To solder or not to solder - This is the question

"JERD" <

Then poke it in the hole and screw it down with two ( or more) hefty grub screws.

Solder is out of the question.

BTW

What ginormous iron were you expecting to use on a 20+ sq mm copper cable ?

...... Phil

TNX your reply. A BIG one Phil

JERD

"crush" is very much the wrong word !!!!!

These need to be crimped on correctly, too much crimp and the cable will go hard and break, too loose and it will over heat with the current

MAYBE if you can't crimp correctly, hard solder, maybe.

Max

A few waves ofthe lpg torch should suffice {:-).

The Australian Electrical regulations prohibit soldered connections unless it's for earth bonding. (From what I recall).

Dorf

Should have said in my original posting this is a 12 volt application.

JERD

I suspected as such. There's still a lot of wisdom in the regulations. Soldering is more likely to cause problems in a high current situation than a high voltage one.

Dorf

Anyone for toasted, melted plastic ?

.... Phil

Could be welding cable with heat proof cover.

If you think that is bad, you should see what happens when you use the oxy torch {:-).

You are spot on Phil, but I've seen that done with a soldering iron as well by someone who claimed they did know how to solder. 25 pin plug with every wire bare for 1" back from the plug. Shudder.

Adfter that experience, I inadvertently asked an old plumber "can you solder". After all he and all the other old guys stopped laughing, he said "not the type you need".

I was trolling a bit there Phil.

A soldered multi-stand cable end into a screw terminal strip will become loose after a period.

geoff

I have crimped lugs onto 00 gauge welding cable then heated the lugs with a blowtorch and feed solder in. It was for a 24v 600a amp application. so far ok.

"Ted"

You are NOT relying on solder to hold copper wires together that are being crushed apart by a clamp or grub screw.

You ARE making the termination more reliable by using solder to conduct the current flow from the surface of the crimp lug to the surfaces of the ( otherwise) bare copper strands.

Keeps out moisture and prevent tarnishing & corrosion too.

...... Phil

Years ago I worked at a welding gear makers, the usual way was crimp then run solder in. There was a fairly high failure rate as capillary action drew solder past the crimp and made the wire "ankle" brittle - this suited the company just fine, selling replacement cables at extortionate prices.

That should be fine. I think th OP was proposing soldering bare wire ends and putting directly under a screw .

geoff

Yes I can see how they would become brittle, in my application the cables were fixed (not a welding application) and so never had a problem.