Tools mentioned in the video (affiliate links): Best Value Torque Screwdriver: amzn.to/3DEMqwb Torque Wrench: amzn.to/3sEpuH8 (there is an insulated torque wrench out there, but it costs 20X as much (not joking). The options above are great for the price) Basic Electrical Tools that I recommend: www.mobile-solarpower.com/tools.html 0:00 Intro 0:14 #10 1:21 #9 2:53 #8 3:56 #7 5:36 #6 6:54 #5 8:51 #4 9:49 #3 12:15 #2 14:29 #1 *Does off-grid solar confuse you?* Check out my DIY friendly website for solar system packages and product recommendations, and so much more! www.mobile-solarpower.com *Join our DIY solar community* #1 largest solar forum on the internet for beginners and professionals alike: www.diysolarforum.com *Check out my Book* Best-selling and beginner-friendly guide to 12V off-grid solar! amzn.to/2Aj4dX4 If DIY is not for you, but you love solar and need an offgrid system, check out Tesla Energy! They will price out a system and get your house offgrid: ts.la/william57509 *My DIY Solar Equipment Recommendations (Constantly updated! Check here first):* 12V/48V Lithium Solar Batteries: www.mobile-solarpower.com/solar-batteries.html Complete Solar System Component Directory: www.mobile-solarpower.com/solarcomponents.html Complete 48V System Blueprint: www.mobile-solarpower.com/48v-complete-system-blueprint.html Plug-N-Play System Recommendations: www.mobile-solarpower.com/full-size-systems.html Complete "Add to Cart" 48V System Kits: www.mobile-solarpower.com/complete-48v-solar-kits.html DIY Friendly Air Conditioner/ Heat Pumps: www.mobile-solarpower.com/solar-friendly-air-conditioners.html *My Favorite Online Stores for DIY Solar Products:* *Signature Solar* Offgrid One-Stop-Shop. Best Value 48V LiFePO4, Victron and Offgrid Specific Heat Pumps: www.signaturesolar.com/?ref=h-cvbzfahsek *Current Connected* SOK, Victron, Mr.Cool Heatpumps and High Quality Components. Fantastic customer support: currentconnected.com/?ref=wp *Litime* My favorite 12V budget battery!: www.litime.com/?ref=XBIA62RFcalHns *Epoch Batteries* My favorite high-quality 12V battery: www.epochbatteries.com/products/12v-460ah-lifepo4-battery-ip67-heated-bluetooth-victron-comms?rfsn=7352625.50494d *Renogy* A classic 12V solar store that has been around for ages! DC to DC Chargers and more! renogy.sjv.io/n1VjXx *Rich Solar* Renogy's biggest competitor! Similar products, but at a better price: richsolar.com/?ref=h-cvbzfahsek *Battery Hookup* Cheap cell deals bit.ly/2mIxSqt 5% off code: diysolar *Contact Information:* I am NOT available for personal solar system consult! If you wish to contact me, this is my direct email: williamprowsediysolar@gmail.com Join the forum at diysolarforum.com/ if you wish to hang out with myself and others and talk about solar *FTC Disclosure Statement and Disclaimers:* Every video includes some form of paid promotion or sponsorship. Some links on this youtube channel may be affiliate links. We may get paid if you buy something or take an action after clicking one of these. My videos are for educational purposes only. Information is subject to change/update at any time. Electricity is DANGEROUS and can kill. Be smart and use common sense :) DIY Solar Power with Will Prowse is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, An affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com
"..titan it properly..." I only joke in a good-natured fashion. You're videos are GREAT for people like me not electrically inclined. Because of you, my system is the envy of the community.
I'm a retired electrician and can say that this was an excellent video. You don't just say what to DO or NOT DO, but, most importantly, you explain WHY. You are also teaching "good practices". I am subscribing just because this video was so good that it will help me explain things to others properly, including being more concise. Thank you for exceptional work. 🙂👍
I'm also a retired tradesman and this kid is #1. I love his work ethic and his positive attitude. He's probably the nicest guy I've ever met on the TH-cam
At first he sounded preachy, and then as he went on I realized he was spot on. Been doing wiring for 50 years and periodic review is important, especially at my age, in areas I have not touched for 20 years.[DC power systems] Every time I thought I'd have to add something to his primer, he covered it later.
72 years young grandma here enjoying your videos. Especially love the rant one. I'm from Pittsburgh pa and have a jackery explorer 300 and a 100 watt solar panel (my toy). We don't get half as much sunshine now that it is fall but that explorer fully charges in 3 hours under full sunshine. I am pleasantly amazed at the sunshine power. I use my power supply to plug in a lamp where we have no grid wiring and a few other things. Waiting until I understand a lot more of this stuff before moving on to something more challenging.
As a controls engineer - Almost EVERY time I go in the field for construction inspections, the #1 problem is improperly seated and torqued cables. Will hit the nail on the head there. We formally call the pulling a "tug test". Do one after terminating anything - making sure everything is de-energized.
I worked in telecom as a tech and we used insulated tools and did annual torque checks of all the hardware. The last place I worked before retirement had 7 48v battery banks. Our load was about 1400 amperes. I have a small system at our remote cabin where I run a 48v battery bank with solar and inverter. I also have a 12v system for lights. I torque my stuff out there also. I also use the same method for preparing the connectors that we used at work.
One has to wonder why they give torque values for rotational terminators but do not give lateral separation limit tolerances for inline junctions.. after all, a "tug test" is much more likely to fail when preformed by the Hulk (or Arnold Schwarzenegger) than if done by my 5 year old niece ;)
I do controls too. I have found factory landed wires on a big chiller landed on insulation. Wires inserted too deep and tightened on insulation and system wouldn’t run. That was fun to find.
@@Knight805 I thought I was the only one. New battery cables for a car. Direct from Ford OEM. They didn't strip the insulation at all, just crimped the connector on. Also made me wonder if they were using a correctly sized lug since it fit over the insulation? Mine never have enough room for that.
I've come across cables just falling out of terminals aswell , just people being lazy and in a rush some just don't tighten down very much ,technical term is limpwristted
I've been doing marine wiring for over 25 years and off grid solar for about 15 years, and when I started solar wiring, I used all of my marine wiring experience to do proper jobs. I've seen so many DIY off grid solar installs that are cobbled together and basically fail on every point your made in your video! Honestly, your video is 100% accurate on all points. I can't find a single thing to dispute. You just got another subscriber - me! because we are always learning. Some of my biggest pet peeves - soldering of any kind, on boat or solar wiring. And buying cheap off-brand crap, like breakers, bus bars, fuse panels, wiring. When someone asks me to "redo" their solar setup, or install new, I often will send them an exact list of all the major parts needed, like breakers, bus, fuses panels, cables, cable ends, crimp heat shrink marine connectors, charge controller, etc, and let them review it online and even but it themselves. If they balk at the price and/or look to use cheap alternatives, I may refuse to do the job and I tell them they can find someone else.
Could not agree more, when you do a project on the cheap it will ALWAYS comes back and bites you in the rear, ALWAYS!!!!! Wait till you have enough funds to do the project correctly with the correct parts or it will end up costing you double if not more!!!!!!
My first DIY system is working great. I over built everything especially the wire size. I built my system at about 50% of the capacity of my inverters. As a beginner I am one of the old school guys that soldered my battery cables. Used to do that as a heavy equipment mechanic 30 years ago. I never had one failure, but will probably invest in a crimping tool. It took me 18 months to save money and then install my ground mounted system. It was a big investment, but has been working flawlessly for 4 months now. It saves us about 40 % on our electric bill. I am only using about 50% of my battery each day, and in an emergency could probably get about 30 hours out of my small system. Definitely adding more battery backup as soon as funds are available. Since we're retired and with limited income, it's difficult to have enough funds for large projects. Adding 10kw battery backup would be extremely beneficial to our system. At least we have a small emergency backup that we use everyday. I know that if I had the funds I would go completely off grid. This solar power energy is addictive! YOU JUST WANT MORE POWER. Everyone I watch on TH-cam has increased their systems at least twice. Will, I appreciate your videos and applicable information on solar system and products. I used several valuable resources and information that you provided in the past 3 years. Even at 71 I'm still learning and exploring new opportunities to be more self reliant and independent Thanks
@Andrew_Koala Perhaps you could ask your students to find the 5 errors you made in your short intoductory paragraph (below)........There are further various errors that you have made in your purported correction of the original post but I don't have the time or inclination to correct you as a reacher (sic). As much as I am tempted I will refrain from scoring your 'Reasonable writing ability', maybe you could let your students do so. Reasonable writing ability - Your score 7/10 -- I use TH-cam comments for my Students to correct. I now reach English and History - following a 30 year Military Career - AIR FORCE -- Your text corrected and edited" and formatted paragraph text applied
I agree completely. I see really many examples of horrendous English on the internet but this particular post was not one of them. Maybe all the "low hanging fruit" has made me more tolerant. LOL. I will opine on the fact that the corrector's writing style was rather awkward.
@Andrew_koala So how many students failed your teach line? As for History.... What did the founders do with the Declaration of Independence after they signed it? Did they send it to George by courier? Did they give it to the first brit they saw? Did they just start shooting brits till George figured sumthin be up? That is the problem with school, you don't know the questions to ask till you are out.
@Andrew_koala Hi Andrew, If you randomly pick comments for your students to correct, it seems that your not taking into consideration the purpose of the comments section. I'm not composing anything that would I would consider grammatical or any literary purpose or pros. Wow! 7 out of 10 and I wasn't even trying. Don't think I'll be changing a thing on how I compose my comments anytime soon. I'm not one of your students, I could care less about you rating me and making a comment about how imperfect you feel my writing is. Seems you could find a better source for you study materials. I actually find your comment a pointless reply that shouldn't have even been made. All the comment replies were about your comment about how you rated my writing. I really don't care what you think about how my comment was written. PISS OFF!
