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Today, I was looking at a Goal Zero Yeti Lithium Portable Power Station as a possible alternative to the needlessly expensive marine inverter/chargers, but these seem every bit as pricy, though they do have some interesting features.
Anyway, it has Anderson Powerpole Connectors for high draw (up to 40 amps) 12 VDC use and though I've noticed them before, here and there, I decided to check them out. After a bit of research, it seems as though these would be a much better alternative to cigarette lighter plugs and the marine exterior round pronged receptacles and plugs now available.
They seem to have more contact surface area and appear to be large enough to clean inside the female receptacle contact area. The contacts are tinned and they even have a receptacle that's "Weather resistant rubber cover protects & seals connectors" for exterior use that can't be much less Weather resistant than the external marine receptacles of any type I know! I'm of a mind to replace every other 12 VDC receptacle on the boat with these!
Does anyone have anything negative to say about these electrical connectors?"
After I recently repaired my boats wash down pump I used the Anderson Power Poles for the power leads. This will make trouble shooting and replacement easier in the future.
I will also be using them on a new VHF and pump installations this season too.
A couple of minuses to Anderson PowerPoles. First, you really really want to buy THEIR crimping tool. Nothing else will just simply and reliably make a crimp that fits neatly into the plastic housing.
Second, they can be a bit fragile. Don't step on a wire terminated with PowerPoles, they may crack.
And they can be a bit insecure. They can pull out of each other easily. Anderson has snap connectors that go over two sides to "tie" them together, but they're a bit inconvenient.
Still and all...they work very well. There are a lot of optional buts and fittings (splitters, weathercaps, bulkhead fittings, etc.) that aren't widely advertised. And the SMALL PowerPoles can take 15/30/40 amp contacts inside them, three capacities in the same shell size so for a few cents more--use the higher power ones and just make them all the same. There are also roll pins that you insert between a + and - plug in order to pin the two together so they don't slide apart.
But they don't corrode, they don't overheat, they do a very good job. You'll still need some ciggy sockets for guests and hardwired gear, but for dedicated stuff the PowerPoles have earned a reputation for being pretty solid performers.
And, they're available in many colors and MUCH higher capacity larger sizes.
Amazing timing. I was just ten minutes ago googling the Anderson SB50. I want to re-wire my 24-volt 50 amp trolling motor and that really looks like the go-to connector.
I found a place online that will build me a nice 6 AWG cable with rings on one end and an SB50 on the other end, for quite a reasonable price.
I'll still need to connect another SB50 to the leads from my motor. I don't particularly want a buy an expensive crimper to make two connections. Is there a way around that?
Minne-
Yes, you can use other crimping tools of whatever looks "close". Or even a needlenose plier and some finessing, or simply soldering the wires into the contacts. Some folks worry the solder will melt if there's a heavy overload. And the other crimpers (or heavy solder) can leave it hard to push the contact home into the housing.
But it CAN be done any of those ways, just some attention to the physical sizing. And order a couple of spare contacts, just in case something slips.
I’ve been using PowerPole connectors in relatively awful outdoor conditions for amateur radio and experimental mobile robotics gear for ages. The only problems I’ve had are shell failure of the small connectors when subjected to extreme blunt force, and some crimp failures before I got a better controlled-cycle crimp tool with the correct contact dies. I’m going to be tackling some wiring projects on the boat soon, and plan to make good use of them.
I use a small zip tie to keep the small shell connections mated. Easy to remove if needed, but plenty secure for most uses. Powerwerx sells a great variety of parts, premade adapters, pigtails, junction boxes, etc.
Jonathan
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