Battery Jacks

[Vietti]

Some of my IC engine models have onboard electric starters. I'm looking for color coded jacks or connections that can be attached to the model and then plugged into a corresponding jack carrying 12 volts from the battery. The amperage is pretty high'.

Does anyone know of a source for jacks that will work and look good??

 

[peterl95124]

I've been using the type of molex connector used in RC model cars and trucks, works but sure looks crappy

 

[krypto]

The electric RC people and HAM's optimized low voltage, high amperage connectors awhile ago. Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder, however.

Anderson PowerPoles are supposed to be high quality, but I think you need a special crimper for installation. I've never used them.

I currently use Dean's Connectors for my planes and charger adapters as years ago they were the only cheap and reliable high current connector with polarity. They have usability issues and wouldn't really recommend them nowadays.

The XT60 largely replaced the Dean's connectors in the marketplace and almost all the RC stuff from China seems to use them. They are cheap and can pass a lot of current without melting.

 

[Vietti]

Thanks Crypto, order on the way

John

 

[Scott_M]

XT 60 is also available in Panel Mount versions. A quick search turned this up on Amazon
XT60 Panel mount

Scott

 

[petertha]

Concur with the recommendation for XT-60 (or -30 or -90 depending on your continuous amp duty which is what the number stands for). They seem to be the predominant standard these days so long as the biggish plug housing doesn't offend you or have space limitations. They can be a bit of fun to unplug with slippery fingers & until they break in & loosen up. Soldering is straightforward with the half cut ends. Tin that area first & also the wire, then solder the joint itself ideally with just heat so there is minimal iron dwell time. Plug in the opposing plug half while soldering which helps stabilize the assembly. The plastic housing is pretty heat resistant but it can soften & drift the pins out of alignment if too much iron dwell time. Contrary to a lots of lousy YouTube videos, use wider tip iron with some thermal mass like my trusty cheapo Weller 40 watt 1/4" chisel tip. You want higher heat flow & short dwell time, not wimpy heat for long duration. The bullet terminals are marked +/- just for standardization reference, but its the wires themselves are what convey polarity color. And of course the plug can only go together one way to prevent Darwin smoke.

Funny you mention Anderson Powerpoles. I have a bunch of AP harnesses, power distribution bars... all kinds of stuff dating over 20 years & they are bulletproof. But beware of clones that are kinda-close but kinda-not. Best to get them from a dealer like Digikey or Mouser & check because they sell the metal spade contacts separately unless you get a kit. And yes they require a special crimper. I bought a clone for about $50 in the day. Just for entertainment look up Anderson crimper. Its like 400-500$. Yes, I thought surely slipped a decimal. WTF.

Reasonable AP prices/qty & accessories & crimp tool
https://www.westmountainradio.com/
I just bought these XT-60's with a more aesthetic end cap housing but still good idea to use heat shrink over the soldered bullet. As mentoned they also sell panel mount plugs, male & female, dust covers & other niceties.

 

[Leonardo]

Do not forget the old and trusty Aviation Connectors.
Depending on the size and the number of pins they can carry a good amount of current.
They may look bulky but are metallic, water proof, heat resistant and look quite nice.

Here is a link to a blog that describe they:
https://blog.elecbee.com/aviation-connector-gx-connector/

 

[krypto]

You are exactly correct on your soldering technique. I was taught to "throw the heat to it" and not screw around when soldering electrical connections. Like you, I mainly use a chisel point tip for maximum heat transfer.

One of my better tool investments was when I bought a Weller WES51 soldering station with active heat control. Power switch, temp knob and LED lamp for the UI. Continuous LED display for iron warm-up, blinky LED display for at-temp and LED off for cool down. It takes about half a minute to reach temp from cold.

Active soldering irons like the WES51 are really nice when working with the thick wire used with these high current connectors as they automatically ramp-up the heating element power as needed to maintain tip temperature and therefore quickly heat the solder joint.

Quality crimp connectors like the PowerPoles work great but it can be expensive to tool-up with the crimper and the connectors themselves usually aren't cheap. You can buy knock-offs of the popular connectors, but more often than not they suck. Case in point, for "regular" crimp connections like spade or ring I use the nice 3M crimps with the heatshrink insulators. Just bought a cheap assortment of these connectors thinking by now they gotten good are knocking them off, but, nope, they are still much inferior.

 

[bluejets]

I just bought these XT-60's

Also XT-90 are available, as well as 3 pin and panel sockets.
Look for online video tips on how to solder to these mothers and it might save you some heartache.

 

[Steamchick]

Vietti, I suggest you investigate the technical documentation for the starter motors to determine the current drawn, then double it for the initial srge, and buy a rating of wire and plug to suit. Just so you buy the right size. Like shoes and trousers, but not girlfriends, size matters.
K2

 

[Shopgeezer]

The curse of the battery connector. There are too many of them. My battery collection has 4 or 5 different non-compatible makes. The battery has to connect to the motor controller in the airplane and manufacturers refuse to get together on any sort of standards. Thus the constant soldering exercise of making adapter cables. I have a lot of the blue EC 3 connectors which are a pain to solder since they use separate pins that have to be inserted into the plastic housing. Most batteries came with EC ends but there seems to be a switch to the XT style. These are easier to solder up but the heavy wire and copper pins in the connector body overwhelm my soldering station. I have gone to a mini torch. Tin the pins and wires and just a quick touch of the torch joins them. Of course holding the connector and wires and torch all at the same time and correct position is another thing. I have many rather unsuccessful jigs for this.

 

[Steamchick]

Shopgeezer- understand theproblem. Needs a trained octopus!

 

[petertha]

I have gone to a mini torch. Tin the pins and wires and just a quick touch of the torch joins them. Of course holding the connector and wires and torch all at the same time and correct position is another thing.

That sounds overly complicated & high probability of softening/melting things that should not see heat. I must be in the thousands now of soldered bullet connectors, interconnect wires, cells, motors, ESCs, even cell-to-cell soldering back in the day using copper hammerhead tip... All with an inexpensive 40 watt 1/4" tip Weller iron. What makes this work in these call it 14-10 AWG range applications is the mass of the copper tip. Its not the same as a 40 watt iron with a skinny tip. Proper heat & short dwell time is the key & if required some kind of hands off 'fixturing' to keep things aligned. Often times I will just Kapton tape parts to a soldering board which can be any heat resistant scrap. I also have a higher end Hakko soldering station for smaller electronics work the Weller is not suitable for, I think it's 80 watts, temperature modulated etc. But even with the largest tip I still prefer the Weller.

https://www.amazon.ca/Weller-SP40NK...1980468&sprefix=weller+40+watt,aps,129&sr=8-3
https://www.amazon.ca/Weller-120V-S...1980494&sprefix=weller+60+watt,aps,117&sr=8-3

 

[Shopgeezer]

As you say dwell time is critical. The torch is very fast so I (mostly) avoid damaging the plastic parts. I have done far more damage holding a soldering iron to a pin waiting for the solder to soften. Everything gets hot, except the solder. Not sure I could get a large tip on a soldering iron in to the small spaces I usually have to work in. But I have little experience and less skill at getting metal of any kind to stick together.