Posted: 9/13/2014 9:11:24 PM EDT
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I've done a few of these now, and they're a WHOLE lot cheaper to build than to buy. Here are the basic parts:
Four pairs of 30 amp Anderson Power Poles -- the 30 amp Power Poles fit on 10 ga wire perfectly Eight pieces of 10 ga solid insulated wire about 2 1/2" long Two four-way connectors for 10 ga wire (Home Depot) 
Strip one end of each wire and solder on the 30 amp power pole "tongue". Assemble the connectors into pairs. 
Strip the other end of the four wires that will go into the middle holes in each Home Depot connector. Set the pairs of Power Poles side-by-side and bend the wires coming from the top and bottom pairs to align with the holes in the connectors. 
Trim the top and bottom pairs of wires to the same length as the middle pairs. Strip the ends that will go into the Home Depot connectors. 
Push the Home Depot connectors onto the wires, one for the red side and one for the black side. I always put a drop of super glue between the Home Depot connectors just to secure them. 
This was a fun little project. If you're like me, you're always looking for Power Pole connectors and blocks. |
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Very cool, thanks for sharing! Do you happen to have a manufacturer's name and part number for the 10 gauge connectors? I haven't seen them before. Here's a link to the 100-pack. HD does have smaller bags as well. I'm sure that Lowe's and many other fine retailers also have them. Wire Nut |
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Excellent write up! A few questions:
Any idea what the current capacity of this setup is? At least safe enough to run 100W HF rigs at full power? Is it possible to crimp the Powerpole connectors on to solid wire? I solder like a 5-year-old and usually use a Tri-Crimp to get things connected. Thanks for any info! |
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Excellent write up! A few questions: Any idea what the current capacity of this setup is? At least safe enough to run 100W HF rigs at full power? Is it possible to crimp the Powerpole connectors on to solid wire? I solder like a 5-year-old and usually use a Tri-Crimp to get things connected. Thanks for any info! I would think the weak link in this will be the push connector. 12ga at the length we are looking at should easily be able to do 30+ amps. My HF rig at 100watts only sucks up about 17a. Either way I'll let you know. I picked up push nuts for 12ga at Lowes this Morning and I think I have some 12 Romex at the house. |
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Excellent write up! A few questions: Any idea what the current capacity of this setup is? At least safe enough to run 100W HF rigs at full power? Is it possible to crimp the Powerpole connectors on to solid wire? I solder like a 5-year-old and usually use a Tri-Crimp to get things connected. Thanks for any info! Easily enough for a 100 watt rig. I'm using one of my IC-7200 and have no heat issues at all. The 10 ga. connectors are rated for 30 amps at 120 volts. ETA: There's a fair amount of contact surface on the lower pad of the connector and enough metal between them to carry a reasonable current. 
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The 10 ga. connectors are rated for 30 amps at 120 volts.
ETA: There's a fair amount of contact surface on the lower pad of the connector and enough metal between them to carry a reasonable current. Actually, the 15, 30, and 45 amp size Powerpoles all carry the same amount of current at the contacts. The difference among them is the size of wire they are made to accept. But the contacts themselves all carry the same current. For just about anything in a ham radio rig it's a non-issue. |
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Actually, the 15, 30, and 45 amp size Powerpoles all carry the same amount of current at the contacts. The difference among them is the size of wire they are made to accept. But the contacts themselves all carry the same current. For just about anything in a ham radio rig it's a non-issue. Quoted:
The 10 ga. connectors are rated for 30 amps at 120 volts.
