Anyone makeup battery cables

[bdawson11]

Just installed a new Magnum 2800 inverter and four Lifeline 6ct batteries. According to Magnum instructions I need 4/0 battery cables and inverter supply cable which seems a little overkill to me. In searching for 4/0 cables no one near me has the ends but they do have the cable. I researched doing it myself buying the parts online and a hammer crimper from amazon ( I can get welding cable for $5 per ft). Has anyone made their own cables with the hammer crimper and how did it work, or does anyone have a good resource for buying online? Thanks

[twinboat]

Check out this place. Has some made, great quality.

https://www.genuinedealz.com

I don't think much of the hammer thing. Many marine supply stores custom make cables with crimps.

[ByeTheWay]

I used 4/0 welding cable and copper tinned lugs. I was not happy with the hammer tool, so I used a hand swaging tool, available at: WEST MARINE Hand Swaging Tools | West Marine It really worked well. For 4/0 you will need the larger tool. I was told by a shop the crimp would not meet code but, I have had no problem in 15 years with the crimps. I also recommend shrink tubing w/ silicone, which I bought from SolarSeller, in CA. Just Google SolarSeller you'll find him. John is a great source for hard to find electrical items.

[soneil422]

I bought this crimper and it works great. I wished I would have bought it earlier.

Robot Check

I also buy welding cable from this site as they have the cheapest price I have found.

https://weldingsupply.com/cgi-bin/ei...:OR:terms::PA2

[TQ60]

Hammer crimper can work well but proper one is better but very expensive.

Do use proper connectors such as Thomas Betts.

In a jam you can solder them with a torch and be good with that too.

A good battery shop or electrical shop should have the correct tools and be able to crimp your connectors for a nominal charge.

Do test fit FIRST! .

install all cables in place and use black tape to secure the connectors to your cables.

Use a sharpie to witness mark wire and connector (a number on both wire and connector and line across both for alignment) so the cables will lie flat.

Crimping a connector in wrong place will cause cable to twist which may cause cable to not rest in place...4 X 0 cable can be a bit stiff.

Side note...We have access to proper tools and for work all is crimped but for home projects we just solder them so we can reuse and adjust...being cheap...but it works for us with yard equipment.

[okcnewbie]

The hydraulic crimper from Harbor Freight works great. You will find the dies to be lacking the correct sizes. What I had to do was figure out the size die I needed and use a dremel to make it. Use the smaller dies that come with the crimper. These dies would not be used anyway.



http://www.harborfreight.com/hydraul...ool-66150.html

[AUGEDAWG]

Originally Posted by twinboat

Check out this place. Has some made, great quality.

https://www.genuinedealz.com

I don't think much of the hammer thing. Many marine supply stores custom make cables with crimps.

I just ordered some awesome 1 gauge, right angled cables from them to attach my house batteries together using the large posts instead of the bolts.
This leaves me the bolts free to attach to the generator, house power box, and ground.
Very clean setup.
$44.00 delivered.
I couldn't find what I wanted anywhere.
A place in San Jose wanted $80.00 plus tax to build the same thing.

Thanks for the link!

[JFNM]

McMaster-Carr is another possibility for cable (McMaster-Carr).

[Clay L]

I had the local battery shop (Hensley Battery and Electrics in Grand Junction CO) make the cables for my inverter installation. I thought the price was reasonable. I would think there is a company in your area - might be worth checking to see what they would charge.

[alvo]

If the inverter can output 2800 watts, that's 23 amps at 120 volts. Since the input is one tenth the voltage, that means it has ten times the current. Add in a bit to compensate for the inefficiency of the inverter and you're looking at somewhere around a maximum current of around 250 amps. That's why the 4/0 wire requirement. It's needed if you run near the continuous output capability of the inverter.

[dons2346]

Originally Posted by twinboat

Check out this place. Has some made, great quality.

https://www.genuinedealz.com

I don't think much of the hammer thing. Many marine supply stores custom make cables with crimps.

The link twinboat posted is an excellent provider. They use quality materials and their fabrication is great. Reasonably priced and fast service

[bdawson11]

I did find an interstate battery company about 45 miles away that had all the parts and a reasonable price. Had all the cables (9 of them) made up got home and measured them and all of them were the wrong size (too long). Apparently they measured actual cable length when they cut it and I gave them measurements of the total overall length of the finished product, thought I communicated that to them. Traveling back tomorrow to get them fixed, however it was still cheaper than doing them myself. Thanks for all the input.

[bruceh]

In the past I had a NAPA auto parts store make some cables for me. For a bigger job, I bought the Harbor Freight crimping tool and am quite happy with it. No problem with the dies.