*_Top 10 Mistakes Summary:_* 14:29 1 - Loose terminals 12:15 2 - Using the incorrect tools (emphasis on wire-strippers, crimpers, insulated tools) 9:49 03 - Improper Wire-Sizing 8:51 04 - Messy, unorganized Wiring 6:54 05 - Solder large lugs (use only mechanical connections) 5:36 06 - Using CCA (Copper Clad Aluminum) cables; Use only pure Copper 3:56 07 - Using low qaulity circuit breakers 2:53 08 - Building a System that cannot be Scaled 1:21 09 - Not enough batteries or solar panels 0:14 10 - Connecting a solar string to a device without checking the voltage
You forgot the two most important ones A) get reacquainted with the basics of (solar) electricity before a project B) find or make a cheat sheet with checklist to keep handy when doing a project. C) start with smaller project that don’t hurt as much financially in case of mistakes. People, including myself need these refresher videos frequently
agreed! I'd add to make sure that you are watching very recent videos. It seems like the tech is changing so fast that a 5 year old video is outdated. It's like cell phones.
I retired from large power plant power generation. There has been more than one transformer fire due to terminals loosening over time due to the thermal cycling. All of Will’s points in this video are worth watching periodically.
I always use a conductive grease in my crimps, it doesn't take much don't over do it, but it adds a corrosion protection to the joint. I even use it on small stuff, it really helps on outdoor or buried connections.
please continue these instructional videos....you have helped so many folks and I have no doubt you have save saved many lives .your knowledge &your ability as a instructor a blessing to all of us " newbies " thank you!
Advice from an old electrician. Making a connection. Jiggle the wire and retorque, especially stranded wire. Never twist the wire beyond the normal twist of the wire. A tight twist will relax and it's a matter of time you Will have a loose connection.
No. 5: As an electrician I totally agree with you! In school they warned us about another point: solder gets soft over time and starts crawling and the contacts get loose and corrosion appears within. So, never solder when you can crimp!
@@jeffwhite3021 Trojan is wrong. I live in Phoenix and it will easily exceed 150 degrees under the hood of my car during the summer. Many types of solder melt as low as 165 degrees. In particular avoid any solder with bismuth as part of the alloy.
I agree. I once did pull out tests of both molex crimp connections and soldered connections and the pull out force of the (properly) crimped connections were greater every time.
@@ewe2b It's about maximizing conductor contact area in the connector. They are suggesting and providing evidence that crimping and then flooding the joint with solder is best.
I am educating myself in solar and off grid living and I'm sure you've heard but just in case I will reiterate the fact that your presentations to me are the pinnacle of educational videos that I have viewed! Very in depth, easy to follow and comprehend as well as confidence building. Thanks for the education!
I crimped several cables 10 years ago in both 4 gauge and 1/0 gauge. I used a hammer crimp and always was concerned about the quality of the crimp as well as the longevity of them. Earlier this year I decided to cut one of those old cables apart to inspect the cable and crimp. I made a video on it and found after cutting the cable and terminal apart that it was an amazing crimp! The heat shrink also held up great with only minor surface corrosion of the copper wire(yes, this was OFC copper cable). Before I destroyed the wire, I checked the resistance of the wire with my Fluke multimeter and resistance was VERY low! One other thing I like to do after I build a system is check the resistance (ohms) in the cabling and connections with my Fluke. This helps to find problems before they rear their ugly head.
Yeah…I used to hammer crimp even for RF cables on a small rig…I now pneumatic crimp…I went to crimping very reluctantly…but now … I swear by pneumatic crimping…as an old HAM ( is there any other kind? If you get a HAM license, you also get your old man card delivered by snail mail) low voltage electrical and RF cables…I make with pneumatic crimping…
Great video! I'll second the use of Blue Sea marine-grade components. I've been a marine electrician for 25+ years and use their products exclusively - never seen one fail. They're expensive, but when you buy quality, you only cry once.
I totally agree with you on the comments about soldering. For many years , I lived on a boat and did all my maintenance myself. To do things right and stay safe I took a course on marine electrical systems, taught by a professor from the University of Washington, who also taught the Coast Guard, the guys who are inspecting the boats. he said that in a marine environment that soldered connections are extremely subject to mechanical failure from all the motion. The only place for the soldered connection was one that was totally and safely secured against any type of movement. Now that I’m retired and live in a “land boat” (RV) I follow the same practices, thinking that the vibrations from the vehicle can probably do similar damage is the vibrations on the boat. I realize that many of your viewers are thinking of a fixed base, home installation where the only movement may be earthquakes, and I am honestly not knowledgeable about that, so I’m mostly talking to those installing into vehicles of some sort. Regardless, your explanation says why not to use solder are very convincing.
Great video! I would only add to the torque point this: Tighten to rated torque, then loosen a bit, then retorque to spec. You'll be surprised how often the connection "snuggles down" a bit more at the same torque once you do this. The screw or nut will often (more often than not) rotate a bit more to reach the same torque than it did during the initial tightening-to-torque. Such double-tightening makes the connection a lot more reliable over time!
That is old school Wisdom you're sharing, I've forgotten that one. That tip alone will save so many people the headache of Loose connections down the road. Please comment some more - I know you got some more old school wisdom to share with us.
Over torque is an issue also. One worker used to super torque everything. Soon after equipment connections started failing b/c the connection was cracked/ broken. When wiring a service panel, it is recommended to recheck the connections 2 weeks after the initial install. Very few do this, but when I do, there is always at least 1 or more connections that need retightening. One time in particular, I averted an almost fire from a loose connection. I smelled something like plastic melting but could not find it. When I checked the service panel, one of the wires was a smidgen loose. I suspect when it heated up the looseness became more apparent. Easy fix, once you know what is wrong.
Also: dubble check polarity.. At work a contractor got the polarity mixed when parallel connecting two 400V battery bank, short-circuit the now 800V battery.. The connectionbox exploded throwing the contractor across the rom, and started a fire. The incident took down the server room, effecting the work of 15-20 thousand people.... Due to the safety equipment, the contractor escaped relatively unharmed...
Hi, I would like to correct you in the soldering lugs part. But firstly, your videos are great, and you have the most informative channel out of any DIY PV system channels. Thank you for these. Everyone can make a mistake, and the probability of making a mistake is even higher when someone does highly educative videos. I know that very well. So it's nothing against you, I would just like to correct the factual part : I happen to be industrial electrician with years of experience in this field, and I also have ones of the highest certifications. I solder a lot, and I can tell you that soldered lugs/eyelets are always going to be the 100% solution, if you do it correctly. And that is a huge IF. Properly soldered lugs have slightly lower resistance compared to crimped ones. I have demonstrated that several times with thermal camera in few occasions. Back in 1950s, crimping pliers weren't that much common here, and I have personally never seen such a lug from 1950s failing. Even when being overloaded. Soldered connection is actually gas tight, while crimped still has some room for water to soar by the strands to the lug itself, and cause corrosion. Copper then becomes green or black, and resistance ramps up a little. Soldered lug has zero chance of oxidation. Soldered lug is mechanically more sturdy. This applies more to smaller eyelets, like 2,5mm2 or 6mm2. Wire can be usually torn out of crimped eyelet (with higher force if crimped properly), but soldering would never fail, you would destroy the eyelet before soldered joint fails. You will not damage wire insulation by soldering if done properly. Silicone insulation (SiF or SiFF wires here in Europe) are always safe, and regular PVC insulated wires, you need soldering iron powerful enough for this, but it is also possible to not damage the insulation. I have successfully soldered even 35mm2 wires without any damage to PVC insulation. I used JBC C245 200W iron and lead free tin. The part with checking a crimp, there is a huge problem - it's a destructive test. Truth is, we cannot tell for 100% if a lug is either crimped or soldered properly without destroying the lug. This applies to both crimp and solder. So why we don't solder lugs? It's slow and requires lots of experience. It's much easier to make a mistake soldering than crimping. This doesn't however mean that crimped lug would be better, as some people use Chinese crimpers (cause they are generally very expensive, I understand), and these people would be actually better soldering the lug with a blowtorch. No kidding. The most common problems when soldering lugs and eyelets is : Not enough heat Improperly chosen soldering tin Not using additional flux Using too aggressive Flux Not enough tin in the joint I would like you to accept what I just wrote, because I have already experimentally proven that, and please, don't say no more that soldering would be unacceptable, because actually, when I try to get every single milliohm down, I rather solder these instead of using any of the hydraulic or mechanical crimping tools we have in the workshop. And thank you for your videos, you do great job, and please continue.
Once you start generating your own power the first thing you will notice is how much each device uses. I replaced several older devices just for the reduced wattage. A watt meter is your best cheap investment and you will be surprised what your use is. If you can conserve it you don’t need to generate it , I’ve been watching the evolution of solar equipment for years and it is amazing how the price and availability make it easier and affordable for you to set up a system. I always research your videos before even considering purchasing any solar equipment . Thank you for the video.
Im wanting to do things correctly in the future Where are the torque values located on switches, outlets, etc? Could I use values for what a particular bolt size and grade is rated at or is there a torque chart for electrical connections out there somewhere?
I love my watt meter. Especially for my computer, it helps figure out how much power I'm using with different settings. It doesn't matter much in summer, but in winter I need to keep the power consumption low.
I recently bought a wattmeter to do just that. My consumption wasn't high, but higher than I thought it should be. I'm still making the list of what uses what. Too many plugs, so little time!
I have that same Blue Sea fusebox. I love it. I bought it during an "over-engineering" phase for my motorcycle (pre-RV). But I loved it and hung onto it; and it found a great life during a big DC wiring project in the rig.
