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Author Topic: The case against orange, blue, yellow, and pink extension cords  (Read 39474 times)

Phil LaDue

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Re: The case against orange, blue, yellow, and pink extension cords
« Reply #140 on: December 20, 2005, 04:13:04 PM »

Ron Hebbard

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Re: The case against orange, blue, yellow, and pink extension cords
« Reply #141 on: December 20, 2005, 05:12:56 PM »

Hello Mike;

Possibly you may want to look at the crimp-on pin terminals on page K30 in the following Thomas & Betts PDF
http://www.tnb.com/contractor/docs/stakon.pdf
I've been using the yellow insulated 10 gauge crimp-on pins on installations for about a decade.

Season's Best & Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard
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Phil Ouellette

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Re: The case against orange, blue, yellow, and pink extension cords
« Reply #142 on: December 21, 2005, 01:02:52 PM »

Ron Hebbard wrote on Tue, 27 September 2005 08:31

David Buckley wrote on Tue, 27 September 2005 13:21

mississippi slim wrote on Tue, 27 September 2005 18:01

Don't be afraid to "tin" the conductor leads before you clamp em down.  Keep it Pro.


I would suggest that is controversial advice.  Arguments rage on, but I'm in the "dont tin" camp.


Hello David;

And I'm in that same "camp" right along with you.
I was just beginning to write a post when I heard you chime in.
I suppose I could go with tinning the very tip but most tinners opt to tin the entire exposed end even to the extent of wicking solder up inside the insulation.

To elaborate;
Tinning hardens the end.
When you clamp it, no matter how tight you make it, all it takes is the slightest loosening to have a totally poor connection.

Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard



It's worse than that. Tinning stranded wire is not reliable with fixed compression type terminations. That includes lug and screw terminals, crimp on terminals and terminals with parallel jaws (like Phoenix connectors).  The only compression type connections that are reliable with solder dipped wire are spring loaded types that maintain a consistent force even if the wire shifts or flows.

The problem is cold flow deformation of the solder.  When you tighten down a screw on a solder tinned wire, the solder initially resists the compression force giving the impression of a tight connection.  Over time, the solder yields to the pressure and a loose connection occurs. You can solder dip wires for soldered connections without creating this problem although it can increase the likelihood of wire breakage in high vibration applications.

Cold flow deformation is one of the reasons why aluminum household wiring has such a bad reputation.  Aluminum is softer than copper and requires special connectors to be reliable http://www.eh.doe.gov/docs/sn/nsh9001.html.  This is the same mechanism that happens when a solder dipped wire is used in fixed compression connections.

Note: Wire where each strand is individually tinned with solder from the vendor is different and works fine in compression connections.
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That's "newbiesque" to my friends.

Mike Butler (media)

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Re: The case against orange, blue, yellow, and pink extension cords
« Reply #143 on: December 23, 2005, 09:49:15 PM »

Phil Ouellette wrote on Wed, 21 December 2005 13:02

The problem is cold flow deformation of the solder.  When you tighten down a screw on a solder tinned wire, the solder initially resists the compression force giving the impression of a tight connection.  Over time, the solder yields to the pressure and a loose connection occurs...
I had that exact problem with banana-plug-terminated speaker cables; every so often I have to retighten the screws. I had thought I was doing a good thing to protect the plain copper conductors from corrosion by tinning them, but wound up replacing that problem with the retightening one.
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