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Spade Connectors, crimpimg tool.

Started by Dan/Panther, November 19, 2008, 05:02:03 PM

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McHeath

I had Scottish pegged as soon as he said he was stripping wire with his teeth, see I crimp mine with my teeth, and my stock wandered over here from Scotland long ago after they ran out of beer and crisps.   ;)

I've tried the re-use it method with some crimps but have had little luck, I'm too ham handed I think.

HobieSport

#16
I'm Scotch-Irish, but that was a few generations ago. Can't say that I crimp with my teeth though...

This shocking news just in:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8180791.stm
-Matt

gpo706

Yeah, yeah, but they didn't deep fry them with chips though did they?

Next they'll be claiming Irn-Bru, or Alexander Graham Bell, who started off all our obbsessive-compulsive interest.

BTW I'm kinda Scottish/Irish/Swedish, so time to get into Ericophones I think.

"now this should take five minutes, where's me screwdriver went now..?"

Stephen Furley

Quote from: gpo706 on August 02, 2009, 08:49:27 PM
Scottish, dude!

just need to like translate some words for you dudes over the pond (dumpster etc).

Anyway maybe US domestic cables are differnet size to UK, after all here its 240V so maybe the wire is thinner!

American sockets are 15, 20, 30 and 50A, so the wires are thicker.  I've never known any electrical system as complicated as the one they have there.  The domestic supply is 240V, but centre tapped, like the 55-0-55V that we use on building sites.  Most things are connected between one of the 'Hot' (live) wires and neutral, but large things like clothes dryers are connected across the two hots at 240V.  120V sockets have vertical blades, 240V ones have horizontal ones; that's for 15A.  20A plugs have one horizontal and one vertical blade and in the US the sockets have one hole 'T' shaped, so they can take both 15A and 20A plugs, but not in Canada, where 20A sockets only take 20A plugs.

When you go to three phase it gets even worse.  It might be 208/120V Wye (star), basically a half-Voltage version of what we have here, or it might be 240V delta, with one phase centre-tapped to provide the 120V either side of neutral, the third phase is at 208V from neutral, and is identified by wrapping orange tape around these wires in the distribution panel.  (I'm not making this up!).  Back to wye systems in industrial systems you often have 480V phase-phase, which works out at 277V phase to neutral.  Many ballasts for discharge lamps are wound for 277V, some are even tapped for quad Voltage, 120, 208, 240 and 277V.  There's also a 347/600V system, though that's rare in the US, it's used more in Canada.  In total, you might find seven 'low' Voltages, 120, 208, 240, 277, 347, 480 and 600V.

Then there are the 'odd' systems which are basically obsolete, but still found occasionally, two phase 90 degree, corner grounded delta, open delta (what the heck is that?).

There are a vast range of plugs.

Two pins:
One hot + one neutral.
Two hot.

Three pins:
One hot + one neutral + ground.
Two hot + neutral.
Two hot + ground.
Three hot.

Four pins:
Two hot + neutral + ground.
Three hot + neutral.
Three hot + ground.

Five pins:
Three hot + neutral + ground.

A normal 120V 15A plug is a Nema 5-15; the 20A one is a Nema 5-20.
A 240V 15A plug is a Nema 6-15, the 20A one is a Nema 6-20.
A 120V 15A plug is a Nema 1-15.
These are the only ones I can remember off-hand, but there are loads of them:

http://www.americord.com/nema-charts/
http://www.interpower.com/ic/NEMA_configs.asp
http://www.voltec-industries.com/nema_chart.html

Note that in addition to the so-called 'straight blade' connectors there are twist-lock versions as well.

How can they make it so complicated!