I hate standard flat head torque screws like what’s on the solar charge controllers, I wish they were Allen heads or something else. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your videos. Keep them coming please.
Yep, all good advice. Good tools, do it right, minimizes problems. Power electricity is different than signal electricity. And all of you physics explanations are correct. Thanks.
Kapegede and comments (replays). It is 2am ,Sunday morning and refuse to fall sleep ,till I read all this interesting thoughts regarding crimping, soldering, and the like . I’m a Colombian hillbilly that enjoy this sort of agreements disagreements for the good of us all. Learning is living.
I wonder how many times I'm going to be pausing the video and running out to see if I made any of these mistakes lol Thanks for sharing and as always keep building 👍
A common one I've seen helping friends is not carefully labeling both ends of wire runs. Color coded wires are always best, but a lot of purchases just go with the straight black or grey. The red, white and black should be applied to both ends. Best with shrink tubing.
I do the same thing. I slip a piece of colored heat shrink tubing on the ends of my wire runs to keep things straight since the only spooled wire I have is black. On rare occasions I've used more than one color primarily to identify switch feeds to different lights.
Well said Will!! 30 plus years in Aerospace industry working with US Navy, Boeing and NASA - everything you say in this video is spot on - especially the part about NOT soldering large lugs.
As an advanced electronics technician, I don't normally comment on other techs videos. But in this case, I really appreciate how well thought out your production was. Your audience was for the startup crowd, but sage advice for the advance installer also. You use that crimp tool every day? Makes me think you do installations for more than friends. -earned my subscription. Looking forward to viewing more of your videos.
Glad to see more new videos from you. I work on telecom power systems with large battery strings (48V with 5,000A+ discharge capability) and I agree with all your points, especially proper torquing of terminals, thermal inspections, using insulated tools, and having the proper tool and knowing how to use it! I'm hoping to see new buyer's guide/showdown videos from you for MPPT's, panels, and batteries. I've watched all your old ones, but there's so many new devices out there now. I'm building an off-grid system for my RV and your channel has been a great guide!
Well, now. This is a great video! I'm 72 years old and realize that it's been a long time since I took electronics in high school shop classes. Solar is new to me and it's like learning all over again because most of my projects are simple 110 AC voltage wiring of lamps, etc. as a householder. My DC experience is mostly circuit board work and low voltage battery circuits like battery operated radios etc. There is a lot to learn working with solar and every step of the way is all about learning and absorbing new stuff with an old brain! And one important thing for older people, to keep your brain "exercised," is to learn new things on a daily basis. Your videos are easy to understand and cover just about everything, well presented, with outstanding explanations and excellent background info as well. Thanks! I am ordering your book on Amazon, sounds like a good read.
As a licensed handyman with my educational background in industrial mechanics and heating, air. And refrigeration I've had a lot of electrical training, I'm going to install solar on my house watching your videos are priceless I've learned sooo much from sizing my system to all the many options options available what's important for r off grid or s combination on and off grid keep up these fantastic tutorials they help folks then you can believe.
I've definitely had connections loosen on my solar disconnect. I do check them when I remember, but probably go longer than i should. This is great info will!
65 y/o retired guy here, was an electrician/ electrical contractor for 48 years. This kid really impresses me ;) I have done a lot of residential and commercial grid tied solar and some 12vdc RV systems (van life guys) but now I want to design a grid tied battery backup system for a small house, I'm out of wheelhouse and believe that this guy is going to have all the answers !
As someone who's built and operated a series of tiny off-grid solar systems for my cabin's stereo and phone charger over 20 years, my biggest difficulty has been getting good crimps and screw connections. I've recently upgraded crimp tools and will never solder a connector again.
I am currently a beginner,but thanks to your videos it became much clearer to me how solar systems work.I have completed my small load solar project for example outdoor light and garden fountains without a problem.
Will, another problem with large bundles of wire that has driven many of us crazy is ghost currents, coupling AC to neighbor wires that supply LED lights. The LEDs will continue ot glow at a lower output even though the switches are off. :(
Thanks for explaining about loose terminals. I've been building my own systems for years, and thought that the loose terminals were caused by vibrations and movement. My system moves five times a year. My Victron CC recently had an overheat warning, and it was partially due to loose terminal connection. Keep up the great work. Some of your newer builds are far beyond anything I will build in the near future. Don't forget about the smaller systems! 1kW pv, 2 kW inverter, 14 kWh LiFePo4, off-grid yurt.
To anyone questioning a crimp connection, I’m a substation electrician and the transmission line feeding your town right now has countless crimps on it.
I regarded myself as intermediate now after watching your video I feel like a beginner. There’s so many things that you have packaged into this video. Really appreciate it the revision.
Great data here. I'm an amature, researched every point you made here. Glad to say I scored 100%. Cables and lugs - definatly get your hydraulic cramp, lugs, heat seal tubing, and make up your own cables because you'll save £ $ big time and have fun. Quality tools is definatly a big deal. Cheap gear are crappy and you'll have crappy end results. Will saved me a fortune - dont try saving pennies here and there, it WILL cost you £'s $'s in a few weeks time!! Torque wrench etc. Got them too. As I discovered, Chinese stuff is not always accurate on torque settings so be careful and whatever arrives - test it, if possible, before use! Heat camera - I use a laser temp probe, I think that works fine. Just slower way and needs a little more care. Outstanding round up of the common pitfalls Will. I have got one question ! Q) how do you stay looking the same after 2 years now? No Ageing? 🤣😉
Exceptionaly helpful. I lived ogf grid for 8 years and am currently building my new location's off grid system. I made 4 of the 10 mistakes the first time around.
Another important thing to do with a system is to DOCUMENT IT! It may all seem logical and meeting your needs when you install it, but six months or two years down the road you have to repair something, or want to upgrade, and you won't remember why you did things, or how they are routed, or what they worked around. And unless you think that you will own the set up for the rest of your life, some day you will sell it, and being able to give the next owner the documentation might make the difference between a sale or no sale.
I haven't built a solar system yet, but I am an electrical engineer (40 years). These are standard engineering principles and rules to design by. Excellent presentation and clear descriptions. Any DIYer would do themselves good to follow these suggestions. Great video!
I know many of us use XT60 connectors for solar panel hookup (Will uses those on some of his panel arrays) and they need to be soldered. There are also better options for solar panel connectors than XT60. Soldering takes too much time anyway since those XT60 plugs are so freaking small, a good crimping tool makes the job extremely easy for the crimp-type connectors. I'd also have added another common mistake beginners make: Always follow diagrams to the letter! Excellent video once again with lots of useful info to ponder! Thanks Will!
Will, thank you so much for all your thoughtful consideration regarding beginner mistakes. (Doing everything right the first time eliminates worry and feeling like you have to constantly focus on and reconsider "shortcuts" that will inevitably cause problems.)
I agree it's not practical to solder very large grade cables, but solder is the best connection if it can be done properly. Otherwise yes twist or crimp is best if you also protect it with dielectric grease to keep it from corroding.
I love you Will, like no matter how bad my day has gone I can come home, put on one of your videos, sit back and share your enthusiasm for having the best job in the world. Thank you for living my dream.
What are your opinions on adding dielectric grease to connections? I'm on a sailboat, and I add it to all connections that might see moisture. It is probably overboard, but it helps me sleep at night.
I'm a 70 Yr old who skipped physics at school. Therefore electricity has always been mystical. When I did my van conversion in 2 years ago, finding you was like the second coming lol. I managed to put aresonable solar 12volt system in the van and my wife and I have tested this in our 2 trips in Europe this year. I even got my wife into battery management. Thank you.
@@Merlinsluck Thank you, and all those who stood watch, so our land of freedom would continue, until I could relieve the watch. Now many young stand the watch. I pray for them all, and my Daughter, stationed in Germany, and her husband (i now have a son) in the 82nd Airborne. God Bless America
UHF radio repairman in the Marines, '77 to '81. To be honest, the gear I worked on was so old it was more steampunk than electronics, but I picked up a bit of useful information.
I’ve been in marine electronics for 25 years short connections to a complicated as different types of radar security systems you name it. I’ve done it as far as Marine and equipment is concerned your videos done very very well. You can see you’re very very knowledgeable, continued success.
Interesting. I revamped my friend's solar panel and upgrade from a 40ah lead acid to a 100ah LiFePo4 with a great Renogy MPPT and added a small inverter to run small lights and fans. The loosening on cables(And other hardware) is definitely something I've experienced. Especially hardware on wood.
I find that many folks 'Assume' parallel voltages. IE all panel output is ballanced. If parallel multiple panels are used, it is the voltage average. If one panel is 14.1, 1 panel is 14.2 and one panel is 14.3, the charge controller sees 14.2. At this point, proper use of blocing diodes, assming no loss because that is entirelly another conversation, then the controller sees the 14.3. THis little knowledge really helps with serial strings then paralleled to the MPPT controller. MC4 fused with blocking diodes can help this complication..your meter is the help here and your best friend. thanks for all your video's they are excellent.
I'm guilty of #9. I built your 48Volt split phase system with all the listed components, but I only purchased 3 batteries and a dozen CanadianSolar 445w bi-facial panels. I am now faced with getting another dozen panels at a minimum just to keep the 3 batteries charges based upon my upstate NY latitude. The system operates great and can do anything I want it to, but it can run low after just one full day/night on a cloudy day. We're totally off-grid and have to use a generator much too often at the moment. Looking forward to having a full battery rack that charges up quickly.
I'll have to look that build up. I'm above you in New Brunswick (think Maine and turn right) and have been doing measurements of panels. It is crazy the difference winter, cloud, shadows etc make. I had a full sun day with 3 ground placed panels parallel in testing, and a person walking by created this massive downward spike in output, never mind a car driving by! Yes, to truly have off-grid for the frequent power outages, sometimes for multiple days (and for some, weeks or months) in this region under the varying weather conditions, you have to *really* oversize the system or add wind to the mix, with all the complexities that brings.
