Extending Wires
 

In message
From: Scott )
Subject: Extending Wires

I'm a big fan of soldered joints too for this kind of thing, but only
where
I know the load is low. It is very hard to really define what power
the
soldered joint will be good for.

Its not a problem if theyre done properly, only if the joint's a burnt
dry mess is it going to be unsafe. I would think crimps would be much
quicker and easier, but if you want to slobber:

Ensure youve got lots of wire to wire contact area, and also physical
rigidity before soldering. This is easiest achieved in minimum space
by twisting the 2 coppers together, but like this:

===========------
------==========

where =: insulation and -: bare copper

Twist them until the whole thing's rigid. Note you need a decent
length for it all to lock up securely. Now as long as the solder is
done cleanly and all over, and the thing is insulated ok, the joint
current rating will be far above that of the rest of the cable.

Note that physical rigidity before soldering is important, otherwise
the usual moving of the cable during install will trash the joint,
solder is weak.

NT