Hello Wrenches,
Thanks for the information on
the use of welding cable for connections to batteries. The ability to
amass data so rapidly clearly demonstrates the power of the Wrench
network.
I agree with Bob-O and Bob
Ellison that the acid test won't necessarily show if welding cable is
effective. At this point we can already say that it is effective as
battery cable, as evidenced by the thousands of installations that have
functioned without a hitch, with no reports of cable failure.
The logic of the experiment is
to expose cable insulation to a chemical environment far more acidic than
it would experience in operation. If a battery box were filled with
battery acid, I imagine that battery jumper failure would be the least of one's
worries. But exposure to battery acid is the one difference, that I can
think of, that would have an effect on cables in the vicinity of battery
banks. Since the majority of listed cables (and unlisted) are of pure
copper, the insulation would be the only variable.
Bob-O's idea of doing
an electrical test on the insulation after exposure to the acid is an excellent
one. Would a Megar be the right tool for the job?
It would certainly be overkill when trying to determine if the cable is adequate
for a low voltage system.
I don't know what will happen to
the insulation either, but I'd be surprised it the acid had much effect on any
of the cable. Battery acid comes in a plastic bag inside of a cardboard
box. But it will be interesting to see if any cables are affected and to
what degree.
Even if the insulation were
degraded by the acid, that might not matter much. Lineage 2000 batteries
that were purchased for one installation came with bare copper bus bars to
connect the batteries. They worked fine.
The idea of the experiment is to
see if there is any rational whatever for the prohibition of welding cable use,
or the use of any other readily available cable. If we can be certain that
we have thought of and tested all the parameters, we can proceed to make
proposals for changes in the code.
If anyone has cable they think
should be tested, contact us to see if we already have a specimen. If
not, send it in and we will put it to the test.
Thanks again for the help.
Drake Chamberlin
Don Wallingford