@@patrickbuick5459 In the spring, I plan on purchasing as many used panels from santan solar as I can afford. I'd love to have a minimum 36 with at least 335 watt output. On a sunny day I get pretty good results from just the 12 panels I have now, but up here, with the constant clouds and lake effect rain/snow 6 days out of the week, I just don't get much good bright sun. I'd much rather be purchasing something for myself than handing over large quantities of cash to some corporate CEO of a utility so he can afford his 3rd jet, 2nd yacht and 5th vacation home though.
I can’t understand why in the world you don’t have a million plus subscribers, you are the best teacher/educator and very easy to understand and follow. Keep up the great how to videos.
I knew the tools were expensive , but when he smiled at showing the screwdriver, then I knew what “ expensive” means. Will you and Jehu Garcia are my favorites since eons. From Colombia ,best wishes.
Great Video, you nailed all major issues but one missed. When using stranded copper to an SCC or other device, using Ferrules (Crimp Barrel) is Very Important to prevent the wire starnd from squishing & spreading which results in a poor connection, regardless if the proper torque is applied.
@@gregnewberry4813 A crimp barrel is just a sleeve over the small strands of wire. Once crimped on the end of the wire, it holds all of the small strands together. I can see how it would be better than an unsleeved connection, but have not used this approach myself- yet...
I built a small 200 watt system at the beginning of 2022. And I am glad I started small, even though I was researching, I still made mistakes. Now I know better on some things but have a lot more to learn.
Have recently started watching your videos. Your presentation And knowledge is amazing. I'm 60 years old and I've always been put off by the cost of Stand alone solar. But after watching your videos I'm encouraged. Enough to Build my own With expandability. Well done young man! And thank you.
Thanks for all your detailed info and video,s , can you show me how do you isolate a geyser and stove , on DB bord , with the inverter wirling connections ro the DB Bord Regards Zarius
I bought your book on solar. I have installed two Battleborn Lithium batteries and used No. 4 copper welding cable to connect them together. The negatives run to a shunt that goes with an Alii gauge. Also no. 4 cable to a 1000-watt inverter. I put two dedicated plugs in my fifth wheel RV off the inverter. I have two Renogy suitcase panels that I hookup when we are dry camping, and I installed a new converter in the camper that is good for Lithium batteries. So far so good! I have made about half the mistakes you list but I'm getting better. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Burlington Bill here, singer songwriter. Busking from the road and home.
Top tips great video. If you can't afford insulated tools use heat shrink and electrical tape to cover any shiny surface on the tool. It's not perfect but better than nothing.
In the early 70's in the US Navy BE & E class we were taught to solder every connection on the ship. But I haven't messed with electricity for decades yet I still have believed it needs to be soldered. But that's where us old hands learned it. Now I'm learning a lot from you. This is why I love kids. They have access to the latest knowledge and also think of things that we think, "I tried that before and it doesn't work.". Kids may take a slight adjustment that makes it work. I always have tried to hear out all ideas, they don't always work, but I don't want to be that old man stuck in his ways so he never learns new, or more efficient ways to accomplish jobs. My dream is to build my own off grid solar and wind power station on my property in East Texas. There are no permits or inspections required here if you have enough land, which I do, so the safety is completely up to me. I just put up my first building out there, a 30 x 35 metal building. Now I need to insulate it and wire it. It's going to be the blown in insulation because the batts sweat and I'll have a lot of condensation in this area with the pink stuff. Ideas? Spray foam first and then put the conduit outside of it for easy future serving 🤷🏻♂️ Thanks for all of your helpful videos.
Great video Will. Thanks so much for sticking to your guns on not soldering large lug connections. I get comments on my connection video from people that try to sound like they are professionals and they recommend soldering and it makes me worried that someone will believe them and create a problem for themselves. Keep up the good work.
To solder or not to solder is not something I will argue. However the logic behind it does not work for me. He says it's because of "dissimilar metals" and calls these silver lugs "copper" when in fact they are tin plated copper. That is what I call "dissimilar metals" without soldering. The high temp solder is mostly tin so if you have tin plated lugs, it's not really dissimilar at that point. I would like to see some data showing a resistance comparison between the resistances of the soldered lug and the non soldered lug over time. It seems the soldered lug would keep oxygen out of the connection better than non solder; keeping the connection from oxidizing. But I'm just trying to learn here.
One thing to point out about multimeters. There are meters for electricians and meters for electronics work. Many times both will work equally but there are situations where one type can fail. The Fluke 325 for electricians can only measure resistance to 40k ohms. Not good for electronic work (I have lots of resistors over 50K ohms that the Fluke 325 can't measure). However meters for electronics work sometimes are only rated for CAT 1 environments. Not good for high voltage and power electrician work. A CAT 1 meter could literally catch on fire or explode if there is an issue in a CAT 3 high voltage, high current environment. For this kind of work you should have and understand the different CAT environment levels and when to use both types of meters. Another thing to point out to beginners is the differences between fixed range and auto ranging meters. There are times when one or the other is nicer to use. Depends on what you are doing and your personal preference. Yes, it is possible to fix the range on an auto-ranging meter but it is not as intuitive as using a straight fixed range meter. About soldering, I know Hams (I'm one) that insist on soldering everything but they are wrong. For small signal applications soldering is a good thing since small mechanical connections can get dirty and create signal noise. For high power connections mechanical connects are strongly recommended, especially in ground straps and lightning rods. The only thing close to soldering that is good to use is an exothermic weld which literally bonds the two metal pieces into one. Solder in a high power connection can end up melting at exactly the wrong time causing the connection to come apart and can even literally explode.
Good tips Will! People need to build small systems first and get some experience if they want to DIY. Going to make a lot of costly mistakes if you try to learn everything on a single large project.
My DIYs can be increased in storage by reconfiguring the individual batteries, but I prefer having separate systems, not a whole house solution. I built a 2400w and a 4800w, thanks Will! My philosophy on back-up power is for me to have the capability to run my freezer, fridge 24/7/365, and to run a portable ac unit for 4-6 hours a day, and fans all day and night. I plug in coffee makers, microwaves etc., as needed. I will position my batteries where I need them and/or when there is the most sun. I have a duel fuel generator that I use mainly for charging the batteries during low light winter months and cloudy days. I have a Maxoak 1500w, EF River Pro 700w/ I am considering a purchase of a EF Delta 2 and extra battery to get it to 3000w+. P.S. How is the family? Hope your Mom is doing well.
Yes, rv's produce vibrations which in turn loosen things that should be "tight". I'll be using a low strength thread locker like Loctite 222 on everything! Peace of mind future proofing.Thanks for the great video.
I totally did #1. Didn't believe the Panasonic panels were actually 70V, everyone told me they had to be 35V. Trust the label... #7 is why I hate lithium and nickel iron is way better.
You hit on most of the DIY mistakes made by well-intentioned people. As a retired electrical contractor, I can tell you that you're better off using a box cutter to strip a wire than cheap wire strippers. Totally agree about avoiding copper clad wiring like the plague as the copper cladding frequently cracks when torqued down and gives rise to additional expansion and contractor from the underlying aluminum cables.
Oh boy as a part-time marine and automotive mechanic I have seen all those mistakes many times done by some hotshot. Why? They are in a hurry to get the job done or they don't pay attention to the details. Doing the job right the first time, is all about the details! My boss grumbles about jobs taking longer than he thinks they should... many times it's because I'm fixing someone else's mess. The little things matter just as much as the big things, sometimes even more!
Thank you Will for making the education series. You have done a great job than some professors in the college of engineering. This old woman has learned a lot through your TH-cam series. God Bless!
I am old also and will have to build a system, fun to still be learning but I am sure I will want a helper that knows more than me (and is stronger) and then I can "help".
Some very, very good points made here, especially wrt using insulated tools with batteries and using a torque driver. I was always taught to only use crimp on multi-strand wires/cables, some of you may not agree ??
Hi Will...I'm heavily invested in you as an intelligent well informed teacher...thank you for helping me learn something new at 80:) We're on Social Security and saving money via Solar is so very important to my family. Have you considered a series aimed at overhead reduction instead of equipment cost, anything to get the electric bill down? I'm a Amateur Extra Class so tech is not a problem. Thanks again my friend:)
No necessarily in with the incorrect tools but, safety glasses. I'm always happy to see you wearing them when you work on projects. So many channels in so many genres don't wear safety glasses and it baffles me.
On a boat exposed cooper lugs will always give trouble down the track. So use galvanized lugss instead and solder the tip of the exposed cable end. Then use heat shrink over the eniter joint. This gives the best connection while providing a barrier for moister to get into the cable strands. The tin in solder acts a a sacrifical anode and prolongs the life of the joint.
Just a couple of things, if you are wiring in a marine system you should use tinned copper cables not just copper cables, also another reason not to use solder in joints if you do have a hot joint the solder will melt out. Soldering connections are not to regulations for low voltage connections in my country
Tools mentioned in the video (affiliate links):
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Basic Electrical Tools that I recommend: www.mobile-solarpower.com/tools.html
0:00 Intro
0:14 #10
1:21 #9
2:53 #8
3:56 #7
5:36 #6
6:54 #5
8:51 #4
9:49 #3
12:15 #2
14:29 #1
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Also if you’ve got links to the torque wrench and screwdriver that would be awesome!
Just added some links above for those tools. Good idea
"..titan it properly..." I only joke in a good-natured fashion. You're videos are GREAT for people like me not electrically inclined. Because of you, my system is the envy of the community.
