Welding cable question

[jsborn]

Lead tin solder melts at 650 to 750 oF if your leads are getting hot enough to be deformed by heat you have more problems than just a soldered connection. ...

I strip the end tin the conductor and tighten the set screw and have had no problems for years.

 

[Pennsylvania Weldor]

I never use solder on welding cable ends. Once the insulation is trimmed back I wrap a copper strip (available at welding supply houses) around the cable strands, then tighten the set screw. Solder could soften and possibly allow a lose cable end when using high amperage settings. Not to mention the possibility of solder oozing around the threads of the screw making it difficult to remove.

To each his own, I guess.

 

[SPYDERLK]

Lead tin solder melts at 650 to 750 oF if your leads are getting hot enough to be deformed by heat you have more problems than just a soldered connection. ...

I strip the end tin the conductor and tighten the set screw and have had no problems for years.

The problem is differential expansion. The tinned and crimped or setscrewed wire gets crushed a little more in the thermal cycling. This loosens the joint and give more heating. It worsens. Do not tin and crimp or screw. Either just solder it or just crimp it well. Its harder to get a good crimp joint than a good solder joint, so soldering is usually best.
larry

 

[cityfarma]

I was always told not to solder crimped cables. The reason was that the multiple, usually very thin, conductors broke due to bending of the cable. When the join of a soldered joint is flexed there is only one point of bend - the junction of the solder. This point is always bent and finally breaks. On a crimp only join the wires flex and slide over each other and hence bend at different points each time. This leads to a longer lasting join. A properly crimped joint has very good conductivity. So use the proper crimp tools and don't solder. Just my humble opinion.

Cityfarma

 

[pat32rf]

Very good point Cityfarma, especially with flexible welding or battery jumper cables. The whole trick is, like you say, PROPERLY crimped, not just flattened with a hammer....
I used to do a LOT of service work on water heaters that came with connectors crimped on #8 wire (the 7 strand variety) No vibration to speak of but LOTS of thermal cycling. Normal load was 50amps, heavy for #8 and we had a lot of burn-offs. When I started soldering the crimped connectors on the problem went away, but like I mentioned, heavier strands with no movement. In that case, soldering (not just tinning)gave a better job

 

[SPYDERLK]

Very good point Cityfarma, especially with flexible welding or battery jumper cables. The whole trick is, like you say, PROPERLY crimped, not just flattened with a hammer....
I used to do a LOT of service work on water heaters that came with connectors crimped on #8 wire (the 7 strand variety) No vibration to speak of but LOTS of thermal cycling. Normal load was 50amps, heavy for #8 and we had a lot of burn-offs. When I started soldering the crimped connectors on the problem went away, but like I mentioned, heavier strands with no movement. In that case, soldering (not just tinning)gave a better job

Very good points about soldering and crimping, alone or in combination. All joints in a mobile area benefit from a strain relief point that stabilizes the joint and causes any bending to occur where the insulation surrounds the wire, and in the case of solder, beyond where solder has wicked up under the insulation and stiffened the wire. Crimpingdoesnt present this complication, but its more difficult to get the highly consolidated and tight crimp necessary for conduction quality to compete with soldering. One thing that I find very important on set screw crimps is that the set screw must be a ball nose type to consolidate the wires in the socket and avoid cuting them. They should then be tightened again after the 1st few heavy uses.
larry

 

[Superduper]

Thanks for all the great advice guys. Since the wire ends on the Miller cables were exactly like that: Strands wrapped with a copper ring, then crimped and secured with setscrew at the crimp, I guess I'll follow their example as the proper way to go. Presumably, Miller knows how to build welding cables.

Now, does anyone know the exact name for those little copper rings (or strips) and where they can be purchased?

 

[Danno1]

.

They're called ferrules. Prob McMaster-Carr has them. Or an electrical supply house would too.

.

 

[copperdog]

I just took 1/2" copper tubing, 3/4" long and split it.
Wrapped it around the cable like a furrel and inserted into the clamp and tightened the screw.
I did not buy a furrel.