Good MPPT controller advice needed for100Ah 12V lithium battery

Started by Doug SC, Oct 18, 2024, 04:31 PM

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Charles Brennan

Doug, Your question:
"Do I need a special crimper?"
Gets into a gray area for me, somewhere between the CORRECT answer and the PRAGMATIC answer.  :-[
I've worked with everything from a NASA-grade calibrated ratcheting crimp tool calibrated to Newton-Meters, to a hammer and a Swiss Army knife, out in the field. 
(Hey! Nobody brought crimping tools!)  :P

The acceptable range of options is somewhere in between.
At one end, you can simply squeeze the connector between the sides at the bottom of a pair of lineman's pliers.
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At the other end are conventional crimping tools:
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They come in simple crimp and in (pricey!) ratcheting options.
Unless you intend to do thousands of crimps, the ratcheting tools are probably not worth the cost.

What I use is a version similar to this:
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The lower half of the tool is where you crimp the connectors.
Here is about the only"gotcha":
You'll note that the crimp area has a "nub" and a "hollow".
Obviously, this allows more pressure from the nub.
On your connector on one side, is a seam where the metal was formed.
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The "noob" inclination is to put the "nub" against the seam and crimp.
Nope.
The connector will splay apart over time.
Place the seam side next to the hollow side of the crimp tool and press the nub against the smooth side and crimp.
Test by pulling on the connector.
Pull hard.
It's #10 gauge wire, you ain't breaking it.
A properly crimped connector will hold.
If not, try, try, again.
This is why a prudent DIYer will have a few inches of extra slack in the wire, just in case more than one attempt is required.

Hope this helps,
Charles Brennan

Peter S

Quote from: Charles Brennan on Oct 22, 2024, 10:20 AMThey come in simple crimp and in (pricey!) ratcheting options.
Unless you intend to do thousands of crimps, the ratcheting tools are probably not worth the cost.

The cost of the ratcheting crimpers has come down over the years and for the ease of use and repeatability they are worth it. Note however that the better ones have some range of adjustment which is needed for some off brand connectors.

I've never been happy with the cheap ones, never found the right technique to make a good crimp.

On a related note I like to use ferrules on all wires that do not have a connector, definitely reduces problems of flying strands causing problems in tight spaces. The crimp on pin looks like a great solution for the tight wire, now to find a source, amazon has the ones you suggested available to Canada - with $36 shipping!