@@LordSlag I say it the same way and I get friendly teased about it. LOL
@@mikefranks4528 😋😋🤗
I'm a retired electrician and can say that this was an excellent video. You don't just say what to DO or NOT DO, but, most importantly, you explain WHY. You are also teaching "good practices". I am subscribing just because this video was so good that it will help me explain things to others properly, including being more concise. Thank you for exceptional work. 🙂👍
I'm also a retired tradesman and this kid is #1. I love his work ethic and his positive attitude. He's probably the nicest guy I've ever met on the TH-cam
Caused to to buy his kindle book
At first he sounded preachy, and then as he went on I realized he was spot on.
Been doing wiring for 50 years and periodic review is important, especially at my age, in areas I have not touched for 20 years.[DC power systems]
Every time I thought I'd have to add something to his primer, he covered it later.
72 years young grandma here enjoying your videos. Especially love the rant one. I'm from Pittsburgh pa and have a jackery explorer 300 and a 100 watt solar panel (my toy). We don't get half as much sunshine now that it is fall but that explorer fully charges in 3 hours under full sunshine. I am pleasantly amazed at the sunshine power. I use my power supply to plug in a lamp where we have no grid wiring and a few other things. Waiting until I understand a lot more of this stuff before moving on to something more challenging.
You will love it when you lose power for 5 days and you can still watch videos on your phone or tablet!
As a controls engineer - Almost EVERY time I go in the field for construction inspections, the #1 problem is improperly seated and torqued cables. Will hit the nail on the head there. We formally call the pulling a "tug test". Do one after terminating anything - making sure everything is de-energized.
I worked in telecom as a tech and we used insulated tools and did annual torque checks of all the hardware. The last place I worked before retirement had 7 48v battery banks. Our load was about 1400 amperes. I have a small system at our remote cabin where I run a 48v battery bank with solar and inverter. I also have a 12v system for lights. I torque my stuff out there also. I also use the same method for preparing the connectors that we used at work.
One has to wonder why they give torque values for rotational terminators but do not give lateral separation limit tolerances for inline junctions.. after all, a "tug test" is much more likely to fail when preformed by the Hulk (or Arnold Schwarzenegger) than if done by my 5 year old niece ;)
I do controls too. I have found factory landed wires on a big chiller landed on insulation. Wires inserted too deep and tightened on insulation and system wouldn’t run. That was fun to find.
@@Knight805 I thought I was the only one. New battery cables for a car. Direct from Ford OEM. They didn't strip the insulation at all, just crimped the connector on. Also made me wonder if they were using a correctly sized lug since it fit over the insulation? Mine never have enough room for that.
I've come across cables just falling out of terminals aswell , just people being lazy and in a rush some just don't tighten down very much ,technical term is limpwristted
I've been doing marine wiring for over 25 years and off grid solar for about 15 years, and when I started solar wiring, I used all of my marine wiring experience to do proper jobs. I've seen so many DIY off grid solar installs that are cobbled together and basically fail on every point your made in your video! Honestly, your video is 100% accurate on all points. I can't find a single thing to dispute. You just got another subscriber - me! because we are always learning.
Some of my biggest pet peeves - soldering of any kind, on boat or solar wiring. And buying cheap off-brand crap, like breakers, bus bars, fuse panels, wiring.
When someone asks me to "redo" their solar setup, or install new, I often will send them an exact list of all the major parts needed, like breakers, bus, fuses panels, cables, cable ends, crimp heat shrink marine connectors, charge controller, etc, and let them review it online and even but it themselves. If they balk at the price and/or look to use cheap alternatives, I may refuse to do the job and I tell them they can find someone else.
Fine some one else ,,agree
Could not agree more, when you do a project on the cheap it will ALWAYS comes back and bites you in the rear, ALWAYS!!!!!
Wait till you have enough funds to do the project correctly with the correct parts or it will end up costing you double if not more!!!!!!
My first DIY system is working great. I over built everything especially the wire size. I built my system at about 50% of the capacity of my inverters. As a beginner I am one of the old school guys that soldered my battery cables. Used to do that as a heavy equipment mechanic 30 years ago. I never had one failure, but will probably invest in a crimping tool. It took me 18 months to save money and then install my ground mounted system. It was a big investment, but has been working flawlessly for 4 months now. It saves us about 40 % on our electric bill. I am only using about 50% of my battery each day, and in an emergency could probably get about 30 hours out of my small system. Definitely adding more battery backup as soon as funds are available. Since we're retired and with limited income, it's difficult to have enough funds for large projects. Adding 10kw battery backup would be extremely beneficial to our system. At least we have a small emergency backup that we use everyday. I know that if I had the funds I would go completely off grid.
This solar power energy is addictive!
YOU JUST WANT MORE POWER.
Everyone I watch on TH-cam has increased their systems at least twice.
Will, I appreciate your videos and applicable information on solar system and products. I used several valuable resources and information that you provided in the past 3 years.
Even at 71 I'm still learning and exploring new opportunities to be more self reliant and independent
Thanks
@Andrew_koala Maybe you should correct and edit your own post before attempting to improve others. :)
@Andrew_Koala Perhaps you could ask your students to find the 5 errors you made in your short intoductory paragraph (below)........There are further various errors that you have made in your purported correction of the original post but I don't have the time or inclination to correct you as a reacher (sic). As much as I am tempted I will refrain from scoring your 'Reasonable writing ability', maybe you could let your students do so.
Reasonable writing ability - Your score 7/10 --
I use TH-cam comments for my Students to correct.
I now reach English and History - following a 30 year Military Career - AIR FORCE
--
Your text corrected and edited" and formatted paragraph text applied
I agree completely. I see really many examples of horrendous English on the internet but this particular post was not one of them.
Maybe all the "low hanging fruit" has made me more tolerant. LOL.
I will opine on the fact that the corrector's writing style was rather awkward.
@Andrew_koala So how many students failed your teach line?
As for History.... What did the founders do with the Declaration of Independence after they signed it?
Did they send it to George by courier?
Did they give it to the first brit they saw?
Did they just start shooting brits till George figured sumthin be up?
That is the problem with school, you don't know the questions to ask till you are out.
@Andrew_koala Hi Andrew, If you randomly pick comments for your students to correct, it seems that your not taking into consideration the purpose of the comments section. I'm not composing anything that would I would consider grammatical or any literary purpose or pros. Wow! 7 out of 10 and I wasn't even trying. Don't think I'll be changing a thing on how I compose my comments anytime soon. I'm not one of your students, I could care less about you rating me and making a comment about how imperfect you feel my writing is. Seems you could find a better source for you study materials. I actually find your comment a pointless reply that shouldn't have even been made.
All the comment replies were about your comment about how you rated my writing.
I really don't care what you think about how my comment was written.
PISS OFF!
*_Top 10 Mistakes Summary:_*
14:29 1 - Loose terminals
12:15 2 - Using the incorrect tools (emphasis on wire-strippers, crimpers, insulated tools)
9:49 03 - Improper Wire-Sizing
8:51 04 - Messy, unorganized Wiring
6:54 05 - Solder large lugs (use only mechanical connections)
5:36 06 - Using CCA (Copper Clad Aluminum) cables; Use only pure Copper
3:56 07 - Using low qaulity circuit breakers
2:53 08 - Building a System that cannot be Scaled
1:21 09 - Not enough batteries or solar panels
0:14 10 - Connecting a solar string to a device without checking the voltage
Thank you!
Some of these, while disadvantageous, I wouldn't always count as mistakes. But then I notice the word beginner and checks out.
Thank you for your time and effort to display
Time stamps.
@@tex24 I know right man there's so much stuff to know. It's so difficult to put together a system.
Thank you - saved me 17 minutes :)
You forgot the two most important ones
A) get reacquainted with the basics of (solar) electricity before a project
B) find or make a cheat sheet with checklist to keep handy when doing a project.
C) start with smaller project that don’t hurt as much financially in case of mistakes.
People, including myself need these refresher videos frequently
agreed! I'd add to make sure that you are watching very recent videos. It seems like the tech is changing so fast that a 5 year old video is outdated. It's like cell phones.
I retired from large power plant power generation. There has been more than one transformer fire due to terminals loosening over time due to the thermal cycling. All of Will’s points in this video are worth watching periodically.
I always use a conductive grease in my crimps, it doesn't take much don't over do it, but it adds a corrosion protection to the joint. I even use it on small stuff, it really helps on outdoor or buried connections.
You have given me the information and the confidence to build my own system. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!
please continue these instructional videos....you have helped so
many folks and I have no doubt you have save saved many lives .your knowledge &your ability as a instructor a blessing to all of us " newbies " thank you!
I usually do
I agree completely. About to start my first system, and have learned so much from Will. The channel is awesome and so much information.
Advice from an old electrician. Making a connection. Jiggle the wire and retorque, especially stranded wire. Never twist the wire beyond the normal twist of the wire. A tight twist will relax and it's a matter of time you Will have a loose connection.
No. 5: As an electrician I totally agree with you! In school they warned us about another point: solder gets soft over time and starts crawling and the contacts get loose and corrosion appears within. So, never solder when you can crimp!
Trojan recommends soldering battery cables.
Totally accurate.
@@jeffwhite3021 Trojan is wrong. I live in Phoenix and it will easily exceed 150 degrees under the hood of my car during the summer. Many types of solder melt as low as 165 degrees. In particular avoid any solder with bismuth as part of the alloy.
I agree. I once did pull out tests of both molex crimp connections and soldered connections and the pull out force of the (properly) crimped connections were greater every time.
@@ewe2b It's about maximizing conductor contact area in the connector. They are suggesting and providing evidence that crimping and then flooding the joint with solder is best.
I am educating myself in solar and off grid living and I'm sure you've heard but just in case I will reiterate the fact that your presentations to me are the pinnacle of educational videos that I have viewed! Very in depth, easy to follow and comprehend as well as confidence building. Thanks for the education!
