diy solar

diy solar

Why would this have a current rating? No current should be passing through this

Well I guess maybe you shouldn’t use it then?

I’ve use these (or similar) for years.
Jamb nuts are used in machine tools, shock absorbers, electrical connections for winches, car alternators, etc.

If the item pictured is like the last ones I purchased and are currently in service it is a bolt head captured in plastic with two nuts and washers and a lock washer. The use is to tighten the two nuts against each other with two or occasionally three ring-terminal lugs between, washers against the nuts. Mine are quite tight yet the stud itself will easily rotate a few degrees where the bolt head is captured in the plastic which is plastic because it is an insulator.

If these terminal studs or their multi-stud busbar relatives are inadequate for your installations the split bolt connectors mentioned will perform the same duty, require two wrenches to tighten, but split bolts neither have mounting capacity nor are they electrically insulating without multiple wraps of tape with perhaps large heat shrink over that for DC.

Both will work for their intended uses and if installed adequately and safely. Calling either one junk isn’t useful.
F.Y.I. For those insulating split bolts, don’t use electrical tape, use rubber tape, or reinforced rubber tape. It’s thicker, and is far more resistant to issues.
 
Follow up hint.
Before you put the rubber tape on.
Apply one layer of electrical tape, sticky side out.
You'll thank me , if you ever need to get back in to it.
 
Calling either one junk isn’t useful
OK, let me rephrase, the studs are made in such a manner that no one in the commercial or electrical code approved world has adopted any style of a product of similar construction.

It's always amazing how anyone can't admit they've made a mistake and using these for any kind of load that has a potential of overheating is a potential costly mistake. Now maybe the mistake was justified and that's because there is absolutely nothing on the market that provides the same function. There is a reason that insulators inside of breaker boxes are not made of this plastic material and whether one wishes to call the material "junk" or define it as "made in such a manner that no one in the commercial or electrical code approved world has adopted any style of a product of similar construction", it's still going to melt when it gets hot.

With all this aside, per electrical code you can't have open junctions outside of a protected metal box, so there you have it. If someone is going to do work outside of the electrical code, may as well use studs of plastic. In fact, wood or cardboard might also serve well.
 
sticky side out
Do you remember the show "The Twilight Zone"? There was this episode where a family of humans are put in a cage and the show starts where they keep finding all this stuff like drawer handles that fall off and that's because the large cage they have been placed inside has been constructed by aliens who only assumed that their superficial needs had to be met (doors that look real but don't really need to open, etc). This is what it reminds me of with all this stuff coming out of China now, with the advent of he new "trunk boombox electrical engineer" who goes with veneers for meeting electrical requirements rather than using what has actually been proven over time and approved of in the trade.

Perfect example:
Fusecrap.jpg
 
the studs are made in such a manner that no one in the commercial or electrical code approved world has adopted any style of a product of similar construction.
This strikes me funny.
I’ve seen stud mounted junctions in boats, offroad vehicles, motorcycles, plant-scale gensets, race cars. For years. Doesn’t seem unusual to me.

Are those stud assemblies ideally made? Nope. Nevertheless, a sufficiently sized DC cable properly fused is never going to get a properly tightened stud/terminal connector hot enough to melt out. The fuse would blow long before an issue appeared. I just don’t see the issue.

If you can find an FRP Bakelite terminal stud for mounting in an enclosure/JB or whatever use it. I know they don’t make them with carbon fiber because, well, they’d be conductive. Unclear if you can find ‘glass reinforced Bakelite terminal blocks either.
 
never an issue
Have you ever done a mobile installation? Vibration sometimes causes issues, especially over time. Also from an advertising perspective, this particular connector is not something I would boast too heavily about using. Sawing a Bussmann ANL holder in half and drilling another mounting hole would likely be a better strategy if you must establish open-air junctions. It's true that sawing one this way would break its code certification but in contrast, if the plastic one is certified for high amp DC use by a USA based government regulation authority, then it's time for us all to toss our tools and look for another line of work or interest. Otherwise any disagreement we have must be based in what type of current is passing through the wire joined at this junction. Perhaps the issue is that installers who romanticize this particular part need to spend some time with long-term electricians to witness other's work that is claimed to be heat proof.
 
I just don’t see the issue
That's the point of my whole narrative. Otherwise, when someone is talking about 150A and above, at this point "toy" studs need to be upgraded. If it works on a flashlight or a trolling motor fine, your fiberglass may get scorched before the 12 gauge wire finally melts. For the maritime industry, don't boats have a built in fire extinguisher, I mean sometimes it takes a while but eventually the fire goes out.
 
I personally, have never used this product.
So, I can't speak to it's longevity.
I can only speak from 38 years of experience in commercial, industrial, mining, and marine installations. And, in my opinion. If it's used properly, in a situation that it's rated for. It should work issue free.
 
Have you ever done a mobile installation?
Actually that is my arena of experience
FWIW I probably wouldn’t use one for a 400A winch application but have you noticed what holds the cable studs in place on a 2000W inverter? Same material in many cases.
I don’t think these are intended to be used in applications where ignorant people do stupid things - ymmv ?‍♂️
 
I guess we just all have a different way of looking at things. When I ordered mine, I was assuming I'd receive something to the order of the popular Bussmann ANL fuse holder (rated I think at 800A). This fuse holder appears to be made from the same material that breaker box buss bars are insulated with. With the Bussmann, you see quality and you know quality is there with the toughness of the material and you know the bolt won't twist on the inside when you rotate the nut on top. In fact you don't even have to worry about any aspect of the Bussmann because the nut on the bottom is simply rock solid inside the extended temperature tolerant casing. Also you see the Bussmann is made of the same durable material that anchors 400A buss bars inside a breaker box and you feel confident you have a good product and you know that all you have to do is mount it properly and forget it.

In contrast I actually cackled out laughing when this piece of plastic "junk" arrived. I held it up to the light first to see if I could see through it. In fact if you have any experience in the electrical industry and you've been working in it for 2 years or longer, then if you don't laugh when you open the bag with these inside, if you don't let out a chuckle when you look at them once you've felt them, smelled them and generally fully examined them, then I think the reason you do not see an issue with them does not lie in the product itself.

Otherwise let me close by saying to the casual observer of this thread, consider first of all if anyone of the responders above does work for you, please take note of their response and proceed as seems appropriate considering their opinions. I personally am not, nor ever will be in the business and one of the driving factors is that at almost at every turn, this is the quality of the sole equipment we now have to work with. And with that I have to say that I already I hear enough complaints as it is. Salud y Buenos Suerte!
 
I find it odd there is no amperage rating. I have only used the product to connect ground wires in residential applications.

What else could this be used for?View attachment 90065
These are commonly used in electrical panels, line drops, wiring troughs, etc.
Think of it as a big wire nut that needs insulation…
 
If the wire fits, the rating is fine.

The stud does not intrinsically limit the wire size.
 
then I think the reason you do not see an issue with them does not lie in the product itself.
I already understood you

It’s an inanimate little device that has a use.
I’ve never seen these products get hot.
I have seen things it supplies get warm, like inverter connections because some are not always robust imho
It’s merely a means of clamping two ring-terminal ends together with a bolt that happens to feature an insulated mounting base in which the bolt is captured, and two nuts to tighten together.

If you don’t like it don’t use it.
 
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