Help!!!! Wire crimping or soldering?

Thanks Michael for your response. I'm not sure about just wrapping the wire since it's such a large gauge (I'm planning on using #4 to a 60 amp breaker)  it would be hard to secure and could short out an adjacent breaker...maybe I"m using too big of a gauge?   I'm running 2 24 Volt Panels in series to a FlexMax 60...it's going to have to crank down to a 12 volt battery bank so I'm using the larger gauge to accommodate the increase in amps...am I messing up someplace that I could use a a smaller wire?
I appreciate the help.
Thanks!!!!
Ann

Thanks Jon C and Michael for pointing me in the right direction!!!
I CANNOT fail on this project.�  � I'll never hear the end of it from hubby... So...THANKS VERY MUCH!!!

And MANY thanks to this great site and the WONDERFULL people at ALT-E..especially Eric Pederson who put up with me for weeks putting the all the items I need together!!! I truly believe this company is the last bastion of customer service and support left in the USA.�  � I think Alt-E is similar to what support was in computers back in the 1980-1990's time frame, and I believe Solar power is at the same infancy...ALT-E has the right attitude!!

Ann

Just a housewife trying to save on the electric bill and trying to save the planet.�  I have a blog that follows my journey at

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what size breakers do you have to wire to?
what size conductors are you planning to use?
i have no beef with soldering, but i am notoriously lazy.  i prefer an appropriate listed lug, with appropriate crimper.

we already carry such things for 10awg, and i plan on adding more (larger awg solutions) to the site as a "make it do-able" project for just such an occasion.

http://www.altestore.com/store/Cables-Wiring/Cable-Wire-Tools/Burndy-Products-MR15-Crimp-Tool/p7106/

http://www.altestore.com/store/Cables-Wiring/Wiring-For-Solar-Panels/Grounding-and-Wiring-Accessories/Burndy-Products-TP10-14-Ring-Terminal-QTY1/p7388/

if you answer the above questions, i can point you in the direction of appropriate ring terminals and perhaps crimpers.
i just wanted to point out that such things are certainly available, though somewhat costly for one-time usage.  given the choice i almost always choose crimping, and or purchase factory pre crimped cables for the bigger stuff.

james
altE staff

Soldering is messy and unnecessary for this I think.  Just get a crimper with long handles.  The extra leverage will ensure that not a lot of strength is needed to do the crimp.  Holding it at the very end of the handles gives the best leverage. 

Also, women have great strength in their legs -- try putting the crimper between your thighs, "Xenia Onatopp" style.

Alternatively, you can crimp via hammer -- just pound away at the connection point on top of a hard surface such as a brick (or anvil if available) until it has securely collapsed onto the wire.  Give it a good tug to be certain.

I'll put in my 2 cents and say I did it soldering, and never again. Now I use a hammer and hammer those lugs on. I have 6 gauge - 000 gauge in my system.  Now my situation is unique, being in a remote location overseas, with very humid conditions.  But when I used flux core solder with a butane torch (keep in mind I only have access to lower quality cables and probably solder too), I had these problems:  I was having to heat up those lugs & wires so long with the torch before the solder would flow that it degraded the copper in the wires (stranded wire), making them brittle (this after trying a monster soldering iron with no success on such large cable & lugs). Also, even after wire-brushing and wiping the finished product of flux residue, I had a huge amount of corrosion, to the point that my wires had reduced to white powder in a matter of months.  Crazy.  So I'm a convinced crimper.  You others are more experienced than me.  Maybe you can enlighten me of whatever I may have been doing wrong...