I crimped several cables 10 years ago in both 4 gauge and 1/0 gauge. I used a hammer crimp and always was concerned about the quality of the crimp as well as the longevity of them. Earlier this year I decided to cut one of those old cables apart to inspect the cable and crimp.
I made a video on it and found after cutting the cable and terminal apart that it was an amazing crimp! The heat shrink also held up great with only minor surface corrosion of the copper wire(yes, this was OFC copper cable). Before I destroyed the wire, I checked the resistance of the wire with my Fluke multimeter and resistance was VERY low!
One other thing I like to do after I build a system is check the resistance (ohms) in the cabling and connections with my Fluke. This helps to find problems before they rear their ugly head.
Yeah…I used to hammer crimp even for RF cables on a small rig…I now pneumatic crimp…I went to crimping very reluctantly…but now … I swear by pneumatic crimping…as an old HAM ( is there any other kind? If you get a HAM license, you also get your old man card delivered by snail mail) low voltage electrical and RF cables…I make with pneumatic crimping…
Great video! I'll second the use of Blue Sea marine-grade components. I've been a marine electrician for 25+ years and use their products exclusively - never seen one fail. They're expensive, but when you buy quality, you only cry once.
"when you buy quality, you only cry once" -- I love this :)
100% agree...buy nice or buy twice
Comment of the day 😂
I totally agree with you on the comments about soldering. For many years , I lived on a boat and did all my maintenance myself. To do things right and stay safe I took a course on marine electrical systems, taught by a professor from the University of Washington, who also taught the Coast Guard, the guys who are inspecting the boats. he said that in a marine environment that soldered connections are extremely subject to mechanical failure from all the motion. The only place for the soldered connection was one that was totally and safely secured against any type of movement. Now that I’m retired and live in a “land boat” (RV) I follow the same practices, thinking that the vibrations from the vehicle can probably do similar damage is the vibrations on the boat. I realize that many of your viewers are thinking of a fixed base, home installation where the only movement may be earthquakes, and I am honestly not knowledgeable about that, so I’m mostly talking to those installing into vehicles of some sort. Regardless, your explanation says why not to use solder are very convincing.
Just the mild heating of a wire from current can cause expansion/contraction. Or even day/night temp changes.
Great video! I would only add to the torque point this: Tighten to rated torque, then loosen a bit, then retorque to spec. You'll be surprised how often the connection "snuggles down" a bit more at the same torque once you do this. The screw or nut will often (more often than not) rotate a bit more to reach the same torque than it did during the initial tightening-to-torque. Such double-tightening makes the connection a lot more reliable over time!
That is a great tip. Thank you.
That is old school Wisdom you're sharing, I've forgotten that one. That tip alone will save so many people the headache of Loose connections down the road. Please comment some more - I know you got some more old school wisdom to share with us.
@Marco Polo Adding any lubrication will alter the torque.
@MarcoPolo1776this is news to me and I don't recall any mechanic that I have worked with doing that. I will definitely give it a try.
Over torque is an issue also. One worker used to super torque everything.
Soon after equipment connections started failing b/c the connection was cracked/ broken.
When wiring a service panel, it is recommended to recheck the connections 2 weeks after the initial install. Very few do this, but when I do, there is always at least 1 or more connections that need retightening.
One time in particular, I averted an almost fire from a loose connection.
I smelled something like plastic melting but could not find it.
When I checked the service panel, one of the wires was a smidgen loose.
I suspect when it heated up the looseness became more apparent.
Easy fix, once you know what is wrong.
Also: dubble check polarity..
At work a contractor got the polarity mixed when parallel connecting two 400V battery bank, short-circuit the now 800V battery..
The connectionbox exploded throwing the contractor across the rom, and started a fire.
The incident took down the server room, effecting the work of 15-20 thousand people....
Due to the safety equipment, the contractor escaped relatively unharmed...
Plumber disconnected a pipe without turning off upstream, janitors mopped but women's bathroom was flushed.
Hi, I would like to correct you in the soldering lugs part.
But firstly, your videos are great, and you have the most informative channel out of any DIY PV system channels. Thank you for these.
Everyone can make a mistake, and the probability of making a mistake is even higher when someone does highly educative videos. I know that very well. So it's nothing against you, I would just like to correct the factual part :
I happen to be industrial electrician with years of experience in this field, and I also have ones of the highest certifications.
I solder a lot, and I can tell you that soldered lugs/eyelets are always going to be the 100% solution, if you do it correctly. And that is a huge IF.
Properly soldered lugs have slightly lower resistance compared to crimped ones. I have demonstrated that several times with thermal camera in few occasions. Back in 1950s, crimping pliers weren't that much common here, and I have personally never seen such a lug from 1950s failing. Even when being overloaded.
Soldered connection is actually gas tight, while crimped still has some room for water to soar by the strands to the lug itself, and cause corrosion. Copper then becomes green or black, and resistance ramps up a little.
Soldered lug has zero chance of oxidation.
Soldered lug is mechanically more sturdy. This applies more to smaller eyelets, like 2,5mm2 or 6mm2. Wire can be usually torn out of crimped eyelet (with higher force if crimped properly), but soldering would never fail, you would destroy the eyelet before soldered joint fails.
You will not damage wire insulation by soldering if done properly. Silicone insulation (SiF or SiFF wires here in Europe) are always safe, and regular PVC insulated wires, you need soldering iron powerful enough for this, but it is also possible to not damage the insulation. I have successfully soldered even 35mm2 wires without any damage to PVC insulation. I used JBC C245 200W iron and lead free tin.
The part with checking a crimp, there is a huge problem - it's a destructive test. Truth is, we cannot tell for 100% if a lug is either crimped or soldered properly without destroying the lug. This applies to both crimp and solder.
So why we don't solder lugs? It's slow and requires lots of experience. It's much easier to make a mistake soldering than crimping. This doesn't however mean that crimped lug would be better, as some people use Chinese crimpers (cause they are generally very expensive, I understand), and these people would be actually better soldering the lug with a blowtorch. No kidding.
The most common problems when soldering lugs and eyelets is :
Not enough heat
Improperly chosen soldering tin
Not using additional flux
Using too aggressive Flux
Not enough tin in the joint
I would like you to accept what I just wrote, because I have already experimentally proven that, and please, don't say no more that soldering would be unacceptable, because actually, when I try to get every single milliohm down, I rather solder these instead of using any of the hydraulic or mechanical crimping tools we have in the workshop.
And thank you for your videos, you do great job, and please continue.
Once you start generating your own power the first thing you will notice is how much each device uses.
I replaced several older devices just for the reduced wattage.
A watt meter is your best cheap investment and you will be surprised what your use is.
If you can conserve it you don’t need to generate it ,
I’ve been watching the evolution of solar equipment for years and it is amazing how the price and availability make it easier and affordable for you to set up a system.
I always research your videos before even considering purchasing any solar equipment .
Thank you for the video.
Im wanting to do things correctly in the future
Where are the torque values located on switches, outlets, etc? Could I use values for what a particular bolt size and grade is rated at or is there a torque chart for electrical connections out there somewhere?
I love my watt meter. Especially for my computer, it helps figure out how much power I'm using with different settings. It doesn't matter much in summer, but in winter I need to keep the power consumption low.
No more toast for you! 😅
I recently bought a wattmeter to do just that. My consumption wasn't high, but higher than I thought it should be. I'm still making the list of what uses what. Too many plugs, so little time!
I have that same Blue Sea fusebox. I love it. I bought it during an "over-engineering" phase for my motorcycle (pre-RV). But I loved it and hung onto it; and it found a great life during a big DC wiring project in the rig.
I hate standard flat head torque screws like what’s on the solar charge controllers, I wish they were Allen heads or something else. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your videos. Keep them coming please.
I am so glad I have been going to your TH-cam university for the last 3 years. Education and great criticism. Aloha from Sunny Hawaii.
Yep, all good advice. Good tools, do it right, minimizes problems. Power electricity is different than signal electricity. And all of you physics explanations are correct. Thanks.
Kapegede and comments (replays). It is 2am ,Sunday morning and refuse to fall sleep ,till I read all this interesting thoughts regarding crimping, soldering, and the like . I’m a Colombian hillbilly that enjoy this sort of agreements disagreements for the good of us all. Learning is living.
I wonder how many times I'm going to be pausing the video and running out to see if I made any of these mistakes lol
Thanks for sharing and as always keep building 👍
I have work in the connector industry for over 48 years. Your explanation of crimp vs solder terminations is PERFECT. Listen to Will !!!!
A common one I've seen helping friends is not carefully labeling both ends of wire runs. Color coded wires are always best, but a lot of purchases just go with the straight black or grey. The red, white and black should be applied to both ends. Best with shrink tubing.
I’ve made that mistake and regretted it to great expense
I do the same thing. I slip a piece of colored heat shrink tubing on the ends of my wire runs to keep things straight since the only spooled wire I have is black. On rare occasions I've used more than one color primarily to identify switch feeds to different lights.
Colored electrical tape would also work for identification.
Well said Will!! 30 plus years in Aerospace industry working with US Navy, Boeing and NASA - everything you say in this video is spot on - especially the part about NOT soldering large lugs.
From what I've seen in my 15 years in solar, #1 should be "Under Sized Cables"
As an advanced electronics technician, I don't normally comment on other techs videos. But in this case, I really appreciate how well thought out your production was. Your audience was for the startup crowd, but sage advice for the advance installer also. You use that crimp tool every day? Makes me think you do installations for more than friends. -earned my subscription. Looking forward to viewing more of your videos.
Glad to see more new videos from you. I work on telecom power systems with large battery strings (48V with 5,000A+ discharge capability) and I agree with all your points, especially proper torquing of terminals, thermal inspections, using insulated tools, and having the proper tool and knowing how to use it!
