Brian wrote:

With that in mind, this is what I did:

- twisted the cables together using pliers
- tinned the soldering iron
- heated the joint and flowed solder onto it

I used a gas-powered soldering iron because, obviously, the power was turned
off.

The joints I made seemed strong but didn't occur in just a few seconds - in
some cases I had to heat the joint maybe 30 seconds or more before it became
hot enough for the solder to melt onto it.


I would say there is a pretty good chance you have a decent joint - the
fact the wires were twisted together first will probably ensure that (I
have uncovered enough "permanent" joins made like that without solder in
peoples houses in the past!

I *think* I've done this well enough. One final thing I might do is put the
joints inside fireproof boxes so that in the unlikely event of something
going wrong, they won't set the house on fire.

The soldering iron you used sounds like it was too small or needed a
bigger bit on it. An insulation resistance check at high voltage ought
to put your mind at rest however.

(personally I would have used crimps)



--
Cheers,

John.

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