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You can't guarantee a good permanent mechanical connection with screw terminals onto a soldered wire.
- Thread starter davidni
- Start date
You can't guarantee a good permanent mechanical connection with screw terminals onto a soldered wire.
brightspark
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christ where do u draw the line
talk about the far end of a fart and where it comes from 
just twist the ends up and put em in 
wheresmejumper
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christ where do u draw the line
the point is that the terminals in a plug top arent always the same size.
some are bigger than others.if someone cant fit all the strands in,knowingly or unknowingly,they are taking away the benefits of bigger core cable
brightspark
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2.5mm cable will fit in a 13 amp plug no bother with the ends twisted so no strands will be sticking out .
and if your eyesights that bad and your incompetent dont bother
wheresmejumper
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4mm solid core will fit in most.that wasnt the point.
the snooper
getting older by the day
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then what is ?
as far as i know you cant buy ready made leads with a Ridiculously thick cable squeezed into a moulded plug anyway and a crimp only adds to the diameter of the cable
Not always the case, there are a number of very dodgy sealed plugs that don't meet british standards.
http://www.esc.org.uk/public/guides-and-advice/checking-a-plug/testing-sub-standard-plugs/
You can regularly check the connections of a traditional plug, the sealed ones offer you no way of checking them and the first you know of a fault is when it over heats, melts or worse case sets on fire.
wheresmejumper
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crimped without ferrules,with heat/compression,will reduce the diameter
wheresmejumper
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yeah but anything with relevant safety standards will have been tested before leaving the factory.
the snooper
getting older by the day
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only upto a point that it becomes as tight as a solid core, but that still doesnt alter the fact they dont use cable that cant fit into a standard 13 amp plug should the need arise to replace the moulded plug
wheresmejumper
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if it was just down to voltage drop and not usability then leads would all be made from solid core.
the point was there are people who will make a hash of the connections,at both ends of the lead.
the snooper
getting older by the day
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this is true but it wont stop them making the lead up because people like that think they have done a good job and dont accept that their work is below standard
wheresmejumper
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we agree on that at least
the snooper
getting older by the day
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all my leads are at least 2.5 mm some are 4mm
1.5mm is all well and good for short runs say 10 mtrs max and genraly with small tools on them.
problem comes if like me you end up plugging one extension into another and into another and going 100 mtrs and still want to burn 4mm rods.
i've also started to use SY cabel for extension leads and connecting the barde to eath at the supply end, cabel seems to take more abuse than artic cabel but also when ti dose get damaged much less chance of there been live exposed cores, they tend to short to the brade instead and knock the brakers out, pita but better then a suprise hello from mr volt and 100 - 400 of his friends
1.5mm is all well and good for short runs say 10 mtrs max and genraly with small tools on them.
problem comes if like me you end up plugging one extension into another and into another and going 100 mtrs and still want to burn 4mm rods.
i've also started to use SY cabel for extension leads and connecting the barde to eath at the supply end, cabel seems to take more abuse than artic cabel but also when ti dose get damaged much less chance of there been live exposed cores, they tend to short to the brade instead and knock the brakers out, pita but better then a suprise hello from mr volt and 100 - 400 of his friends
wheresmejumper
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pedrobedro
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Thankyou for the link...seems well priced too.
And thanks to those of you that have came back with helpful advice.
I should have been more specific...
The lead is solely for my mig welder...nothing else and will only need to be 10 metres max. I had heard about voltage drop...havent been affected yet but thought if Im going to spend a few quid may as well beef things up if safe to do so.
My old lead isnt even on a reel and is heating up when layed out regardless of whats plugged into it...its so bloody old and twisted (hand me down) I just want to get rid.
I was finding it pretty difficult to find a decent ready made lead with a good thick cable hence my thoughts on just making one.
Someone has implied its a concern that I need to ask how to make a lead...well I am aware of how to construct one...I just wanted to know if the cable I mentioned was ok to use.
And yes...whoever mentioned trying a wholesalers instead of local B&Q is just right...I didnt think in my haste to post and there is an electrical wholesalers just up the road from me.
So seriously...thanks to the lads that shared genuine info on this one!
Thankyou for offering...but I should have no trouble getting the bits and bobs locally...gonna make it up tomorrow so I can get welding by tea time once again.
