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Hi ya MrAl, if you take a look at this page and scroll down you will see some shunts. Note the large copper (they are solid copper) lugs on some of the shunts. Would these work? I have them in AWG 6 down to 1/0 and some 250 MCM even larger. I used some for battery connections for the sound system in the wife's old Jeep running AWG 4. Depending on the needs I have several which are yours if you can use them, how many do you need? I got some years and years ago from McMaster Carr Supply. So if you need like only 4 or so I can send them along to you. I can post some detailed photos when I get home from work if you need to see more of what I am talking about.
This link may work. These would be McMaster Part Number 6923K51 and 6923K64 so would that work?
(proper) Crimping provides a superior mechanical linkage to soldering, soldering provides a superior overall electrical connection and helps immunize the joint from the outside world a bit. But a good crimp that's protected from the environment is more than fine as can be proven by the sheer number of a simple crimp connections that are used everywhere.
Crimping is the defacto standard because of cost and ease of operation by unskilled staff. I suspect that a soldered connection has lower resitance as all the wires are connected by soft solder.
However crimping has many advantages (speed and no risk of burning down the shed!) - but the lug/cable and crimper need to be matched - this is OK in Industry, but less convenient for others who have rare need for such parts.
With 4 AWG, I assume you are talking abut "welding cable" or at least something that is flexible. I would not recommend soldering 4 AWG; although, that size is a bit borderline. Generally, for 6 AWG and above, I just use crimping. The heaviest wire I have dealt with more than once is 00 (20).
A suitable crimper at McMaster-Carr is now $33.00, which means you should be able to get it for abut $25 elsewhere.
With 4 AWG, I assume you are talking abut "welding cable" or at least something that is flexible. I would not recommend soldering 4 AWG; although, that size is a bit borderline. Generally, for 6 AWG and above, I just use crimping. The heaviest wire I have dealt with more than once is 00 (20).
A suitable crimper at McMaster-Carr is now $33.00, which means you should be able to get it for abut $25 elsewhere.
Yes, one can use a hammer or a press. I set the crimper on a heavy piece of steel as a bucking bar, so I don't ruin the furniture when I hit it. The little pin that sticks out from the side provides a guide to prevent over crimping. I usually go a little past the mark with fine-wired welding cables. I then cover with neoprene heat-shrink (also from McMaster). The crimp it forms is a V with a dent between the legs.
The crimped connections have been quit durable and retain flexibility up fairly close to the crimp. With soldering , it is hard to control the amount of penetration of solder into the cable and consequent loss of flexibility.
Yes that's true about the solder wicking. I've also read and been told many times that a crimp is better than solder, with the right crimp tool of course.
I think that's really the issue - crimps are only as good if made correctly - that's why I suggest OP gets someone to do it for him...or hires the crimper to suit the crimps.
A crimper that is hammer-operated overcomes the issue of machine-cost, as the hardware is cheap..and it overcomes the need for great physical strength...(and expense). The problem is that you can't know if the crimp is tight enough, or too tight (risking the conductor integrety).... That's why I favour soldering as describe earlier.
In the past i've worked with 30,000 watts (that's thirty thousand watts) inverters that used ALL crimp connectors for everything. The crimping tool was quite expensive however.
You can know if the crimp is tight enough by doing a simple test. Well, sort of simple. You have to run the equipment at full power so that the cable is drawing the maximum current it will ever see. You run it for several hours (overnight is recommended for a mortality test) and then feel the connector body with your hand. If the crimp is bad the connector gets very very hot, but if it is good it stays the same temperature as the wire. With today's IR temperature guns you might even be able to measure the temperature with that. But if the crimp is bad you'll know it.
If you worked with small alligator leads a lot you would notice that the alligator clip breaks off of the wire when the lead is soldered on, but if it is crimped on it stays on there longer. That's because the crimp allows a little more flex near the joint.
We use crimps at work for all our connections. several megawatt machines. I think relative safety of a crimper compared to the risk of 3rd degree burns is a big factor.
My method of crushing the crap out of it in a vise, then putting a kink in the center with a big flat blade screwdriver worked good enough for my car stereo.
He he, sounds interesting. I once soldered a battery terminal on an automobile. Needed a new wire. I think i used a torch, but cant remember if it had a soldering slug attachment (big hunk of copper with a chisel or pyramid tip shape).
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