Solder

What type of solder should I use on the wire extenders for my new fuse box? Also, I assume I twist the wires together so that the twist is perpendicular to the wires and solder them. Or do I twist them so that they're parralel to the wires?

thanks,
mikeg

 

How you twist them together is up to you -- clockwise is the traditional direction. Pigtails are easy, but don't look pretty. Western Union joints are cleaner and if you use heatshrink on them they're almost invisible.

Use standard acid-free solder for electronics.

 

I had good luck with flux first then using rosin core solder. Also like to twist the wires parallell, makes taping them easier for me.

 

in case its not common knowledge, western union splice is where one wire is wrapped around a straight portion of a second wire for a distance and then a portion of the second wire is wrapped around the remaining straight portion of the first wire...

if you google western union splice im sure youll get a picture of one...

i agree though with using this style of splice. avoid having the unstripped portion side by side and twisting the exposed ends together like you might find in a residential/wire nut situation...

 

60/40 electronic solder is what you want
this guy says use acid flux if you have to, NEVER DO THAT
soldering

 

60/40 does fine in a pinch (electronic/plumbing).
I prefer 63/37 eutectic solder as it has no plastic state (the solder is either a solid or a liquid, nothing in between like you will find on 60/40).
Rosin core NON ACTIVE is the hands-down choice.
I'm with you on not using acid flux Polock, it just makes things worse later.
The best splicing method I've used is the splayed/mesh method. This is where you disrupt the lay of the wire and "splay" the two ends apart. Then you bring the two splayed ends together and, maintaining the typical clockwise wire lay, you mesh the two together. Form the conductor wires with your fingers (this works best when your fingers are clean, no oil or grease to contaminate the joint) maintaining the clockwise twist and you should be primed for a good, reliable joint.
Important note here: maintain the clockwise lay of the conductor strands or you will create a "bird-caging" condition which encourages space for air and moisture to collect, not to mention the lack of conductor contact for maximum current transfer.

 

Get solder labeled "electronic", Radios Shack/Source is always a good source. Make sure the wire isn't coroded back into the insulation. I'f the copper is black or green you need to cut it back to clean copper.Use a good adhesive filled heat shrink, I prefer to use two layers. I also prefer to use quality tinned wire but that's cause I come from a communications background and have done a lot of work on boats.

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Excellent point on the pre-tinned wire Paulg, very good advice.
Adhesive lined shrink (environmental shrink is another name) is another good point. Doubling up is excess in our application as we don't have continuous exposure or immersion and you want to maintain some measure of flexibility. There is a product called double wall (the wall is twice as thick as normal) adhesive lined shrink that will get you the properties of doubled regular shrink. It is extremely rigid upon recovery but is durn near bullet proof.