battery terminal crimping (40sq mm jobbies)

when i asked about batteries, a few people mentioned they are into the EV
thing, and thinking those people may have to make some pretty heavy duty
crimps from time to time.......

i have the new batteries for the motorhome, got 6 x US2200's, 6 volt 232 amp
hour jobbies, giving me almost a 700 AH 12 volt battery bank, should keep us
going for a while), but i need to make up the connection cables, i will
mainly be crimping 40sq mm cables, but have a few 25sq mm and some 16sq mm
ones to do as well.

i plan to canibalise some heavy duty jump leads for the cables i need, and
can buy the terminals almost anywhere, but it's the crimping of the buggers
that's got me.

anyone know where i can either hire a crimping tool from, or take cut cables
and get the buggers crimped for me?
im in nottingham so that kinda area would be best,

btw, i know CEF hire out the tool if you buy terminals from them, but im not
an account holder, and thus cant rent the tool, i even offered to give them
the cash for the full purchase price of the tool, and get it back minus the
rental charges when i return it, but they refused, and being a bit of a
hermit, i dont know anyone with a trade account who could rent to tool for
me.

 

Just knock some dents in them with a hammer & blunt chisel.

 

i thunked about doing that, but the thought of a cable coming loose and
flapping about under my bed whilst carrying a couple of hundered amps isnt
too nice,

 

solder them

 

Couple of options I have used.... hacksaw a nut in two thats smaller than
the crimp, put in vice and tighten up to crimp or.... as mentioned ( if they
are blind crimps with no aperture) heat with blowlamp or FOAD soldering iron
fill with solder keep it molten then tin the copper and shove it in .

 

Anywhere that has a need to make battery cables on a regular basis -
commercial vehicle workshop, marine w/sh, canal boat w/s, etc. And don't
forget the most obvious non-battery - general sparkies w/shop. These big
crimps are used on mains cables everywhere.

 

Exactly, and soldering is crap too, in a vibratory environment.
A solid mechanical connection is what's needed.
Ignore the bodging cunts, it's your life.

 

Tried the tool hire places? otherwise RS used to sell crimp tools. Buy
it and you've got it forever.

garages, commercial vehicle places most likely IWHT.

 

tar for that, big mains cables.....

i've realised taking the cables to a shop wont help, as i need to make new
connections to some of the cables that are already in the van, they go
through holes that are big enough for the cable, but not a crimp connector
as well, and 2 of the bastards i snaked through all the cupboards as i built
the van,

so i have a few crimps to do in the van to make up the new power system.

but searching for mains cable crimpers, i found a few places selling chinkie
made hydraulic crimpers with dies for 16 to 90 sq mm crimps for 30 quid,
they make the hexaganal crimps which are supposed to be better, so i guess
one of those will do me, i only need to make about 30 or so crimps in total
(6 x 6 volt batteries to be made into a 12 volt 700 Ah bank, with equal
length cables leading to bus bars for all the loads to come off em)

 

Edmundson electrical have everything you need mate.

--


Nige,

BMW K1200S
Range Rover Vogue
Suzuki GSX-R600 Racebike
Honda ST1100 Pan European (comes this week)

 

So you are running 3 x 12v 'batteries' *directly* in parallel? Or have
I missed (or forgotten) the bit where each bank is charged
individually and switch back in / out as required etc?

If they are all hard wired are there fuses in each leg, in case of a
battery / cell failure (short) and that leg being overcharged by the
other legs?

FWIW the 8 x 6V / 200Ah mono blocks in my electric moke are all
switched in series for charging (48V) and only switched into parallel
(12V) and series parallel (24V) in use (all legs are fused).

T i m

 

Works for me.

I thought you were going to **** off, BTW?

--
Wicked Uncle Nigel - "He's hopeless, but he's honest"

I have already made the greatest contribution to the fight against climate
change that I can make: I have decided not to breed. Now quit bugging me and
go and talk to the Catholics.

 

i've ordered a set of cheapo chinkie made hydraulic crimpers, whilst i've
done the flatten in a vise, squeeze with mole grips before, i have also had
a few come loose, so dont want to risk that when i'll be sleeping over the
top of the batteries,

i have, but i'm schizophrenic and this is one of my 'friends' posting

 

Thanks very much for the offer, but i realised i have a few cables that need
new connections on them that are sort of part of the van, so i've bought a
cheapo set of crimpers,
it being an iveco, and typical italian electrics, i no doubt if i went
looking i could find a few more connections i should replace.


it is being an arse finding a decent price for the cable and terminals tho,

i really want to use 50sqmm cable, but that stuff is even more expensive
than the 40sqmm stuff.... well i was actually looking at the 35sqmm cable
used for welder earth leads,

but as i'm doing the wiring properly now, i may as well see about getting
the size wire i want, VWP are fekin silly for that size of cable,

i rekon i need about 12 meters, all one colour would be fine as i have some
red and black heat shrink, but i'm fucked if i can find that for less than
50 quid,
would really like a plae i can walk into and walk out with a lighter wallet
but the cable in my arms, so that's a 30 or 40 mile radius of nottingham.

i also need at least 30 copper lug terminals with 8mm holes to fit what ever
size cable i end up buying, and a few smaller uns, but at some places they
aproach a quid each ffs.
been told CEF do the lug terminals fairly cheaply, but their bastard website
dosent show prices.

Then i need 2 preferably 5 way bus bars rated for 300 amps, and **** me
that'll be another 50 bastard quid each, as all i can find are marine places
doing them, and those fuckers take the piss more than motorhome places with
markups on price.

 

I have 2 reels of unused mains inlet tails. The one I laid my hands on
was 25 metres of 25mm².

Re-reading, you want to use 40-50mm² ? man, that's some cable :-0

25mm² is rated at 170A at 12VDC

Cheers,

Paul.

 

Could be doubled up, easily enough.