Posted by Sheila Knott on Mon, Jan 25, 2010 @ 12:43 PM
By Steve O'Dea - Pacer Solutions Expert
Would you trust sitting on a chair with only 2 legs? We can all agree that is a stupid question. Save for some episode of "America's Funniest Home Video's" or a YouTube sensation, no one would sit on a chair with just 2 legs. Now chairs with 3 legs properly spaced are a safer bet to rest your rump on, and 4 legs is an optimal choice. What does this purely hypothetical and frankly silly scenario have to do with our business? Well, it will all make sense just follow me.
When crimping battery lugs a four point crimp is much better than a two point crimp. What I mean by that is the more points you can crimp the better, especially when relying heavily on the mechanical crimp. Because we make superior wire and cable that has very fine stranding we do not recommend solder. Many proponents of solder say that it gives another level of protection to a mechanical crimp. The advantages to using a highly flexible, fine stranded copper wire and cable such as resistance to heavy vibration is diminished when soldered. Soldering turns all those little flexible strands into one solid piece and as such creates a brittle point. Resistance to heavy vibration is a major selling point in performance wire and cable and their applications.
Pacer recommends a nice heavy crimp and adhesive lined heat shrink to finish the assemblies. We sell 2 types of battery lug crimpers: First is the AMP Rota-Crimp (VT600850) which can crimp lugs from 8 AWG to 4/0 AWG. We have used one in our battery department that must be 20 years old and it still works great. This tool is heavy duty and features unique spring loaded rotating crimp dies to allow the user to crimp a full range of cables without switching out loose die pieces. This crimper offers a four point crimp on the lug too. I would not recommend this for a hobbyist but for a serious professional (who doesn't mind investing in better tools) it is perfect. We also sell a version of the AMP Rota-Crimp (VT601075) that will crimp lugs up to 1/0 AWG. The second is the Crimp Master Crimp tool. For larger gauge lugs from 6 AWG to 4/0 AWG (VT0280) the Crimp Master is a less expensive alternative. This tool features a dial to adjust for the correct crimp gauge and a three point crimp. The version of the Crimp Master that crimps gauges 6 AWG to 1/0 AWG is the (VT0280C).
We understand that dropping that kind of dough on a tool is not in everyone's budget, especially when you don't need this feature that often. The important lesson to take from this post is that putting the lug in a crimping jig and hitting it with a hammer is not the recommended method for high performance crimps. A two point crimp is not sufficient.
Pacer engineers battery cables for many of the marine manufacturers here in the US. We utilize a pneumatic crimper that creates a repeatable, consistent mechanical crimp that tests way beyond industry standard. We can make these for you too. Because we have our own wire and cable manufacturing plant, we have an advantage on the materials. Even with our labor factored in, many companies utilize our service because we can build these cables custom for less than investing in all the tools and materials. Let us invest in the inventory and processes to supply you with a top notch cable assembly. You will know that the assembly has been tested.
So as you can see the crimping battery lugs does not take a rocket scientist (but if you are one and you are looking for an assembly - call us). It does, however take an understanding of the many numbers that you need to consider before you take on the job.