diy solar

diy solar

to crimp or not to crimp

carbon RV pilot

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Dec 17, 2020
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im building a diy battery setup for my rv, ive already ordered 4 eve 280ah cells and the overkill solar 120a bms will recommends on his sight, once i get the cells from alibaba [if alls well] i plan to order 4 more to make an 8s 12v system so needless to say ill be changing this around from 4s to 8s at some point so for that fact i ordered bolt on type connectors which will allow expansion down the road, ive watched several vids and read threads on this forum about buying/wrestling with crimp tools and good crimps/bad crimps kind of comments and these bolt on seem easier/reusable and cheaper overall... am i missing something? is crimpimg that much better? im still going to use the bolt on stuff sincei already got most of my bolt on connectors and circuit breakers, i even ordered the bolt on bms for the same reason.
 

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not sure but i think i remember it saying it was solid brass which im sure is not as good a conductor as copper and was coated with zinc to prevent corrosion, im going to go into my purchases and see exactly
 
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lol i had it all wrong, it says copper with nickel plate the only issue i thought was sitting flat on terminals but a little grind here or there i thought these would look clean and easy to upgrade cells and reuse these
 
For the BMS and the breaker, it's fine. I would be hesitant to rely on it or expect it to carry sufficient current.

SCC terminals are screw-type, but they sandwich the wire ensuring large surface area contact. The round against round is not at all equivalent and provides an uneven clamping pressure.

Personally, I would crimp terminals to the wire instead of using those.
 
For the BMS and the breaker, it's fine. I would be hesitant to rely on it or expect it to carry sufficient current.

SCC terminals are screw-type, but they sandwich the wire ensuring large surface area contact. The round against round is not at all equivalent and provides an uneven clamping pressure.

Personally, I would crimp terminals to the wire instead of using those.
yes, i considered that and figured this system will never push more than 50amps or so but i may reconsider the few terminals on batt lugs and bms... thanks for the input!
Looks like car audio connectors. Not big fan, so much total junk out there.

Also note that amazon is filled with chinese junk crimp terminals.
For example https://www.amazon.com/Glarks-Appro...Assortment/dp/B07LBQ4DTX/ref=lp_306730011_1_7
yes they are audio connectors which i thought would be fine since this rv system will be moderate aside from the occasional microwave spike the most theyll be pushing is 20-30amps. thanks
 
Aww! Darn, I just recieved the Glarks 105pc lug assortment too! It was a spur of the moment buy, I'll confess. $21.95! I should've known better. Although next to a solid copper lug, while not flared at the end, seemed like it was as thick as the copper one but weighed less. Both are awg6 X 5/16. Copper weighed 5gms Glarks weighed 4gm. Not sure about the whole "spy hole" on the other end of the Glarks either.
 

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Maybe these if you want screw fittings:
wow, these are what i remember seeing somewhere but couldnt find them anywhere online so i bought the ones i posted.... good eye!! i may still get a few of these, ill figure out how ill connect everything once i get my cells which should be in a few more weeks!
 
im building a diy battery setup for my rv, ive already ordered 4 eve 280ah cells and the overkill solar 120a bms will recommends on his sight, once i get the cells from alibaba [if alls well] i plan to order 4 more to make an 8s 12v system so needless to say ill be changing this around from 4s to 8s at some point so for that fact i ordered bolt on type connectors which will allow expansion down the road, ive watched several vids and read threads on this forum about buying/wrestling with crimp tools and good crimps/bad crimps kind of comments and these bolt on seem easier/reusable and cheaper overall... am i missing something? is crimpimg that much better? im still going to use the bolt on stuff sincei already got most of my bolt on connectors and circuit breakers, i even ordered the bolt on bms for the same reason.
Surely 8s will give you 24v, not 12v
 
Aww! Darn, I just recieved the Glarks 105pc lug assortment too! It was a spur of the moment buy, I'll confess. $21.95! I should've known better. Although next to a solid copper lug, while not flared at the end, seemed like it was as thick as the copper one but weighed less. Both are awg6 X 5/16. Copper weighed 5gms Glarks weighed 4gm. Not sure about the whole "spy hole" on the other end of the Glarks either.
That one looks actually little bit better than the ones I have(exactly same looking kit from alibaba)
I knew I got what I paid for when I got the package in my hands... so lightweight. :poop: Terminals weight like 1/2 of the European industrial terminals I'm used to...

"UL approved" claim is downright scam on those.

Amazon 1 star reviews are revealing:
 
Maybe these if you want screw fittings:
Thanks for posting that. Gave me more to think about and was ultimately the final straw in reversing my decision from not getting crimpers. Those look great, then you start thinking about expansion, also having to mount them to bus bars, etc etc, yadda yadda, and your hardware requirements and complexity grows. The number of connection points that can potentially come loose grows. Originally I was thinking about buying cable with lugs, but that is a money pit over time. Best, I think, to have the tools. DIY also means do it yourself maintenance and expansion. Otherwise you’re just going to spend the money you save paying someone else to do the maintenance or expansion.

edit: here’s a discussion on various crimping tools:
Thread 'Temco Lug Crimping Tool'
https://diysolarforum.com/threads/temco-lug-crimping-tool.8683/
 
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im building a diy battery setup for my rv, ive already ordered 4 eve 280ah cells and the overkill solar 120a bms will recommends on his sight, once i get the cells from alibaba [if alls well] i plan to order 4 more to make an 8s 12v system so needless to say ill be changing this around from 4s to 8s at some point so for that fact i ordered bolt on type connectors which will allow expansion down the road, ive watched several vids and read threads on this forum about buying/wrestling with crimp tools and good crimps/bad crimps kind of comments and these bolt on seem easier/reusable and cheaper overall... am i missing something? is crimpimg that much better? im still going to use the bolt on stuff sincei already got most of my bolt on connectors and circuit breakers, i even ordered the bolt on bms for the same reason.
If those threaded terminals were available when I ordered my overkill bms I would have given them a try.
But then again I like mechanical lugs.
Big fan of these https://www.digikey.ca/short/4t4zhv

But not for a mobile application and that breaker looks like the cheap amazon junk.
I'm not trying to be mean, just don't want you to have a fire.

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Don't Fear The Crimper! I had never crimped large lugs before and my experience crimping small ring terminals was rather disappointing. But every big cable lug I crimped came out perfect.

I didn't know the Overkill Solar BMS was available with bolt on terminals. If it had been available when I bought mine I would have considered it.

I'm not a fan of cable lugs with the "spy hole". The hole allows air in which can promote oxidation/corrosion. My crimped lugs with heat shrink tubing are air tight. I don't know this to be true, but I suspect that the ABYC standards do not allow for lugs with that hole.
 
Maybe these if you want screw fittings:

That type fitting is used in most all stationary electrical panels. But I have never seen one used in any automotive, boat, or RV... as in mobile application. And I am a motor head, Jeep, muscle car, boat, RV, DIY guy.

So anytime I see something that has never been done before, I ask myself... is that because it is such genius no else ever thought of it? Or is it a dumb idea, no one else would try?

If I was asking myself that question, on using screw lugs in a mobile application, I would say to myself... self, that probably falls on the dumb idea side.

But many folks frown upon those that talk to themselves. :oops: :LOL:
 
If I was asking myself that question, on using screw lugs in a mobile application, I would say to myself... self, that probably falls on the dumb idea side.

But many folks frown upon those that talk to themselves. :oops: :LOL:

Seems legit.
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