I have #1, 2, 3, 4 and 3/0 cable, this is 600V welding cable, good insulation, very fine strand. Anyone interested in full spools? It turns out I have over 10 full 500' spools.

No, 1-0 cable?

nope, figures

Go with a good quality marine grade tinned cable. Don't use regular welding cable. If you are using the cable ends that crimp, Crimp Them, then add the solder. Nothing beats a good mechanical connection. Also, slide a peice of heat shrink with the hot melt glue in it over the end to help seal it. Soldered joints can react with salt water. I believe Anchor makes battery clamps out of a different alloy than regular car ones. I never saw them in a store, but I saw them in a boating Mag.

Liberator, yes absolutely crimp and solder, solder is never meant to replace a good mechanical connection. Also the heat/melt shrink is additional insurance.

Guys, I do agree that tinned cable is the best, but I can say that I had welding cable on my boat for 20 years, lots of saltwater with no problem. I think the battery acid is more of an issue than salt water. From a practical standpoint has has anybody actually had a failure using welldng cable that has been properly connected?

Dave, I gotta go with Liberator 21 on his recomendation. You can get everything he mentioned at Boat U.S. from their catalogue or at one of their stores. I just did it last spring and you definitely want to crimp and solder!! Cable is sold by the foot and it's not cheap, check your measurements twice. If you ever get to Milwaukee, the S. 76th Street store had everything. Don't forget the stainless steel cushion clamps to secure the cable in the engine compartment. I have the crimping tool if you want to borrow it. Steve

I have been making custom cables for auto HD truck and marine apps for about twenty years. We use welding cable only, tin plated solid copper ends, crimp only, no solder, use shrinks with the sticky stuff inside.
We sell these day in day out, no problems. If you crimp them right you can tow a car with them! I don't like solder because of the extra labor cost with no benefit.

Take some measurements and go to a auto electrical shop. They can probably make them while you wait. We do. Oh, make sure thay use red shrinks on pos and black on neg since most welding cable is black.

Steve H

You have to be carefull with what solder you use. Flux is acidic and it can cause corrosion if you use the wrong stuff. Silver Solder is the best.

Jon

Hey Dave I tried to PM ya but your mailbox is full.

Jon

battery cables
 

I have manufactured and sold and designed cable assemblies of all types for over thirty years. There are several factors to consider when choosing how to make the heavy duty connections discussed here.

I would always choose a tin plated, swedged ( crimp ) style connection for high amperage loads. You will need a very heavy duty tool for this if using #2 through 2/0. I would also use color coded ( black/red ) HD thick wall glue type heatshrink for easy reference on all terminals. Where possible I would like to use tinned conductors. That is, tin plated strands of high strand wire. Welding cable is high strand count but is not my choice for marine applications. Welding cable outer covering is not considered extreme duty. Tin plating will resist corrosion ten times better than non tinned wire. The cable I use for ultimate severe duty is ENT, as in entertainment cable or sometimes called "stage cable". The covering on ENT is substantially more resistive to a harsh environment and cutting and retains it's elasticity better when old.

For the ultimate cables use ENT and heavy duty tin plated crimp connections with all terminals covered with HD heatshrink. Welding cable is not bad but is not as good as ENT.

My .02 worth.