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Component Preparation
Now that the panel has been drilled and painted,
it’s time to prepare the various components which will be mounted to the
panel. Here’s how:
1)
If you plan to use terminal blocks to facilitate your wiring
connections, start by attaching a spade connector to one end of each
“long” wire (1 black, 1 white, 3 red). For each wire, follow these
steps.
a)
Strip off about 5/16” of insulation as shown in the picture.
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b)
Carefully twist the strands of wire between your fingers to make
sure they are “tight”. Then place a small dab of rosin soldering flux
on the bare wire as shown (see picture).
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c)
Place a spade connector over the bare wire and use a wire crimp
tool to fasten (“crimp”) securely as shown (see picture).
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d)
Solder the spade connector to the wire as shown (see picture).
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2)
Attach a ring terminal to one end of the black (8”), white (8”)
and one (1) of the “long” red wires. For each wire, follow these steps.
a)
Strip off about 5/16” of insulation (refer to the picture in step
1a)
b)
Carefully twist the strands of wire between your fingers to make
sure they are “tight”. Then place a small dab of rosin soldering flux
on the bare wire (refer to the picture in step 1b).
c)
Place a ring terminal over the bare wire and use a wire crimp
tool to fasten (“crimp”) securely as shown (see picture). Do NOT solder
the ring terminal just yet.
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d)
At this point, the 8” white, 8” black and one (1) “long” red wire
should each have a ring terminal crimped to one end. Do NOT solder the
ring terminals just yet.
3)
The following steps describe how to make the brass posts. You’ll
need to repeat these steps for each of the three (3) posts. For each of
the three (3) wires you fastened a ring terminal to earlier (one black
8”, one white 8” and one “long” red), follow these steps:
a)
Slip the ring terminal over a #8 brass screw which will serve as
a post. Thread a brass nut onto the post until it is about 3/8” from
the head of the screw as shown (see picture). Note the orientation of
the ring terminal – be sure the ring terminal is oriented as shown (this
will make it easier to mount the post to the underside of the panel in a
later step).
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b)
Take a small brush and spread soldering flux under the head of
the brass screw/post and around the terminal connector as shown.
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c)
Thread the brass nut the remainder of the way onto the brass
screw until just barely finger tight – do not over tighten! The brass
post with a ring terminal and wire attached is now ready for soldering
(see picture).
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d)
Use a soldering helper as shown to hold the brass post. This
will free up both hands for soldering.
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e)
Place the tip of your soldering iron under the ring terminal as
shown. The tip should be making contact with the head of the screw and
the ring terminal. Depending on the output of your soldering iron, it
may take several seconds before the joint reaches sufficient temperature
for the solder to flow (be patient).
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f)
Once the joint is heated, feed solder into the joints from above
the ring terminal. The flux should “pull” the solder into the joint.
Make sure to solder the crimped connection on the ring terminal too. Do
not disturb the joint while the solder is cooling. The resulting post
should look something like the one shown in the accompanying picture.
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g)
Repeat steps 3a – 3f for the remaining “post” wires.
4)
Wait at least 10 minutes after soldering the last (third) post to
ensure the joints on each of the posts have cooled before cleaning the
joints with lighter fluid and a Q-tip. This will remove any remaining
flux residue.
5)
Attach one end of the long white wire to one of the two “tabs”
(terminals) on the circuit breaker. Here are the steps to follow:
a)
Strip off about 5/16” of insulation (refer to picture in step 1a)
b)
Carefully twist the strands of wire between your fingers to make
sure they are “tight”.
c)
Secure the circuit breaker to your work surface using a small
clamp as shown (see picture). This will prevent the circuit breaker
from moving around and leave both hands free when performing the steps
below.
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d)
Carefully insert the bare end of the wire into the hole in one of
the tabs as shown (see picture). Don’t push the wire all the way
through – instead, you just want the end of the wire to go through far
enough to “catch” the underside of the tab as shown below.
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e)
With one end of the wire inserted just a little way into the
hole, bend the wire back so it lays flat on the tab as shown in the
picture. This will make it easier to solder the joint.
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f)
Apply soldering flux to the wire and circuit breaker tab as shown
(make sure to apply some flux to the underside of the tab where the wire
protrudes).
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g)
Solder the wire to the tab as shown (see picture). Note the tip
of the soldering iron is on one side of the wire making contact with
BOTH the tab and the wire. Feed a small amount of solder into the joint
from the other side of the wire.
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6)
Attach one end of the 8” white wire (the other end should have a
brass post attached) to the remaining “tab” on the circuit breaker.
Follow the same steps outlined in 5a – 5g above.
7)
Wait at least 10 minutes to ensure the joints on the circuit
breaker tabs have cooled before cleaning the joints with lighter fluid
and a Q-tip. This will remove any remaining flux residue.
Warning: NEVER use
lighter fluid to clean a hot (or even warm) solder joint! Let the
solder joint cool completely (min. 10 minutes) before using the lighter
fluid to clean off any excess flux. Store the lighter fluid away from
your soldering iron/station and any other heat sources.
8)
At this point, the circuit breaker should have two (2) white
wires attached as shown in the accompanying picture. Set this aside for
now.
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