I'm hoping to see new buyer's guide/showdown videos from you for MPPT's, panels, and batteries. I've watched all your old ones, but there's so many new devices out there now. I'm building an off-grid system for my RV and your channel has been a great guide!
100% correct on each item. Used to solder till I saw a crimped terminal cut in two. Bought a hydraulic crimper. Have never been sorry.
Well, now. This is a great video! I'm 72 years old and realize that it's been a long time since I took electronics in high school shop classes. Solar is new to me and it's like learning all over again because most of my projects are simple 110 AC voltage wiring of lamps, etc. as a householder. My DC experience is mostly circuit board work and low voltage battery circuits like battery operated radios etc.
There is a lot to learn working with solar and every step of the way is all about learning and absorbing new stuff with an old brain! And one important thing for older people, to keep your brain "exercised," is to learn new things on a daily basis. Your videos are easy to understand and cover just about everything, well presented, with outstanding explanations and excellent background info as well. Thanks! I am ordering your book on Amazon, sounds like a good read.
I'm familiar with the torque wrenches that use sockets, but did not know they had torque screw drivers. Your videos are always interesting. Thanks.
Wiha makes an insulated torque drive/bit-set specifically for working with electricity
As a licensed handyman with my educational background in industrial mechanics and heating, air. And refrigeration I've had a lot of electrical training, I'm going to install solar on my house watching your videos are priceless I've learned sooo much from sizing my system to all the many options options available what's important for r off grid or s combination on and off grid keep up these fantastic tutorials they help folks then you can believe.
I've definitely had connections loosen on my solar disconnect. I do check them when I remember, but probably go longer than i should. This is great info will!
I use my smart phone calendar as a preventative maintenance log, setting recurring notifications as a reminder.
Being a car audio enthusiast aka basshead I can absolutely appreciate your tool segment. There’s nothing better than a quality tool! Thanks man!!
Will... YOU ROCK! Thanks for just keeping it real and teaching us all, sometimes we need a little extra info and you provide it.
65 y/o retired guy here, was an electrician/ electrical contractor for 48 years. This kid really impresses me ;) I have done a lot of residential and commercial grid tied solar and some 12vdc RV systems (van life guys) but now I want to design a grid tied battery backup system for a small house, I'm out of wheelhouse and believe that this guy is going to have all the answers !
As someone who's built and operated a series of tiny off-grid solar systems for my cabin's stereo and phone charger over 20 years, my biggest difficulty has been getting good crimps and screw connections. I've recently upgraded crimp tools and will never solder a connector again.
I am currently a beginner,but thanks to your videos it became much clearer to me how solar systems work.I have completed my small load solar project for example outdoor light and garden fountains without a problem.
Will, another problem with large bundles of wire that has driven many of us crazy is ghost currents, coupling AC to neighbor wires that supply LED lights. The LEDs will continue ot glow at a lower output even though the switches are off. :(
Great point!!!
Induction.
Thanks for explaining about loose terminals. I've been building my own systems for years, and thought that the loose terminals were caused by vibrations and movement. My system moves five times a year. My Victron CC recently had an overheat warning, and it was partially due to loose terminal connection. Keep up the great work. Some of your newer builds are far beyond anything I will build in the near future. Don't forget about the smaller systems! 1kW pv, 2 kW inverter, 14 kWh LiFePo4, off-grid yurt.
This is one of the most important videos you've done
This channel is gold.
To anyone questioning a crimp connection, I’m a substation electrician and the transmission line feeding your town right now has countless crimps on it.
I regarded myself as intermediate now after watching your video I feel like a beginner. There’s so many things that you have packaged into this video. Really appreciate it the revision.
Make sure the system is de-energized before yanking to check for loose terminals!
Great data here. I'm an amature, researched every point you made here. Glad to say I scored 100%.
Cables and lugs - definatly get your hydraulic cramp, lugs, heat seal tubing, and make up your own cables because you'll save £ $ big time and have fun.
Quality tools is definatly a big deal. Cheap gear are crappy and you'll have crappy end results.
Will saved me a fortune - dont try saving pennies here and there, it WILL cost you £'s $'s in a few weeks time!!
Torque wrench etc. Got them too. As I discovered, Chinese stuff is not always accurate on torque settings so be careful and whatever arrives - test it, if possible, before use!
Heat camera - I use a laser temp probe, I think that works fine. Just slower way and needs a little more care.
Outstanding round up of the common pitfalls Will.
I have got one question ! Q) how do you stay looking the same after 2 years now? No Ageing? 🤣😉
Awesome your revisiting some beginner things.
I bought the book from Amazon last year and highly recommend it to everyone young and old.
Exceptionaly helpful. I lived ogf grid for 8 years and am currently building my new location's off grid system. I made 4 of the 10 mistakes the first time around.
Another important thing to do with a system is to DOCUMENT IT! It may all seem logical and meeting your needs when you install it, but six months or two years down the road you have to repair something, or want to upgrade, and you won't remember why you did things, or how they are routed, or what they worked around. And unless you think that you will own the set up for the rest of your life, some day you will sell it, and being able to give the next owner the documentation might make the difference between a sale or no sale.
I haven't built a solar system yet, but I am an electrical engineer (40 years). These are standard engineering principles and rules to design by. Excellent presentation and clear descriptions. Any DIYer would do themselves good to follow these suggestions. Great video!
I know many of us use XT60 connectors for solar panel hookup (Will uses those on some of his panel arrays) and they need to be soldered. There are also better options for solar panel connectors than XT60. Soldering takes too much time anyway since those XT60 plugs are so freaking small, a good crimping tool makes the job extremely easy for the crimp-type connectors. I'd also have added another common mistake beginners make: Always follow diagrams to the letter! Excellent video once again with lots of useful info to ponder! Thanks Will!
Low voltage only I would hope
I worked at fluke and they are the best. But I also have both Klein and fluke equipment.
Will, thank you so much for all your thoughtful consideration regarding beginner mistakes. (Doing everything right the first time eliminates worry and feeling like you have to constantly focus on and reconsider "shortcuts" that will inevitably cause problems.)
I agree it's not practical to solder very large grade cables, but solder is the best connection if it can be done properly. Otherwise yes twist or crimp is best if you also protect it with dielectric grease to keep it from corroding.
Awesome! More videos like this please aimed at beginners. I already rewatched and liked your beginner videos 20 times
I love you Will, like no matter how bad my day has gone I can come home, put on one of your videos, sit back and share your enthusiasm for having the best job in the world.
Thank you for living my dream.
What are your opinions on adding dielectric grease to connections? I'm on a sailboat, and I add it to all connections that might see moisture. It is probably overboard, but it helps me sleep at night.
I'm a 70 Yr old who skipped physics at school.
Therefore electricity has always been mystical.
When I did my van conversion in 2 years ago, finding you was like the second coming lol.
I managed to put aresonable solar 12volt system in the van and my wife and I have tested this in our 2 trips in Europe this year.
I even got my wife into battery management.
Thank you.
1989 - 1998, USN, ET1 SS, and 5 years building emergency vehicles, communication centers, radio tower work.
Will is 💯 %correct !!!
1980-1990 PH2 - USS Jason AR-8. Learning tons from Will.
@@Merlinsluck
Thank you, and all those who stood watch, so our land of freedom would continue, until I could relieve the watch. Now many young stand the watch. I pray for them all, and my Daughter, stationed in Germany, and her husband (i now have a son) in the 82nd Airborne.
God Bless America
'65 - '69 AT2 PATRON 10 HUNTED RUSKIE BALLISTIC SUBS..The kid knows what he's talking about...
UHF radio repairman in the Marines, '77 to '81. To be honest, the gear I worked on was so old it was more steampunk than electronics, but I picked up a bit of useful information.
I have checked my (Chinese) cables which came with the inverter right away and you are so right! These are CCA cables. Thank you for the heads up!
I’ve been in marine electronics for 25 years short connections to a complicated as different types of radar security systems you name it. I’ve done it as far as Marine and equipment is concerned your videos done very very well. You can see you’re very very knowledgeable, continued success.
Interesting. I revamped my friend's solar panel and upgrade from a 40ah lead acid to a 100ah LiFePo4 with a great Renogy MPPT and added a small inverter to run small lights and fans.
The loosening on cables(And other hardware) is definitely something I've experienced. Especially hardware on wood.
I have to say, you are the first person that has actually gotten to the nitty gritty of Solar installation. You explain things very well.
I find that many folks 'Assume' parallel voltages. IE all panel output is ballanced. If parallel multiple panels are used, it is the voltage average. If one panel is 14.1, 1 panel is 14.2 and one panel is 14.3, the charge controller sees 14.2. At this point, proper use of blocing diodes, assming no loss because that is entirelly another conversation, then the controller sees the 14.3. THis little knowledge really helps with serial strings then paralleled to the MPPT controller. MC4 fused with blocking diodes can help this complication..your meter is the help here and your best friend. thanks for all your video's they are excellent.
I'm guilty of #9. I built your 48Volt split phase system with all the listed components, but I only purchased 3 batteries and a dozen CanadianSolar 445w bi-facial panels. I am now faced with getting another dozen panels at a minimum just to keep the 3 batteries charges based upon my upstate NY latitude. The system operates great and can do anything I want it to, but it can run low after just one full day/night on a cloudy day. We're totally off-grid and have to use a generator much too often at the moment. Looking forward to having a full battery rack that charges up quickly.
I'll have to look that build up. I'm above you in New Brunswick (think Maine and turn right) and have been doing measurements of panels. It is crazy the difference winter, cloud, shadows etc make. I had a full sun day with 3 ground placed panels parallel in testing, and a person walking by created this massive downward spike in output, never mind a car driving by!
