Anderson Power Poles have become *the* standard DC connector used in Amateur Radio in the US, to the point where most emergency organizations specify them to facilitate interoperability. They are strong, reliable, genderless, easy to wire, and easy to reuse. The contacts' ability to handle amperage is limited primarily by the wire size they will accept, i.e., they will safely handle more amps (from surges or whatever) without self-destructing. The contact area is actually the same for the 15, 30, and 45 amp contacts. The contacts are self-wiping and rated to over 100,000 cycles.
The housings slide together in a variety of ways to form connector blocks as needed. The resulting blocks may be left as-is, pinned, cable-tied, glued, or fastened together using special Anderson clips. Most recommend strongly against using pins as they can fall out given enough vibration. Note also that some dealers substitute standard roll pins for the Anderson spiral pins. Anderson's bite into the plastic and hold better, but can still fall out. If you glue, use a drop of superglue between the housings (Anderson's recommendation) or model cement.
It is better to crimp than solder the contacts. While it is perfectly possible to solder the contacts, any solder on the contact face lowers the connect/disconnect cycle rating, as can overheating the contact. Solder can also interfere with the contact to housing fit. Finally, as these connectors are generally used with stranded wire, soldering forms a failure point where the flexible wire meets the stiff, soldered wire and connector. UL requires soldered Power Pole connectors to use a strain relief as a result.
You can use a plier-type crimp tool, like GB or Klein - both available at the big box home centers, but a die-type tool works far better. The GB will work on the 30 amp contacts, but crushes the 15s and won't work at all on the 45s. The Klein does better, but still won't do the 45s. The 45s must be crimped properly, even if subsequently soldered, as these are ear-type contacts, and the ears have to be crimped INTO the wire.
Anderson sells a crimp tool, but it's several hundred dollars. The best tool on the market for the money is the ratcheting West Mountain crimp tool specifically made for Power Pole contacts, and costs about $50. It produces an aerospace quality crimp and can be adjusted to produce crimps within a few thousands of a given specification. It can be purchased at any ham radio store or website. It handles the 15s, 30s, and 45s on a single die. 30A Power Pole Connector (4 Black, 4 Red) Anderson-Sermos
There were so many options including Molex connectors until a good friend recommended the Anderson Power Pole. Upon ordering and setting up a two 20 amp connections, it was immediately clear how well these work and how easy they are to assemble. I prefer soldering over crimping which is why these work so well and can be easily soldered and assembled. They can be slid together or kept apart. When connected, they are solid and handle the amperage well. Black and red coloured cases makes it easy and no more red/black sharpie painting. Whether it's low are high (don't exceed the rating) amps, these connectors do it well and are a joy to use. You'll appreciate them and will wonder why you didn't use them before now.
As a Ham Radio operator, I need to make a lot of connections. Having standardized on Power-Poles has made it easy to interchange power supplies and batteries whenever needed. It takes a few minutes to learn how to apply the connectors, but once done, they are made forever. Excellent product and very well made. For some reason, Amazon has this as a toy when it comes to giving star ratings. It is most certainly not a toy. Therefore, I didn't rate it.'
Detail Products
Detail Reviews
Click here for more information
