Got a Sullivan 185 air compressor with a JD diesel and the battery cables left a little to be desired. New cables 2/0, see pics below. I talked to a couple hot rodders and they like the welding cable. On line forum folks report same adversely - lotta reports about welding cable insulation falls apart when exposed to oil. Checked some wire and cable catalogs and learned choices: example is PVC insulation and also there is cross linked PE (XLPE), etc etc. Didn't really want the stiff wire; wanted that fine strand flexible cable. Didn't want the PVC insulation as it tends to get stiffer and brittle with age via the plasticizers departing. Went to the battery supply house and they had welding cable with (1) an SAE cert (that helps one assure they are actually getting the copper being ordered) and (2) it has the name Flex a Prene which meant it is EPDM - a good thermoset polymer with a decent resistance to oil. Friend loaned me a USA made crimper (mfg FTZ) and it worked real well. Has rotable die heads for diff size lugs. Put a hole and added some solder following the crimp; not sure "should I or not solder also" 'cause the heat prolly tended to relax the crimp force LOL. The battery is the version that has a 3/8 or 5/16 stud as well as that typical post; have given up on the battery terminals that squeeze the post. I keep batteries in the shop on a desulph charger (when machines are not in use) and having the wing nuts on the studs and buying a battery with a handle makes this in and out process pretty painless.
Flex-a-Prene is common welding cable. If you have the correct crimper, no need to solder.
I started using the tinned copper heavy lugs and usually just buy a bunch with the smallest holes that way I can enlarge them if needed... it's always harder to make the hole smaller I got the heavier tinned lugs from zoro and used one of those hydraulic crimpers on them along with glue lined heatshrink, should keep things corrosion free for a bit. This is 4/0 flexoprene welding cable and there are a couple regular copper lugs in there as I ran out of the heavies when I was doing this setup for the KW.
Pretty work! But I have to say......those tails on the cable ties are setting my OCD off....BIGTIME. LOL...…..I have no idea why Im like this, but Im searching for my clippers on my desk while Im typing here.
I too would cut them off but also know some people like to leave them on as they say the cut of ends leave a sharp edge that can scratch your hands when working around them. Now for my little bit of my own OCD I would have made those jumpers a bit longer, sort of "C" shaped so there was some flex to them and not putting strain on the battery terminals. And yes I did add the "missing apostrophes" in the I'ms in Vetech63's post!
LOL!!!! yeah, I cut em' off after I finished cleaning up the rest of the wiring and adding a few more zip ties and screw points.
Why are the disconnects on the (+) side of the wiring? My Cat & Deere machinery have the disconnect on the (-) side. Unless you're running under 10's @135 or more, one would think that with that kind of current involved that the disconnect would be more durable on the negative side. And, IMHO, the (-) wiring is less apt to corrode. Not saying that you are wrong, I'm just beyond curious.
And, the original post says combined stud/ SAE post for battery connection. In my experience, those are found on deep cycle batteries. And, again, in my experience, deep cycle batteries tend to not perform as well in my equipment that came with conventional flooded cell batteries. Why deep cycle or are they standard batteries with unconventional posts?
And, for the four truck batteries, why is the hold down frame so close to the battery (+) terminals? Shouldn't it be notched?
I've been using more or less the exact same stuff as Ronsii for the last few years, and haven't had a problem yet.
LOL I absolutely hated English class in school.
Well to be honest I failed 11th grade English but passed third year Spanish that same year!
The positive and negative both carry the same current... I like the ground to go to several places and be interconnected, so that would make the positive easier, if I got around to adding a disconnect... Why would the negative ground wiring be less likely to corrode? I can think if a possible reason, but I haven't noticed it. I know the 5/16" and 3/8" posts as marine starting, half way to deep cycle, and they work fine in equipment that only gets started occasionally, low amp draw, etc. Probably last longer in these cases. The fleet terminals like ronsii posted are made to handle a higher amperage than the marine starting terminal. Maybe not as high as a good clamp type, but they do it more reliably IMHO. I don't see anything wrong with the hold down, maybe it could use another couple bolts in the center of that long run so the middle of that top piece doesn't flex up and let the batteries jostle too much. I wouldn't notch it though.
The hold down flexes less than an 1/8 inch when lifted from center with batteries loaded, thought about more studs but we figured this would be fine.... if it fails then there will be a rev.2 I have actually built a few of these similar design holddown racks and some do get substantial notches around the terminals but usually only when they're exposed to the weather as opposed to this box being covered. As for spacing between the terminals there is plenty... unless you start spraying salt water on it in which case even a couple inches would have problems. Theses are regular heavy truck batteries not deep cycle which is why the double disconnects as peak amperage was beyond the ratings for one switch. The disconnect on the + side was done just to keep it the same as some other rigs.. and although I personally have lots of iron with disconnects on either side I haven't really ever seen any firsthand evidence that one way is a lot better than the other but like delmer said I like to have multiple grounds also.
A number of years ago our local Batteries Plus manager told me that the t-post deep cycle/starting battery was the best one for my seldom used old relics. The 27 series batteries are in the $90.00 range. I have multiple dual battery sets now with the oldest at 5 years and so far I really like them. They seem to hold there charge well even when setting for 6 months or more at a time. I do use disconnects, some positive, other negative. Have not noticed any difference from one to the other.
I believe the battery mentioned in my post from Tuesday is a marine starting battery . And the studs are the same size on this one: 5/16". Previous one had a 5/16 and a 3/8 but the battery sales person said there is no hard and fast rule - could also be both 5/16 or could be both 3/8". The stud idea is found on my scissor lifts, a diesel compactor, the elec motor hydraulic pump on the equip trailer (ramps) and I recall possibly the bobtail dump DT466 powered ....and is way more reliable with minimal to no maintenance.