Yes, to truly have off-grid for the frequent power outages, sometimes for multiple days (and for some, weeks or months) in this region under the varying weather conditions, you have to *really* oversize the system or add wind to the mix, with all the complexities that brings.
@@patrickbuick5459 In the spring, I plan on purchasing as many used panels from santan solar as I can afford. I'd love to have a minimum 36 with at least 335 watt output. On a sunny day I get pretty good results from just the 12 panels I have now, but up here, with the constant clouds and lake effect rain/snow 6 days out of the week, I just don't get much good bright sun. I'd much rather be purchasing something for myself than handing over large quantities of cash to some corporate CEO of a utility so he can afford his 3rd jet, 2nd yacht and 5th vacation home though.
I can’t understand why in the world you don’t have a million plus subscribers, you are the best teacher/educator and very easy to understand and follow. Keep up the great how to videos.
Will, this is one of your very best, if not the best. Thank You!!
I knew the tools were expensive , but when he smiled at showing the screwdriver, then I knew what “ expensive” means. Will you and Jehu Garcia are my favorites since eons. From Colombia ,best wishes.
Great Video, you nailed all major issues but one missed.
When using stranded copper to an SCC or other device, using Ferrules (Crimp Barrel) is Very Important to prevent the wire starnd from squishing & spreading which results in a poor connection, regardless if the proper torque is applied.
This interests me. Please explain. Thanks
@@gregnewberry4813 A crimp barrel is just a sleeve over the small strands of wire. Once crimped on the end of the wire, it holds all of the small strands together. I can see how it would be better than an unsleeved connection, but have not used this approach myself- yet...
I built a small 200 watt system at the beginning of 2022. And I am glad I started small, even though I was researching, I still made mistakes. Now I know better on some things but have a lot more to learn.
Perfect timing Will! Thank you as always
Have recently started watching your videos. Your presentation And knowledge is amazing. I'm 60 years old and I've always been put off by the cost of Stand alone solar. But after watching your videos I'm encouraged.
Enough to Build my own With expandability. Well done young man! And thank you.
Thanks for all your detailed info and video,s , can you show me how do you isolate a geyser and stove , on DB bord , with the inverter wirling connections ro the DB Bord Regards Zarius
I bought your book on solar. I have installed two Battleborn Lithium batteries and used No. 4 copper welding cable to connect them together. The negatives run to a shunt that goes with an Alii gauge. Also no. 4 cable to a 1000-watt inverter. I put two dedicated plugs in my fifth wheel RV off the inverter. I have two Renogy suitcase panels that I hookup when we are dry camping, and I installed a new converter in the camper that is good for Lithium batteries. So far so good! I have made about half the mistakes you list but I'm getting better. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Burlington Bill here, singer songwriter. Busking from the road and home.
Top tips great video. If you can't afford insulated tools use heat shrink and electrical tape to cover any shiny surface on the tool. It's not perfect but better than nothing.
In the early 70's in the US Navy BE & E class we were taught to solder every connection on the ship. But I haven't messed with electricity for decades yet I still have believed it needs to be soldered. But that's where us old hands learned it.
Now I'm learning a lot from you. This is why I love kids. They have access to the latest knowledge and also think of things that we think, "I tried that before and it doesn't work.". Kids may take a slight adjustment that makes it work. I always have tried to hear out all ideas, they don't always work, but I don't want to be that old man stuck in his ways so he never learns new, or more efficient ways to accomplish jobs.
My dream is to build my own off grid solar and wind power station on my property in East Texas. There are no permits or inspections required here if you have enough land, which I do, so the safety is completely up to me. I just put up my first building out there, a 30 x 35 metal building. Now I need to insulate it and wire it. It's going to be the blown in insulation because the batts sweat and I'll have a lot of condensation in this area with the pink stuff. Ideas? Spray foam first and then put the conduit outside of it for easy future serving 🤷🏻♂️
Thanks for all of your helpful videos.
Great video Will. Thanks so much for sticking to your guns on not soldering large lug connections. I get comments on my connection video from people that try to sound like they are professionals and they recommend soldering and it makes me worried that someone will believe them and create a problem for themselves. Keep up the good work.
To solder or not to solder is not something I will argue. However the logic behind it does not work for me. He says it's because of "dissimilar metals" and calls these silver lugs "copper" when in fact they are tin plated copper. That is what I call "dissimilar metals" without soldering. The high temp solder is mostly tin so if you have tin plated lugs, it's not really dissimilar at that point. I would like to see some data showing a resistance comparison between the resistances of the soldered lug and the non soldered lug over time. It seems the soldered lug would keep oxygen out of the connection better than non solder; keeping the connection from oxidizing. But I'm just trying to learn here.
Absolutely correct on the no soldering of lugs for #5!!! Well said Will!
One thing to point out about multimeters. There are meters for electricians and meters for electronics work. Many times both will work equally but there are situations where one type can fail. The Fluke 325 for electricians can only measure resistance to 40k ohms. Not good for electronic work (I have lots of resistors over 50K ohms that the Fluke 325 can't measure). However meters for electronics work sometimes are only rated for CAT 1 environments. Not good for high voltage and power electrician work. A CAT 1 meter could literally catch on fire or explode if there is an issue in a CAT 3 high voltage, high current environment. For this kind of work you should have and understand the different CAT environment levels and when to use both types of meters. Another thing to point out to beginners is the differences between fixed range and auto ranging meters. There are times when one or the other is nicer to use. Depends on what you are doing and your personal preference. Yes, it is possible to fix the range on an auto-ranging meter but it is not as intuitive as using a straight fixed range meter.
About soldering, I know Hams (I'm one) that insist on soldering everything but they are wrong. For small signal applications soldering is a good thing since small mechanical connections can get dirty and create signal noise. For high power connections mechanical connects are strongly recommended, especially in ground straps and lightning rods. The only thing close to soldering that is good to use is an exothermic weld which literally bonds the two metal pieces into one. Solder in a high power connection can end up melting at exactly the wrong time causing the connection to come apart and can even literally explode.
As an electrician I totally agree. Also I like to oversize cables for DC and use reducing pins to fit smaller terminals. Depending on connection type.
Good tips Will! People need to build small systems first and get some experience if they want to DIY. Going to make a lot of costly mistakes if you try to learn everything on a single large project.
My DIYs can be increased in storage by reconfiguring the individual batteries, but I prefer having separate systems, not a whole house solution. I built a 2400w and a 4800w, thanks Will!
My philosophy on back-up power is for me to have the capability to run my freezer, fridge 24/7/365, and to run a portable ac unit for 4-6 hours a day, and fans all day and night.
I plug in coffee makers, microwaves etc., as needed.
I will position my batteries where I need them and/or when there is the most sun. I have a duel fuel generator that I use mainly for charging the batteries during low light winter months and cloudy days.
I have a Maxoak 1500w, EF River Pro 700w/ I am considering a purchase of a EF Delta 2 and extra battery to get it to 3000w+.
P.S. How is the family? Hope your Mom is doing well.
I know a mistake that you FORGOT! All beginners should check out your videos and forum. 👍
Yes, rv's produce vibrations which in turn loosen things that should be "tight". I'll be using a low strength thread locker like Loctite 222 on everything! Peace of mind future proofing.Thanks for the great video.
I totally did #1. Didn't believe the Panasonic panels were actually 70V, everyone told me they had to be 35V. Trust the label...
#7 is why I hate lithium and nickel iron is way better.
You hit on most of the DIY mistakes made by well-intentioned people. As a retired electrical contractor, I can tell you that you're better off using a box cutter to strip a wire than cheap wire strippers. Totally agree about avoiding copper clad wiring like the plague as the copper cladding frequently cracks when torqued down and gives rise to additional expansion and contractor from the underlying aluminum cables.
Oh boy as a part-time marine and automotive mechanic I have seen all those mistakes many times done by some hotshot. Why? They are in a hurry to get the job done or they don't pay attention to the details.
Doing the job right the first time, is all about the details!
My boss grumbles about jobs taking longer than he thinks they should... many times it's because I'm fixing someone else's mess. The little things matter just as much as the big things, sometimes even more!
Hacks make me stacks, that's Mikey Pipes favorite saying.
I have only watched a handful of your videos. As a licensed journeyman electrician, I appreciate this video and would say it is definitely my favorite
Thank you Will for making the education series. You have done a great job than some professors in the college of engineering. This old woman has learned a lot through your TH-cam series. God Bless!
I am old also and will have to build a system, fun to still be learning but I am sure I will want a helper that knows more than me (and is stronger) and then I can "help".
Some very, very good points made here, especially wrt using insulated tools with batteries and using a torque driver. I was always taught to only use crimp on multi-strand wires/cables, some of you may not agree ??
Hi Will...I'm heavily invested in you as an intelligent well informed teacher...thank you for helping me learn something new at 80:) We're on Social Security and saving money via Solar is so very important to my family. Have you considered a series aimed at overhead reduction instead of equipment cost, anything to get the electric bill down? I'm a Amateur Extra Class so tech is not a problem. Thanks again my friend:)
No necessarily in with the incorrect tools but, safety glasses. I'm always happy to see you wearing them when you work on projects. So many channels in so many genres don't wear safety glasses and it baffles me.
On a boat exposed cooper lugs will always give trouble down the track. So use galvanized lugss instead and solder the tip of the exposed cable end. Then use heat shrink over the eniter joint. This gives the best connection while providing a barrier for moister to get into the cable strands. The tin in solder acts a a sacrifical anode and prolongs the life of the joint.
Just a couple of things, if you are wiring in a marine system you should use tinned copper cables not just copper cables, also another reason not to use solder in joints if you do have a hot joint the solder will melt out. Soldering connections are not to regulations for low voltage connections in my country