Instead of stripped bare wire into fuses, distro boxes, ...

[Sutliff]

I have never liked taking cable - 8awg, 4awg, 2awg, etc. - & just stripping it & shoving it into fuses, breakers, distribution blocks, amps, etc., ... The way the "set screw" clamps down on the wire is something I never liked ... it does not make contact with all the strands, & the cable, after a short while, usually starts to move back & forth/side-to-side ... Looking something like this after just loosening the screw and pulling out the 4awg:

Now here is a "lug" I found I think I am going to try. I do not know if I am going to solder or crimp, but I will not have to worry about wires all willy-nilly & the set screw coming loose, etc. I think I am on the side of using the solder "pellets" I have seen bouncing around in different threads here on SMD. Here is a 4awg lug on 4awg cable:

Any & all thoughts/ideas welcomed, but I think I have an idea that will give everything a cleaner look vs. bare wire, along with a better, more solid connection:

A couple final things. I have some special loom & real tough, quality heatshrink to protect the lug.

Now as far as the length of the lug - because it is rather long for the blocks, etc., that I am using - the "tips" are easily trimmable.

[BeAlLsTaR13]

IMO that's even more dangerous, with stripping the wire and placing it in the distro, if done right the sleeve will be flush with the distro allowing no bare wire to show

With your connector look how much stays outside of the distro allowing a very good chance of something arcing against it

[baaudio]

Not only is it bigger using that piece, but look at how much your contact area has been reduced. The set screws will compress the wire and squish it all together to crush it smaller. Now good quality wire will not get totally squished down and will make for a very solid connection.

I see your new method generating heat because of poor connection caused by poor contact area

[Carbon]

Those set screws get a much better "bite" on the bare wire than on that tiny piece of metal. If you look at toolmaker dual inputs the piece is flat on one side and rounded on the other for maximum conductivity. It touches as much metal as possible.

[Sutliff]

IMO that's even more dangerous, with stripping the wire and placing it in the distro, if done right the sleeve will be flush with the distro allowing no bare wire to show

With your connector look how much stays outside of the distro allowing a very good chance of something arcing against it

Evberything I took pics of were siomple mock-ups here on my bed. On the last pic, with the "lug" on the right side, I would never leave that all exposed, that is what I was referring to having very robust heatshrink, etc. Nothing would touch the body of that lug, especially when mounted in the way that I am going to mount various things. Also, the bare wire that is shown on the left side is COMPLETELY pulled out from the breaker ... if pushed in, the insulation slides all the way up to the dhoulder of the breaker.

Also, the crappy wire picture is just that, ... crap I have laying around in my room that worked for the photos. I have me the necessary KnuKon.

[Sutliff]

Those set screws get a much better "bite" on the bare wire than on that tiny piece of metal. If you look at toolmaker dual inputs the piece is flat on one side and rounded on the other for maximum conductivity. It touches as much metal as possible.

Then would I be better off using something like these ----> http://toolmakermetalworkz.com/viewitem.php?productid=2 ??

[audiofanaticz]

Mocked up or not, even still with that lug going into the fuse block causes one HUGE drawback.

What is that drawback? RESISTANCE!!! and with resistance, you get added voltage drop. The more resistance the more drop in voltage, the less power your stereo see's and so on.

So instead of having a piece of 8,4,2,0/1 gauge wire making a tight connection under the set screw with a lot of surface area on the wire being forced against the bottom of the fuse holder hole and the set screw to transfer current, you now have a tiny piece of metal that looks to be the size of 12gauge wire, compared to the actual 4gauge wire that would normally be squashed and compressed into the hole. Not to mention your really not going to be able to compress that lug in the fuse terminal with the setscrew like you can with wire so it would pull out a lot easier.

[audiofanaticz]

Then would I be better off using something like these ----> http://toolmakermetalworkz.com/viewitem.php?productid=2 ??

even if you got that, your still going to be putting bare wire into a hole with a setscrew, which you dont "like", so how is this going to be any different?

[Sutliff]

Had in my mind, ... allowing for all ideads ... to plug off the set screw hole, then solder the

wire in the open end, then set screw into the actual flat part of what we are calling the/a lug.