size and they want $18 more.

Aggregated costs
Metal Supermarkets (local pickup): $57.74 + $2.31 tax = $60.05
Online metals: $39.96 + $33.53 shipping = $73.49
Midwest Steel: $39.90 + $29.01 shipping = $68.91

 

[markansas]

I just checked their price on 6" SCH80 steel pipe as I need two 21 footers. 18% higher than my local welding shop and that is without shipping. Yikes!

I found some 5.5 and 7 inch oil well pipe yesterday, it was cheap. I might be able to adapt the 7 inch to use on the MT Solar mount I ordered. Turn down a short section to sleeve into the top of the 7 inch and weld it in. 6" SCH80 is in short supply right now.

drill pipe just temp tho

 

[Zwy]

drill pipe just temp tho

I can find plenty of drill pipe. It just isn't the right OD for what I need. A year ago 6" SCH80 would have been $1300 for what I need, it's $2300 now.

 

[pvdude]

I have bought both tinned and bare copper plate & bar stock from eBay.
I have to cut it up to fit, but otherwise, eBay has been a good place for me to find small amounts.

 

[chrisski]

E-Bay and I use C110 half hard copper. I tin my busbars in nickel electroplate once I’m done making. After making two sets, ampacity and surface contact area drive the size copper flat that I buy.

My local supplier, metal supermarkets I think, was wiped out of copper when I called. There is a local welding shop, but the last time I used it, the minimum job price was $75. I live in a valley of 5 million people and anything I need for my solar projects I need to order online, unless its basics available from Home Depot, which copper bars are not.

I decided on 3/4” X 1/8” for my first purchase, and Amazon did not have it, so off to E-Bay From ACDCWIRESUPPLY. Two pieces. One foot each Shipped fine wrapped in Saran Wrap and in a Manila bubble wrap envelope with both ends padded. Because they were out, the next purchase was from EBay at Zoro Select 3/4” X 1/4” a foot long. This came shipped a little better in a plastic tube. That second purchase I have not opened yet.

I wish someone could cut these busbar s pre-made, but demand is just not there or I don’t know where to go. I can cut round sloppy holes with my hand held Milwaukee drill, but don’t have any access to a drill press. At $1 to $2 per inch, this becomes an expensive lesson.

 

[markansas]

E-Bay and I use C110 half hard copper. I tin my busbars in nickel electroplate once I’m done making. After making two sets, ampacity and surface contact area drive the size copper flat that I buy.

My local supplier, metal supermarkets I think, was wiped out of copper when I called. There is a local welding shop, but the last time I used it, the minimum job price was $75. I live in a valley of 5 million people and anything I need for my solar projects I need to order online, unless its basics available from Home Depot, which copper bars are not.

I decided on 3/4” X 1/8” for my first purchase, and Amazon did not have it, so off to E-Bay From ACDCWIRESUPPLY. Two pieces. One foot each Shipped fine wrapped in Saran Wrap and in a Manila bubble wrap envelope with both ends padded. Because they were out, the next purchase was from EBay at Zoro Select 3/4” X 1/4” a foot long. This came shipped a little better in a plastic tube. That second purchase I have not opened yet.

I wish someone could cut these busbar s pre-made, but demand is just not there or I don’t know where to go. I can cut round sloppy holes with my hand held Milwaukee drill, but don’t have any access to a drill press. At $1 to $2 per inch, this becomes an expensive lesson.

just learning , why do you nickel plate them? my thought would be for corrosion ?

 

[chrisski]

my thought would be for corrosion ?

Yes nickel plating for corrosion. I tried tinning it with solder and a propane torch, but that was a disaster. Not sure how an exposed copper bar would fair over the years.

Nickel plating was pretty easy. Hook the power supply over a jar of vinegar overnight with each end clipped to a strip of nickel. In the morning, one strip disappeared and the acetone solution for plating was prepared. THis is supposed to get you set for life on the plating solution, nickel acetone. Now just hook one lead to a nickel strip put in the solution, and the other lead to what you want tinned, and put in the solution for a half a minute or so rotating for even platiing, and its done. Plates instantly when dipped in the solution.

I would prefer and buy pre-made plated drilled busbars, but they are not available, and some for sale don’t mention size or batteries they are good for.

 

[markansas]

Yes nickel plating for corrosion. I tried tinning it with solder and a propane torch, but that was a disaster. Not sure how an exposed copper bar would fair over the years.

Nickel plating was pretty easy. Hook the power supply over a jar of vinegar overnight with each end clipped to a strip of nickel. In the morning, one strip disappeared and the acetone solution for plating was prepared. THis is supposed to get you set for life on the plating solution, nickel acetone. Now just hook one lead to a nickel strip put in the solution, and the other lead to what you want tinned, and put in the solution for a half a minute or so rotating for even platiing, and its done. Plates instantly when dipped in the solution.

I would prefer and buy pre-made plated drilled busbars, but they are not available, and some for sale don’t mention size or batteries they are good for.

clever.. i like .. trying to save cost.

 

[chrisski]

clever.. i like .. trying to save cost.

Nickel strips are on Amazon, and the jar came from WalMart.

THis is what I did, very similar to what you see in the resources section:

Making BusBars And Nickel Plating

I put together a couple of 25 ah 24 Volt 8S Packs and made my own busbars for this. I chose 1/8" X 3/4" 110 Copper bus bars. •https://www.ebay.com/itm/303841271273 These are rated for a little over 200 amps. Way more than these 25 ah cells will push. I'm deciding to learn how to make my own...

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