Low temp wire solder connectors

[angelodp]

yah or nay on these?

[mhuss]

OK for lower voltage (and likely lower current) connections. I wouldn't trust the insulation at typical tube amp voltages.

[thetragichero]

^^^^ i have had shrink wrapped HT connections short to chassis and don't see these as being any different

[Phil_S]

i have had shrink wrapped HT connections short to chassis and don't see these as being any different

This is an interesting statement. I've often wondered if this might happen and a particular concern is whether sharp ends of multi-strand wire might pierce the heatshink. Or, is it because heatshrink is too thin to act as an adequate insulator? So, what is recommended? Install a terminal strip so that we can land the connections there with solder? Add layers of heatshrink? Something else?

[mhuss]

When I have to connect two HV wires (e.g., recycling a PT), I solder them together, carefully trim off anything pointy, and then double shrink wrap the connection.

[Phil_S]

When I have to connect two HV wires (e.g., recycling a PT), I solder them together, carefully trim off anything pointy, and then double shrink wrap the connection.

Same situation, did the same. Used "double wall" (whatever that is) two layers. Thetragichero got me to wondering...

Random website search...
https://www.diverseelectronics.com/uplo ... -Guide.pdf
"What’s the maximum voltage at which I can use Panduit heat shrink?
Unless noted otherwise, all the products have a 600V AC rating. They are “low voltage” products. Per NEMA, Low Voltage is
600V or less; Medium Voltage is 2,400 to 69,000 V; and High Voltage is 115k to 230kV."

I guess it depends on the heatshrink you use.

[thetragichero]

for that particular amp i ended up using double heatshrink and it worked fine, but moving forward i always have a physical connection (like a terminal strip) if i need to do such a thing. really only been an issue with salvaged transformers but also i guess a layout issue (probably didn't help that it was bulk heatshrink purchased from ebay across the world...)

[angelodp]

Thanks for the input. Yes prefer the double wall approach, as this low temp solder seems iffy. I do know techs in the camera world using this stuff a lot but not at the hi volts amps are operating at.

Cheers A

[thetragichero]

when i was doing work for a security camera guy they used all sorts of connections i would never have within 50ft of an amp (he also once told me to check if a mains connection was off by shorting with a screwdriver... i reached for my multimeter...). i do remember half of the troubleshooting was just changing out the connectors and seeing if that made the cameras work... not something i'd want to go wrong in the middle of a set