ETA: There's a fair amount of contact surface on the lower pad of the connector and enough metal between them to carry a reasonable current. Actually, the 15, 30, and 45 amp size Powerpoles all carry the same amount of current at the contacts. The difference among them is the size of wire they are made to accept. But the contacts themselves all carry the same current. For just about anything in a ham radio rig it's a non-issue. Agreed. I was speaking about the carrying capacity of the Home Depot wire nuts and their construction. I would be very surprised if a device designed for household wiring using 10 ga wire, nominally a 30 amp circuit for a furnace, cook top, or air conditioner, would even notice the relative trickle of power needed by a ham radio. |
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I was speaking about the carrying capacity of the Home Depot wire nuts and their construction. This was specifically what I was concerned about, but I'm gathering they're 100% good to go. I may or may not be driving by a Home Depot today to pick up some 8-terminal nuts myself... I'm still interested in if you can crimp the 10ga solid wire in the 30a Powerpole terminals with a TRIcrimp ratcheting tool without damaging anything, and if so, if that connection will be physically strong enough to avoid being pulled out. Thanks for any info! |
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This was specifically what I was concerned about, but I'm gathering they're 100% good to go. I may or may not be driving by a Home Depot today to pick up some 8-terminal nuts myself... I'm still interested in if you can crimp the 10ga solid wire in the 30a Powerpole terminals with a TRIcrimp ratcheting tool without damaging anything, and if so, if that connection will be physically strong enough to avoid being pulled out. Thanks for any info! Quoted:
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I was speaking about the carrying capacity of the Home Depot wire nuts and their construction. This was specifically what I was concerned about, but I'm gathering they're 100% good to go. I may or may not be driving by a Home Depot today to pick up some 8-terminal nuts myself... I'm still interested in if you can crimp the 10ga solid wire in the 30a Powerpole terminals with a TRIcrimp ratcheting tool without damaging anything, and if so, if that connection will be physically strong enough to avoid being pulled out. Thanks for any info! 10 ga wire just fits into the 30 amp Power Pole. I don't think that you could get a good crimp and still insert the metal tongue into the plastic housing. I also like to solder when I can to reduce the possibility of a bare wire coming out and making contact with something I don't want it to. |
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...I was speaking about the carrying capacity of the Home Depot wire nuts and their construction. I would be very surprised if a device designed for household wiring using 10 ga wire, nominally a 30 amp circuit for a furnace, cook top, or air conditioner, would even notice the relative trickle of power needed by a ham radio. I would hope a connector made for 10 ga wire would carry the current of a 10 ga wire (okay it looks as though they are designed for 12 ga wire) - but remember to think in Amps. The way I would look at it is a 1500W load at 120V is ~12.5A vs. 17-20A at 12V for a 100W rig at full power. These ought to be able to do that, but measuring voltage drop across the connections at load will tell you what's going on inside pretty quick. (I tend to be just a bit leery of newfangled stuff sometimes, remembering how well aluminum house wiring worked out in the '70s, among other things. This looks like a product tailor made for builders wanting to save a buck and it just may warrant some testing.) |
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I was always under the impression that it's best to use stranded wire so the connector can flex a little I tried stranded and the connectors didn't hold as well. A little twisting and they came right apart. I'm guessing that the strands compressed as they were twisted and that light jaw lost its grip. |
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I tried stranded and the connectors didn't hold as well. A little twisting and they came right apart. I'm guessing that the strands compressed as they were twisted and that light jaw lost its grip. Quoted:
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I was always under the impression that it's best to use stranded wire so the connector can flex a little I tried stranded and the connectors didn't hold as well. A little twisting and they came right apart. I'm guessing that the strands compressed as they were twisted and that light jaw lost its grip. I built up some power blocks and used 14 GA wire and 45 amp contacts 14 Ga is rated at 32 amps for chassis wiring if you run 2 leads to each terminal then the wire is rated over the rating of the terminal 
You could do the same and elimate the wire nut |
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I built up some power blocks and used 14 GA wire and 45 amp contacts 14 Ga is rated at 32 amps for chassis wiring if you run 2 leads to each terminal then the wire is rated over the rating of the terminal http://i1333.photobucket.com/albums/w623/mrharry64/Power%20Block/PowerBlock_zps660e485e.jpg Nicely done. How did you make the cutouts and secure the Powerpoles in the block? Here's my redneck version 
