Making Anderson Plugs?

[bishbashbosh]

Just tried and bugger me they are a PITA to try and connect to the cable - i'm only using 50AMP rated ones with 8B&S cable also!

Is it ok to crimp them using a vice as my crimper aint up to the task!?

[lucus30]

Solder them or crimp them correctly or you will regret it. Otherwise I'm sure there will be heaps of people on this forum that would be willing to help or you could pay your local auto elec to do it.

I live in Ferntree Gully you are welcome to come round and use my crimper

[BillsGU]

Not sure if you can crimp them (the ones I have anyway) but they are easy to solder if you have the correct equipment. Ask someone that knows how. The last thing you want is a dodgey connection that gives you trouble.

[lucus30]

Not sure if you can crimp them (the ones I have anyway) but they are easy to solder if you have the correct equipment. Ask someone that knows how. The last thing you want is a dodgey connection that gives you trouble.

Anderson plugs are designed to be crimped but can also be soldered

[Maxhead]

As said above mate, do it properly , do it once. I've crimped and soldered mine and both methods work very well. Personally I wouldn't use a vice
EDIT: and use quality connectors as some of the cheap Chinese ones can be very average.

[BigRAWesty]

I soldered mine. Just get a good torch

[the evil twin]

Probably 90% of the issues I see with Andersons are poor or butchered crimps of the Pins

If you do a few or think you will in the future then purchase a quality crimper.

If you only do a couple every now and then, take the pins to an Auto Sparkie.
Give them the whole plug if you are only piggy back the additional cable along chassis rails or whatever.
If you are going thru grommets or panels or bars or whatever just give them the pins
You can usually feed the crimped pins and wire thru where ever you want and then assemble the plug.

If you are going to solder use a small gas torch.
Strip the wire to the correct length using the pin as a template.
The insulation will usually shrink a small amount due to heat in the next step so don't take too much insulation
Carefully heat the stripped cable and tin the conductors with solder making sure it is hot enough for the solder to wick all through the strands.
For the pin, put the Pin vertically in a Vice and gently heat the pin and feed in Solder until there is a pool in the bottom
The amount will depend on the cable gauge so could be as little as 1/4 full for heavy gauge and as much as 3/4 for light.
Don't melt the Solder directly so it runs into a cold cup, heat the outside of the pin so the solder melts when you apply it to the bottom of the cup.
When you have enough molten solder then feed the cable into the pin keeping heat applied to the outside of the pin.
If it is relatively small gauge cable try and keep it roughly centred.
The molten solder will immediately melt the solder on the tinned wire and fill the cup if you have enough in the pool.
Remove the heat and support the cable for a few moments while the solder cools.

[threedogs]

I just did one I drill a hole in a piece of wood to hold the pin then
I have an alligator clip that holds the wire in a central position,
With my Aldi soldering iron I switch the tip to the small blow torch.
Then heat the pin and feed in the resin core solder until its full.
Never had one fail yet sometimes a small centre punch works as well

[Agronaught]

There are also multiple sizes of Andersons for different cable sizes.

I use the 15/30 and 45 amp connections where appropriate as these are sized for the corresponding cable. (http://www.powerwerx.com/anderson-po...owerpole-sets/)
I use power distribution boards, one in the front of the car (passenger kick panel) and one in the back for the fridge et al. The rigrunner distribution boards are fantastic, pricey though. (http://www.powerwerx.com/powerpole-power-distribution)
I only use the large andersons for battery connections and have a crimping tool for this. (http://www.powerwerx.com/crimping-tools/)

Everything I have that is 12 volt based uses these connectors. For example when I bought the fridge I cut the cable in half and reconnected it using the smaller connectors, if I need to use a cigarette socket (wifes car) I add that bit of cable. if its in my car its connected to the distribution board. I also have harnesses coming off my internal batteries with both the large and smaller connectors, even my battery charger now has the anderson instead of the old clamp.

And you might like this idea for any old broken cordless drills you have... just add a cable and anderson connector...

http://jasonfball.blogspot.com.au/20...ess-drill.html

[bishbashbosh]

thanks everyone and thank you lucas for the offer to use your crimper - I'm in footscray so a bit of a hike - i've burnt the crap out of my fingers trying the solder option so I've decided to purchase the correct tool - i'm sure i'll use again as my setup grows!

I've grown to dislike cable though.. it's like dog hair and is everywhere.. spent the last hour or so trying to get them all nice and neat.. finally screwed my ctek into its final place and now to just crimp those anderson's and save for the solar panels..

thanks again all.. it's a blast learning new skills despite burnt fingers!