Deans Connectors at 70 Amps?

[AudiTT-Quattro]

Does anyone have any experience with Deans connectors with 70Amps passing through them? I'm a bit concerned about the electrical connection the solder provides with such a small contact surface. And theres always the possibility of the plastic melting off the connectors.

I'm thinking a mechanical and electrical connection might be better for this application such as something like 75 Amp Anderson Powerpoles.

The only reason I'm looking at Deans is because of their low profile.

FYI, this isn't for R/C applicationsm, but rather robotics.

Thanks.

[jeffr147]

i would check out rc groups. com,(with out the spaces) those airplane guys pull some major amps with thier motors and would probably know what your answer is.

[AudiTT-Quattro]

For some reason the board doesn't like your response. Care to space the word out?

Thanks.

[TEM]

Powerpoles have my vote! Actually, yeah, those aiplane guys draw some major amps and I remember those guys being the first I've seen use powerpoles.

There are also other advantages to power poles if you're not limited on space; that is, powerpoles can be joint together in configurations that dont fit if you got the poles wrong. Ie. the red and black slide together side by side(one upsidedown) and you can accidently plug them in wrong. You can also have several of them together at once if you have other lines to run... Sounds confusing, but they are great....

[Grant Tokumi]

70 amps.....

I too prefer Deans over Powerpoles for their low profile.

FHIW, my robot pulls between 60 and 80 amps (30 to 40 per side)@ 24 volts. I use 2 Deans 4-pin connectors in parallel for my battery connections. So thats 30-40 amps going through each connector. Connectors get a little warm, but no signs of soldering wanting to come off. I'm assuming you're considering Deans Ultra Plugs, and not my 4-pin plugs, so its not a direct comparison, but take it for what its worth. You're looking at around twice as much as what I'm putting mine through.

My two 4-pins connectors are soldered one on top the other so it appears like 1 connector twice as thick if you know what I mean. I don't have an isolated picture of my connector, but here's one of the best ones I could find:

http://www.rcarchive.com/robot/1-9-02/P1010106.jpg

You could connect multiple ultra plugs in parallel like I did.

Have you considered the wire? At 70 amps, I'm thinking you're going with 10 or 8 awg wire. It might be difficult to solder such a thick wire to a small Deans plug. Or you can go multiple smaller wires in parallel too.

Notes:
The method used to find current range in my bot was glass fuses. I burnt two 30 amp fuses (60 amp) in parallel, and I haven't burnt four 20 amp fuses (80 amp) in parallel. And then I did burn out a Vantec RDFR23 (no fuses installed) in battle which is rated up to 30 amps per side. Ooops. :)

[AudiTT-Quattro]

Thanks Grant, that means a lot!

I did a little test with a 3" Mag this afternoon hooked through a set of Deans, to a relay directly to a 24v SLA. I watched the amerage with a Watt meter and of course it wasn't drawing 70 amps so I built myself a small friction clutch to put a load on the mag. (Two block of wood and 3 C-clamps around the shaft; dangerous as heck but it worked.) It peaked at around 80'ish amps with a load.

The two pin connectors got pretty hot, but just barely cool enough for me to keep my fingers on it.

I'm going to try the test again tomorrow with 10AWG wire instead of 12AWG. The connectors will probably get hotter.

Consider Victors if you're on a fine line to blowing up the Vantec. More cost efficient IMO, now that Mike can fix the suckers if they blow.

[Grant Tokumi]

Thats pretty surprising that the single ultra plug could maintain 80 amps without deforming or anything. I'm not sure exactly what your purpose is for your robot, but if the connector is going to be experiencing a long time (minutes) of use at a time, you may want to put the load on the motor for similarly long periods of time too, that is if you haven't done so already. They may get even hotter the longer you sustain them at that high a current.

I have a feeling that going to 10 awg from 12 awg won't make a significant difference, unless your runs were like 6 or 7 feet long. But go for it. Testing is always good.

About my speed controllers. I am using Victors now. :). When I bought the Vantec, I wasn't familiar with the IFI Victors, and I didn't know my radio (Futaba 6XAS) was capable of doing tank steer mixing too, so I went Vantec. Now I know Victors are a more cost effective choice, especially if higher currents are needed. So far, I like the Victors. Reliable. Wish I could say the same about my drivetrain though. :)