tbehan6468@aol.com writes:

I made a lot of cables on Island Eagle, all 3/0. It's not hard to do. A few
comments:

1. Try and borrow a proper crimper. The good ones press from all sides and
   make either a hex shape or a sort of dimpled "O". If you know any commercial
   electricians they often have one they can lend you (that's what I did).

2. Often you can cut the cables to length and then take then to the battery
   store and use their crimper. Don't forget to mark the orientation of the
   lugs, it can be hard to twist the cable. You will need a GOOD cutter. Get the
   Greenlee Model 727 (http://tinyurl.com/5y6a46). About $40 and should be in
   your toolbox. Cuts 2/0 like butter.

3. Beware the premade cables. Often they are non-tinned automotive cables.

4. Don't forget that the lugs have two different measurements, the wire size
   and the hole size. Make sure you put the correct hole size on.

5. Cover the crimps with good adhesive-lined heat-shrink afterwards. Invest
   in a cheap Home Depot heat gun for doing the shrinking, it's well worth the
   $20.

6. In the event that you can't borrow a good crimper, you can use the
   pin-style crimper (see http://tinyurl.com/5dxzl7). These work pretty well,
   and they are good to have in the toolbox. You can use a hammer but if you
   have a vise they work 10X better.

7. Shop around for both the cable and the lugs. If you are near a commercial
   marine supplier, they will often have choices other than Ancor. DO NOT use
   welding cable. It's not tinned and is not suitable for marine use.

8. Finally, look around the wire departments in various marine stores. There
   are often deals on mis-cuts, leftovers, etc. A 2 foot piece may be "scarp" to
   the store but it's 2 jumpers to you. And remember, you can use 3/0 if you
   have to. For the ground connection between my house and start banks I found
   an 18 foot length of 4/0 black cable for $25. I only needed 3/0 but using the
   4/0 saved me $75.

Scott Welch
FirstClass Product Manager
www.firstclass.com

Those who make no mistakes rarely make anything.

I have a question about the statement that welding cable is not suitable.
Admittedly it is not tinned but none of the other wires in my 30 year old
boat are tinned and they are still functioning fine with no sign of heating
at any of the terminals.  In a corrosive environment tined cables would have
some advantage but in the interior of most trawlers this would not be a
problem unless the boat takes on water and then you should replace submerged
cables regardless if they are tinned or not. The outer sheath of a welding
cable is designed for extremely rough service of being dragged around on
shop floors or outside in inclement weather where abrasion, oil, fuels and
water are a constant problem so I think that welding cable would stand up as
well or better then marine cable in a marine environment.  Welding cable
also uses extremely fine strands of wire so it is very flexible and stands
up well to vibration and movement and has excellent current carrying
ability. If closed end fittings are used and covered with adhesive shrink
tubing I suspect they could even be submerged in salt water with no ill
effects.

Is this one of those code things that does not really make sense?

Dan

There might be an issue with the Insulation Temperature Rating. Maybe with an extra slit loom cover that is fire rated.

-----Original Message-----
From: Dan Winchester danw@dwinchester.com
To: Trawlers-and-Trawlering trawlers-and-trawlering@lists.samurai.com
Sent: Sun, 6 Apr 2008 2:22 am
Subject: Re: T&T: Source for Custom Made Battery Cables ?

I have a question about the statement that welding cable is not suitable.
Admittedly it is not tinned but none of the other wires in my 30 year old
boat are tinned and they are still functioning fine with no sign of heating
at any of the terminals.  In a corrosive environment tined cables would have
some advantage but in the interior of most trawlers this would not be a
problem unless the boat takes on water and then you should replace submerged
cables regardless if they are tinned or not. The outer sheath of a welding
cable is designed for extremely rough service of being dragged around on
shop floors or outside in inclement weather where abrasion, oil, fuels and
water are a constant problem so I think that welding cable would stand up as
well or better then marine cable in a marine environment.  Welding cable
also uses extremely fine strands of wire so it is very flexible and stands
up well to vibration and movement and has excellent current carrying
ability. If closed end fittings are used and covered with adhesive shrink
tubing I suspect they could even be submerged in salt water with no ill
effects.

Is this one of those code things that does not really make sense?

Dan

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