Connect 10AWG battery cable to XT60 connector

[Charlie.]

Hey guys,

I am trying to connect my 3S lipo batteries to an XT60 connector to use on my quad, but the wires are huge! I have seen elsewhere that some people join the 10AWG wire to 12AWG wire and the solder the 12AWG to the XT60. Is there any disadvantages to this method? can it damage the battery in some way or reduce power to the multicopter?

I have attempted this but my soldering skills are quite laughable and here is all I could come up with:View attachment 9401

Do you think it would work like this? Obviously I will shrink wrap it if I am given the go ahead. Should I do somehting differently?

Please reply ASAP with your suggestions
Thanks

 

[Bartman]

Hey guys,

I am trying to connect my 3S lipo batteries to an XT60 connector to use on my quad, but the wires are huge! I have seen elsewhere that some people join the 10AWG wire to 12AWG wire and the solder the 12AWG to the XT60. Is there any disadvantages to this method? can it damage the battery in some way or reduce power to the multicopter?

I have attempted this but my soldering skills are quite laughable and here is all I could come up with:View attachment 12119

Do you think it would work like this? Obviously I will shrink wrap it if I am given the go ahead. Should I do somehting differently?

Please reply ASAP with your suggestions
Thanks

if you really believe that 12 ga is ok, run the 12ga teeth from a wire stripper over your 10 ga to knock the diameter down. what you have in that picture isn't exactly acceptable. at the very least overlap the wires (neatly) and run the solder over the seam.

where do you live?

bart

 

[Charlie.]

Thanks for your reply,

I will try to do what you suggest later.

I live in the UK by the way.

Thanks again,
Charlie

 

[OneStopRC]

I soldered direct to the XT60 connectors, you need a good hot iron to do it. Tinning your work, always helps...

 

[Charlie.]

Thanks Deanot, so would you tin the wire first and then fill the XT60 connector pin with solder and then push the 10AWG wire in as far as it will go? Did you cut off any wire to make it fit?

 

[OneStopRC]

I tinned both the wire and the plug, make sure you get both real hot and the solder flows into the wire and into the XT60 plugs, then heat up and join, pushing the wire into the connector. It will get hot, but the plug will be fine.

The attached image is of a bad joint, avoid doing the below.

 

[DucktileMedia]

Another little tip, for any connectors using a lot of heat....attach the other end to the connector as to help keep the plastic from melting and moving the prongs. The extra material can not only help dissipate heat but also keeps the prongs aligned while the plastic cools. I have had this issue before and just decided to cut off the minimal amount of strands to make it fit. Tinning is normally a good idea but in this case it makes it really hard to get a tight fit. Plus, you will have so much heat built up you shouldnt have any issues flowing solder. With any soldering always make sure the solder is wetting out. That means to look at the visible areas around the wire and see that the wire is hot enough to flow solder into all the little voids, not just connect a blob where you touch the soldering iron too.

Another tip for joining thick wires is to not twist them after stripping and try to push them into each other end to end. Sometimes you can get them to relax where you pushed them enough to solder them. Other times you need to use a soldering vice or a spring to hold them in place.

 

[Charlie.]

Thanks for your replies!

Is it possible to damage the battery by heating up one of the wires for too long?

Thanks,
Charlie

 

[OneStopRC]

If your iron is a good one, you should not be on it too long. Heat can transfer down the wire, but you really don't want to heat the battery up... not good. How many watts is your iron?

 

[Charlie.]

