Can someone tell me where I can buy, or at least what the name of those "Lucar connectors on steroids" are that my immersion heater is connected with? Other than removing the one I haven't lost and waving it under the nose of the storeman at the local 'leccy place, I can't think of any way of buying another...
Bare:-
But if they are the pre-insulated crimp type any electrical wholesaler should have them - but you may well have to buy a packet.
Thanks for that, and I shall file the URL away for future reference, but what I'm talking about is much heavier duty than that and has a screw terminal for the supply wire. I used one of the type in the URL, but it's not man enough for the job, keeps working loose (thermal cycling, I guess), overheating and tripping the over-temperature trip.
Strange - I'd have thought parts of a car as hostile an environment, with currents much higher than an immersion. What width blade does the connector fit?
Bare in mind the terminals are heated hotter by conduction than is normally acceptable, before you even take into account any heating due to contact resistance and current flow.
Having said that, I don't think I've ever seen blade connectors on an immersion heater. Just looked at mine, and one has a screw terminal spot welded on, and the other has a short flex (to the stat) terminated in a bootlace ferule spot welded on.
I'd have thought an alternator could get pretty hot - and they used them on those.
Same here- they've all been screw connections. Don't see the point in having plug on ones.
It looks like a standard automotive Lucar (spade) connector. Certainly, the female connectors from my collection fit easily enough. They just fall off after a couple of days, though, no matter how tightly I fix them on. I'm considering drilling a hole in the spade and putting a bolt through.
My experience is likely why. I'd take a phot, but I haven't got a suitable lens. I'm considering ripping the whole damn thing out and starting again...
There are actually several widths - but the common one is 6.3mm. Smaller ones are used for things like speakers - larger ones for high current connections.
I'd say the heaviest duty ones you'd find are good quality pre-insulated types - they seem to be made out of thicker sheet than the non insulated variety. But not all of these red blue and yellow connectors are made to the same standard. I'd use ones from a decent wholesaler.
But a screw connection is the standard for immersions so if you can modify it to that satisfactorily it could be the way to go. Perhaps by using decent ring terminals to get the maximum contact area.
Looks like the larger type, then.
These came from RS. I'll leave it up to you to decide if they're a "decent wholesaler"... :o)
My thought exactly. I have some of those, also.
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