I'm not a ham guy, I use this to run a few circuits in my RV. Very low amperage system, well under 10 a. Anyone have good way of measuring voltage loss across Powerpole connectors? I have Powerpoles in a couple of the circuits in my solar electric system, I've noticed they heat up under relatively heavy loads. I plan on removing them, but might be interesting to measure the voltage loss before I do. |
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I tried stranded and the connectors didn't hold as well. A little twisting and they came right apart. I'm guessing that the strands compressed as they were twisted and that light jaw lost its grip. Quoted:
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I was always under the impression that it's best to use stranded wire so the connector can flex a little I tried stranded and the connectors didn't hold as well. A little twisting and they came right apart. I'm guessing that the strands compressed as they were twisted and that light jaw lost its grip. Looks like these are screw terminals? With screw terminals it's a good idea to retighten them shortly after you install them, they'll have an initial loosening up period. I check on mine periodically, the second tightening definitely helps. I use stranded wire for everything. I also prefer crimping vs. soldering, but to each their own. I have ratcheting crimping pliers for Powerpoles, they were awesome before they broke (one of the internal pins snapped). Now I use cheap Harbor Freight crimping pliers for Powerpoles, which works fine, though the ratcheting crimper was easier and more consistent. I didn't have great luck soldering Powerpoles, the contacts are awfully soft, and with higher amp applications there's a concern about solder flowing. Plus I suck at soldering. Crimping is much faster and easier for me. |
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Nicely done. How did you make the cutouts and secure the Powerpoles in the block? ---snip--- Quoted:
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I built up some power blocks and used 14 GA wire and 45 amp contacts 14 Ga is rated at 32 amps for chassis wiring if you run 2 leads to each terminal then the wire is rated over the rating of the terminal http://i1333.photobucket.com/albums/w623/mrharry64/Power%20Block/PowerBlock_zps660e485e.jpg Nicely done. How did you make the cutouts and secure the Powerpoles in the block? ---snip--- I used a small CNC mill. They are press fit and have a wire between the layers holding them in. They are a bit of work to make |
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I built up some power blocks and used 14 GA wire and 45 amp contacts 14 Ga is rated at 32 amps for chassis wiring if you run 2 leads to each terminal then the wire is rated over the rating of the terminal http://i1333.photobucket.com/albums/w623/mrharry64/Power%20Block/PowerBlock_zps660e485e.jpg You could do the same and elimate the wire nut Quoted:
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I was always under the impression that it's best to use stranded wire so the connector can flex a little I tried stranded and the connectors didn't hold as well. A little twisting and they came right apart. I'm guessing that the strands compressed as they were twisted and that light jaw lost its grip. I built up some power blocks and used 14 GA wire and 45 amp contacts 14 Ga is rated at 32 amps for chassis wiring if you run 2 leads to each terminal then the wire is rated over the rating of the terminal http://i1333.photobucket.com/albums/w623/mrharry64/Power%20Block/PowerBlock_zps660e485e.jpg You could do the same and elimate the wire nut Very nicely done.  I have neither the skills nor the equipment to anything close to that.
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Very nicely done. I have neither the skills nor the equipment to anything close to that.Quoted:
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I was always under the impression that it's best to use stranded wire so the connector can flex a little I tried stranded and the connectors didn't hold as well. A little twisting and they came right apart. I'm guessing that the strands compressed as they were twisted and that light jaw lost its grip. I built up some power blocks and used 14 GA wire and 45 amp contacts 14 Ga is rated at 32 amps for chassis wiring if you run 2 leads to each terminal then the wire is rated over the rating of the terminal http://i1333.photobucket.com/albums/w623/mrharry64/Power%20Block/PowerBlock_zps660e485e.jpg You could do the same and elimate the wire nut Very nicely done. I have neither the skills nor the equipment to anything close to that.But the connection then in a look would work fine for you |
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Mr Harry, show us a picture of the front. You should start a small business and make these for sale. Quoted:
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I used a small CNC mill. They are press fit and have a wire between the layers holding them in. They are a bit of work to make Mr Harry, show us a picture of the front. You should start a small business and make these for sale. 
I made a handful of them sold two than kept the rest They are a lot of work to make and I think you could drive a truck over them. |