This is the iron I bought:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/360453396919?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

 

[OneStopRC]

50 Watt should work, just turn it up some to get the solder to flow. What solder did you get? DO NOT USE ACID FLUX... it will eat your wires and trash anything metallic.... I really do not know why people have that junk around.. lol

 

[krleas]

Get XT90 for 10AWG

 

[OneStopRC]

Wow, I did not know they made such a thing..... http://www.progressiverc.com/xt90-connectors-2-pairs.html?gclid=CK65stiuoLUCFQyDnQodQgkA3Q

 

[bruce365]

Hi Charlie, I soldered my 10 guage battery wire to my XT60s' by tinning the wire end (do one at a time so there is no chance of shorting out the battery), then carefully ground a slight taper at the tinned end until the wire was small enough in dia to fit into the xt60 and soldered them together (the xt60 was also tinned of course). Good advice previously mentioned is to join connectors (male female) before soldering to maintain alignment of the pins otherwise the xt60s' can be a difficult to join or seperate.
Reghards - bruce

 

[gtranquilla]

Looks like a good soldering iron system c/w temperature control and replaceable tips. Just use the larger flat sided tips to transfer heat more rapidly..... the small pointed tips are only for fine pcb and/or smt work.
Tinning the tip immediately before applying the tip to to copper wire will also help the heat to conduct more rapidly.

 

[Bluerex]

I realise this is a bit off topic - but I swapped all my connectors to Anderson Power Poles. While these are rated at 45A (i.e.. 45 amps being drawn while plugging together - most people are not drawing that while attaching their batteries) they can carry 200A happily. The best bit is the crimper that makes super solid connections without any soldering.

http://www.andersonpower.com/products/singlepole-connectors.html

C

 

[Charlie.]

Thanks for all your advice guys, I will start my build this weekend! My 9XR transmitter still hasn't come yet though! I might buy one on eBay and then sell mine when I get it so that I can use it sooner! lol

 

[Arcolog2]

Good Day,

I ordered some 4s 30c 5000mAh batteries and planned to put XT60's on them for my f550. They came with 8awg wire! My 6s 30c batteries only have 10awg and I have XT60's soldered on them.

I know it feels like it would be way too big to fit the 8awg in there, should I really swap everything out? Dont really want to. My other thought was to solder XT90's onto the batteries and make some XT60-XT90 adapters.

Let us know how it goes for you Charlie!

 

[WillM]

I would stick with the smaller connector (XT60). I'd do what Bartman suggested, when you strip the wire for soldering, use the teeth of one of the smaller gauges. Try 10, and if that doesn't fit the XT60, go with 8. You are only 'cutting down' the diameter of the wire just before the solder joint, so trimming it down is rather insignificant.

I use EC3 connectors, which are bullet-type, the diameter of the wires HAVE to fit into bullet. I've trimmed the tip of heavier gauge wires to fit EC3's several times without issue.

The most important part is a solid and complete soldered connection between the wire and the connector. You are infinitely better off with reducing the wire size (by cutting away some strands) and achieving a proper solder joint, than you would be if you kept the wire totally intact and settled for a messy/crappy solder joint.

 

[helloman1976]

Hey guys,

I am trying to connect my 3S lipo batteries to an XT60 connector to use on my quad, but the wires are huge! I have seen elsewhere that some people join the 10AWG wire to 12AWG wire and the solder the 12AWG to the XT60. Is there any disadvantages to this method? can it damage the battery in some way or reduce power to the multicopter?

I have attempted this but my soldering skills are quite laughable and here is all I could come up with:View attachment 12119

Do you think it would work like this? Obviously I will shrink wrap it if I am given the go ahead. Should I do somehting differently?

Please reply ASAP with your suggestions
Thanks

I just tonight put XT60 connectors on my new Eagle Tree V4 150A elogger. The wires on that thing were HUGE, probably 6 or 8 gauge. If needed, I trim some wire off so that they fit snug in the connectors. If I can, I twist the wire to try to get it to slide into the XT60 hole and if you can do that then you can solder the wire while it's in the XT60, that bond is SUPER strong. Make sure your iron is pretty hot, 33-35Wish or around there should work...too hot and you'll melt the plastic and the gold pins will move...no good, start over. Make sure there's plenty of solder in the XT60 hole and in the wire itself, this is where the heat helps. Make sure to heat shrink it, you need to put this on BEFORE you solder. I have 8 gauge on deans connectors using this method from 5 years ago. Hope that helps! These bonds are SUPER strong, I can't pull them apart with a good 15lbs of force.