Anderson and crimping

[Paul Dold]

I see there are special crimpers for Bootlaces - will an ordinary crimper be OK?

Try these on the wiring before you crimp into the Anderson pins.Bootlace Ferrule Crimp

[iandvl]

I see there are special crimpers for Bootlaces - will an ordinary crimper be OK?

You will normally battle a little with a normal crimper. Why I went to the effort of finding a second hand hydraulic crimper.

[Engel]

Which is where the ferrules come in.

Bootlace ferrule is there to keep stranded wires together. Its not there as a connection as the ferrule is .2mm thick.

[iandvl]

Bootlace ferrule is there to keep stranded wires together. Its not there as a connection as the ferrule is .2mm thick.

Right, senso. You get different sizes. And it is a better option than soldering them in. Refer Luka's pic. But, once again, I feel I am probably in presence of greatness and must defer.

DIAF.

[Jonatan]

A 50 Amp connector is very serious overkill for a fridge. There is nothing wrong with a Hella connector . . . . provided that it is made by Hella! Too many supposed Chinese copies of the Hella system, particularly on the socket. An aluminium body socket is totally unacceptable because aluminium oxide does not conduct electricity. A brass plug into an aluminium socket, with a little moisture, is a recipe for a bad connection. Replace the cheap "Hella" socket with a decent brass version and all the problems go away.

[Paul Dold]

Who sells genuine Hella's? --------Difficult to find genuine Andersons too nowadays

[Jonatan]

Who sells genuine Hella's? --------Difficult to find genuine Andersons too nowadays

Socket : This comes close to original Hella: https://4x4direct.co.za/sockets/6633...110662239.html it is brass on the inside.

Plug : This is supposed to be genuine Hella: https://4x4direct.co.za/plugs/8289-h...-original.html

Avoid this aluminium socket: https://4x4direct.co.za/sockets/6625...pe-socket.html

[Viertrek]

Who sells genuine Hella's? --------Difficult to find genuine Andersons too nowadays

I find the National Luna brand of Anderson connectors as sold by Outdoor Warehouse, of good quality. The Lumeno brand connectors as on my photo in previous post is much cheaper but of a lower quality, but still works fine and is compatible with the NL connectors.

[Prof]

I have to ask, what is the reason for the preponderance with large connectors ie the large Harrison/Anderson or Hella plugs?

The mini has such a smaller footprint and is capable enough for most applications

I use it it on my Fridge, outdoor led lights run from my battery box.

Pic shows connection on my 8A battery charger

Works exactly the same as larger units, has same connectors, albeit smaller size and so much easier to crimp to small sized wires...max is 6mm sq which handles 32A

[Dungbeetle]

Avoid this aluminium socket: https://4x4direct.co.za/sockets/6625...pe-socket.html

Yes, the flap hinge breaks on day 2 and the connection is erratic...

[Dungbeetle]

OK we need to understand the original purpose of these Anderson units. They are designed for live, yes hot connection disconnection at full 50A current up to 10000 times.

We use them for their robustness, not electrical current capacity.

[Prof]

Yes, the flap hinge breaks on day 2 and the connection is erratic...

I rest my case....

[HobieDave]

I have to ask, what is the reason for the preponderance with large connectors ie the large Harrison/Anderson or Hella plugs?

The mini has such a smaller footprint and is capable enough for most applications

I use it it on my Fridge, outdoor led lights run from my battery box.

Pic shows connection on my 8A battery charger

Works exactly the same as larger units, has same connectors, albeit smaller size and so much easier to crimp to small sized wires...max is 6mm sq which handles 32A

The powerpoles are brilliant, but they are prone to disconnecting with vibration.

Another small but very secure connector is the Xt series that the rc community uses - would suggest the xt60 /xt90 for ease of use, not for the amperage.

There is also the EC series rc connector, but like the powerpole connector they are also easy to pull apart. EC5

Only issues with both is that they do not have the range of colours that Anderson has.

[SAND]

The powerpoles are brilliant, but they are prone to disconnecting with vibration.

Another small but very secure connector is the Xt series that the rc community uses - would suggest the xt60 /xt90 for ease of use, not for the amperage.

There is also the EC series rc connector, but like the powerpole connector they are also easy to pull apart. EC5

Only issues with both is that they do not have the range of colours that Anderson has.

I use XT60s on my fridge etc. connections… I don’t like the Anderson stuff.

[Paul Dold]

I have a few XT60's but do feel Andersons are more robust?

[hatjohan]

Well, I guess we use what gets pushed down our throats?
Above are a number of connectors that I would rather use - but try to find them on the shelves at the normal shops? No ways.
Obviously, it could also be the demand creating the supply, but I doubt it in this case.
But it started somewhere.

[Edwonne]

Heat up the anderson terminal and fill it with soldering and then push your double folded wire into the terminal.Wait to cool and it will be affixed.

[Alan Exton]

Best solution is to fully solder the wires into the crimp lugs. Then no crimping is required, and the lugs are re-useable later should you want to.

[mvcoller]

The problem with soldering is that the hot lead leaches up to 5mm or even more into the electrical lead (wire) making it very "brittle" and not able to bend excessively. This is prone to happening when connecting and disconnecting the plug.

Before you know it, it breaks off. The same eeeveeentually happens to copper wire, so a lead with many thinner, more flexible pure copper wire forms a longer lasting lead than one with fewer thicker strands.

Soldered lead (mixed with soldering resin) does not like bending at all.....

At issue here is that any form of metal does not like bending, so use the versions of it that will remain intact the longest, which is crimping a lead with more and thinner (up to a point, too thin is also no good) wire strands.

[mikeml]

Bootlace ferrule is there to keep stranded wires together. Its not there as a connection as the ferrule is .2mm thick.

Yip. Use normal ferrules, not bootlace.