Re: To Goo, or Not to Goo (was: terminals)

["Bill Dube'" <bdube@BOULDER.NIST.GOV>]

>I repeat, hammer crimped connections work, and have worked for years of
>service with no signs of distress.  I repeat, I am not talking about super
>high performance cars with 200 or 300 volts and 1000 amps.  I am talking
>about 96-120 volts, 400-500 amps, commute cars and grocery getters for those
>of us not interested in smoking our tires.  Professional industrial crimping
>equipment is lovely, but not available to the average hobbyist on a budget,
>and not necessary.  You don't need NASA grade connections in a 96V grocery
>getter.  A Ferrari is a lovely, precise machine, much more so than a VW
>Bug--but there are a lot more Bugs on the road, and many of them are still
>running and keeping their owners happy decades after they were built.
>
>The proof is in the pudding.  It works.

        Why ever bother to use grade 8 bolts? Grade two are much, much
cheaper and they fit perfectly. They look the same aside from the stupid
marks on the top. What the hell do all those eggheads at SAE know anyway. ;^)

        The SAE folks have standards for a reason. If you want the finished
product to be reliable, the parts used and the workmanship have to meet
standards. If you use sub-standard parts or assemble the parts in a manner
that does not meet the standards, you are sacrificing reliability.
Reliability is not something that you can actually see or touch.

        The pull test for crimp connectors is an SAE standard. If a
connection passes the pull test, it is sure to last. If it is a type that
wouldn't pass the pull test, maybe it will last and maybe it won't.

        As for the cost of hex crimpers, I built my own 2/0 crimpers for $21
from a used (and "notched") set of bolt cutters and a 13 mm six-point
socket. It works great! Those that are interested can check the Wabbit Web page:

        http://www.haritech.com

        Click on the picture of the crimpers to get a big picture and the
instructions on how to build your own. If you have a slow modem, you might
want to turn off the "auto load images" button before you click. The big
picture is about a megabyte.

        Thanks again to Lawrence Harris for putting up the page.
             _   /|
             \'o.O'              Bill Dube'
           =(___)=           bdube@boulder.nist.gov
              U

Re: To Goo, or Not to Goo (was: terminals)