Is Lifepo4 A Fire Risk?! How To Make Safe Battery Connections.

A lot has been said about the risk of building our own batteries. The biggest risk involved is in making poor connections. Let's talk a bit about that. Making correct joints and crimps and torquing our terminals correctly is important. I also discover the dirty trick played on me by the battery cell supplier when they sent me brass busbars instead of copper. Next time maybe we need to address wire sizes and fusing and breakers. Let's keep it safe y'all.

[JeepTJay]

I am now 10 fold more paranoid about the battery bank I built 😂. Time to go back and redo some stuff. Thank you for explaining all this in a way us novices out here can understand. And thank you for not drowning it in cheesy background music. This is one LEGIT presentation.

[RayBuildsCoolStuff]

I misspoke in the video when I said the copper busbars were equivalent to 1/0 copper wire. I meant to say 1 gauge. Not a huge difference but I wanted to note the correction.

[RussellHank-tt]

I'm glad that people like you and the majority of YouTube CCs are trying to make it clear why solder joints are not a good long-term means of carrying the amperage that the conductor is capable of.

[amilww]

I was really impressed to see what actually a "gas tight joint" is.

Thanks a lot!

[CraigGerdes]

I love the video. I just found the channel. I'm building some small lithium stuff for car audio, but as a professional mostly commercial plumber who takes pride in their work I feel the same way about my work. So many good values shared in this video when it comes to approaching any work. I'll be watching more, and learning.

[pekaas]

Ray!...i believe the fact that u are very able to teach young generation of electricians.
Beside of your knowledge u have also another virtue...to be patient.
Good job!

[fancentral]

The tip on attaching the balance leads mid point on busbars so they don’t interfere with torquing the bolts is very good. Thanks!!!

[beebe]

When I make battery cables for our farm trucks and tractors I use both crimp and solder to maximize the conductivity. First I crimp like normal and then I drill a hole on the ring side of the crimp and fill the end with solder. Leaves no space inside there for corrosion on the terminal side. I've cut open enough battery lugs to realize a crimp alone often can't be trusted....because eventually you see the green corrosion form on both sides of the crimp. For a battery like this inside away from the extreme weather conditions of a tractor or farm truck I wouldn't waste my time with solder....but I always solder connections on a battery that will be outdoors.

[TheMobilTrader]

Thanks for pointing out how big a difference there is between copper and brass. Wow! I'll be checking what they send me.

[kovitburanasombati]

I'm planning to reconnect and add more battery and i'm so glad to stumble into you again thank you for sharing your wisdom and please keep it going i may need more of it.

[kennethcoogler]

Thank you for your perfection and your will to improve on something..l am a 54 years old master carpenter and l totally understand everything you are trying to do..

[shmayazuggot]

Thanks for passing on such great advise and saftey tips. Also verify the wonderful connection advise with a temperature probe on all connections points under load for 20 or so minutes and verify it’s not to high above ambient.

[marclefaucheur]

I think I just found my latest favorite channel!

[dobrzpe]

holy crap - i didn't know BRASS bus bars were even a thing! thanks for the heads up/info. i'll definitely be checking mine when they get off the boat...

[mattedwards]

This really is a bit of a master-class. Definitely puts emphasis on certain aspects of connections. I.e the importance of the heatshrink with the adhesive I figured was only important on marine applications. I'll be spending the money on heatshrink regardless of application next time.

[lmbinvestors]

I LEARN SO MUCH FROM YOU....AND HUMILITY IS DEFINITELY ONE OF THEM!!! IT IS AN HONOR TO HAVE COME ACROSS YOUR CHANNEL RAY!

[jojosantos]

You are a pecfectionist, Ray. I really admire your "attention to details" in building your project, where others fail to consider. I learned a lot in this Vlog! I just subscribed to your channel and would like to learn more. Thank you very much!

[SnowyOwlPrepper]

My projects just took a turn for the better. Thank you for sharing your wisdom. So many of these build videos on YouTube are lacking the basic analysis you have done. I am a new sub.

[Fastaschit]

I love this attitude and the awareness with concern of details.

[fancentral]

Solid advice here. Worth the time spent to watch in full. Thanks for posting