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holdmyhand avatar image
holdmyhand asked

Are wire ferrules acceptable for use with Victon products?

Are wire ferrules such as this one pictured at https://www.asi-ez.com/pix/prod/Red-Ferrule-50-PERPack_org.jpg acceptable for use when wiring the larger input and output connections on Victron products featuring screw terminals such as the SmartSolar MPPT Charge Controllers?

Although the manuals for these products specifiy the type of copper conductors/stranding to be used with these connections, they do not mention the commonly used wire ferrules which often find use with finely stranded wires.


The Victron "Wiring Unlimited" book mentions ferrules a single time when it describes their utility in creating a "tidy wiring job", but does not shed light on whether they are recommended or prohibited for use with the abovementioned MPPT Charge controller screw terminals.


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3 Answers
Alexandra avatar image
Alexandra answered ·

@HoldMyHand

Using ferrules we base our useage on clamp type.

The rising clamp you can use bare wires, make sure there are no flyaways. There will be awesome contact.

I have seen guys use ferrules, but also have seen bad contact and heat (which means extra resistance) when using ferrules. So some times the thing you try to avoid can be the thing you and up with. The other thing the use of ferrules does is affect terminal torque (I have then seen guys over tighten) as the ferrule cannot be compressed the same way bare wires are.

The ferrules do help with avoiding clamping on the insulation (brought up in the wiring book) which is also another common install error. So I guess there is a for and against arguments there.

And the screw type use ferrules as they tend to cut the fine strands.

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peter-roach-jr avatar image
peter-roach-jr answered ·

I tried using ferrules however the metal part was too short for the Victron Cerbo and 140GX terminals. The plastic on the ferrules kept them from inserting all of the way and they would pop out of the connection.

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wkirby avatar image wkirby ♦♦ commented ·

Yes, the 8mm ferrules will be too short for this type of connector. Make sure you use the 12mm ones like these:

https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/bootlace-ferrules/2503422

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Warwick Bruce Chapman avatar image Warwick Bruce Chapman wkirby ♦♦ commented ·

And if wiring in a capacitor as well 0.75mm2 is too tight, need to buy 1.0mm2 with the 12.0mm pin length: https://za.rs-online.com/web/p/bootlace-ferrules/1787305/


Note the length that Warwick is referring to above is the pin length not the entire length of the bootlace ferrule.

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Peter Van Tienen avatar image
Peter Van Tienen answered ·

Which crimper did you use here? I have tried box and hex but they don't seem to work.

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