Building two power cords and would appreciate advice

[Moose68Bash]

A newbie question:

I am going to build two new power cords for my amplifiers from Furutech FP-3T5S862 cord and Furutech FI-25 (IEC) and FI-25M-N1 (Edison) plugs.

The braided shield must be connected to the ground wire on the mains end.

Can anybody suggest the best way to make the connection between the braided shield and the ground wire?

Thanks in advance.

[drumminman]

I presume you want to drain nasties from the equipment end to the ground wire in the outlet. You'll need to unbraid part of the shield to yield a ~ 2 inch length. Then connect them both the shield and ground wire to the ground wire lug on the wall plug end. Using something like tweezers helps.

[Moose68Bash]

I presume you want to drain nasties from the equipment end to the ground wire in the outlet. You'll need to unbraid part of the shield to yield a ~ 2 inch length. Then connect them both the shield and ground wire to the ground wire lug on the wall plug end. Using something like tweezers helps.

Drummiman,

Thank you. I've never spent this kind of money on wire before, and I don't want to make any mistakes. I'll use my tweezers to the best of my ability!

Again, thanks.

Phil

[zingo]

If I'm attaching the braided shield, I'll leave enough exposed to reach where it needs to go and twist it into a "wire". Then tin it to prevent loose strands, and solder it to the needed contact.

[pepster]

Simply take the braid and twist it just like the ground, and then twist the two together.
Great choice in the FI-25's, my absolute FAVORITE, and worth EVERY PENNY!!!
If you have any questions don't hesitate to pm me, I would be happy to answer your questions.

The drain and ground is only connected to the male side of the cable.

[helipilotdoug]

+1
Listen to Pepster. He knoweth of what he speaks!

[Moose68Bash]

zingo and pepster,

Thank you for your very helpful comments, and, pepster, thank you for offering to advise me if I have questions. (I've been reading enough on this Forum to know, as heliopilotdoug says, that you know what you're talking about.

Again, thanks,

Phil

[Moose68Bash]

I picked up 12' of 10 AWG Carol power cord at Home Depot and two sets of Wattgate connectors and did a practice run at building power cords for my amps.

When I replaced the stock cords with these, the difference was apparent -- improved clarity of detail and transparency of reproduction of voices and instruments.

Frankly, I was a little surprised. This Carol wire is 99.9% oxygen free and it is far higher capacity than the 16 AWG cords that shipped with the amps. It is not shielded, and dealing with that is the most challenging aspect of using the Furutech wire for me. But at least I have now dealt with heavy duty wire and audio-type connectors, as well as Techflex!

Onward and upward -- I hope!

Cheers!

[pepster]

picked up 12' of 10 AWG Carol power cord at Home Depot and two sets of Wattgate connectors and did a practice run at building power cords for my amps.

Pics or it didn't happen!

I actually like the Carol cable.
It takes ALOT more hours to come around (so expect some time) than alot I use, but none the less it is a great upgrade from stock.

If you can find some CCI Seoprene 12/3 ga it is really nice considering the money.

They will not beat the aftermarket stuff (XLO, Furutech, Oyaide, ect) but REALLY nice if you DIY considering you would have minimal money involved and they are a rather large step up from stock.

I like both the Carol and CCI with the SQ benefit going to the CCI when using Wattgate IEC's for instance.

Most people do not consider such wire, and I think they would be very surprised!

Keep us updated, cool project!

[seabeerob213]

advice? dont put a bobby pin in a wall socket, one of my first memories in life

[pepster]

This will be your friend when making power cables:


You should make you something like this, so you can put some serious break in on those cables, small space heater, refridge ect.

http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/...y/Boxes012.jpg

[pepster]

A couple of VERY CHEAP ONES!
My brother in law gave me the black aluminum one, all scared up (years of service).

I scuffed it up with some sandpaper and used some spray truck bed liner on it.
The grey one is simply a cheapo stud box with an IEC input on the back.
If you can solder, these are very easy to build and make a world of difference when burning in power cables (even better than using your amps and just "listening").

http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/...ps3ac07ab3.jpg

[drumminman]

Or even easier and cheaper, $12.99 from VH Audio, though it can probably be bought elsewhere too:

(You'll need to copy and paste the links - for some reason they're not clickable)

http://www.vhaudio.com/acplugadapters.html


http://www.vhaudio.com/acplugadapters.html

[Moose68Bash]

Pepster,

Here are two pics. Not bad for a first shot at this -- including Techflex and heat shrink!



More later after I work with the Furutech wire and connectors!

[helipilotdoug]

A newbie question:

I am going to build two new power cords for my amplifiers from Furutech FP-3T5S862 cord and Furutech FI-25 (IEC) and FI-25M-N1 (Edison) plugs.

The braided shield must be connected to the ground wire on the mains end.

Can anybody suggest the best way to make the connection between the braided shield and the ground wire?

Thanks in advance.

Very good choice on the connectors and cable! When working with the Furutech FP 3TS762 Power Cable, it's a 10 AWG cable which can be a real PITA to work with. Trying to get the wire into the plug and IEC connectors can be "fun". One suggestion is to split the 10AWG wire into a fork, then insert into the plug. Furutech also makes the FP-209-10(G) High Performance Spade connector that works perfectly with their higher end power connectors. They are very hard to crimp onto the wire, and it takes a lot of force to do it right, but it sure makes the connection better and easier than trying to get the bare 10AWG wire in there. I keep the spades in stock, so PM me if you are interested.

[Moose68Bash]

Very good choice on the connectors and cable! When working with the Furutech FP 3TS762 Power Cable, it's a 10 AWG cable which can be a real PITA to work with. Trying to get the wire into the plug and IEC connectors can be "fun". One suggestion is to split the 10AWG wire into a fork, then insert into the plug. Furutech also makes the FP-209-10(G) High Performance Spade connector that works perfectly with their higher end power connectors. They are very hard to crimp onto the wire, and it takes a lot of force to do it right, but it sure makes the connection better and easier than trying to get the bare 10AWG wire in there. I keep the spades in stock, so PM me if you are interested.
Attachment 81424

helipilotdoug,

Those spades look like they're very thick metal. What do you crimp them with? I have a pretty heavy duty crimping tool, but it is a standard tool. With enough force applied, is that tool sufficient?

Thanks for the advice. My plan was to split the bare wire into a "fork," as the Sonicraft advisor suggested. However, if the spades work with the Furutech plugs and I can properly crimp the spades, then that sounds like a better solution.

Phil

[pepster]

Can't think of any reason not to fit the 10 ga on one side and the shield on the other.
Just twist them separately and run each on both sides of the stud.

I am not a big fan of mechanical connections "internally in a plug" with power cables, but also know that sometimes its required (VH Flavor 4).

I doubt you will need the spade in this case.

Small "needlenose" pliers are your friend when fitting such wire to said connectors!

[pepster]

Can't think of any reason not to fit the 10 ga on one side and the shield on the other.
Just twist them separately and run each on both sides of the stud.

I am not a big fan of mechanical connections "internally in a plug" with power cables, but also know that sometimes its required (VH Flavor 4).

I doubt you will need the spade in this case.

Small "needlenose" pliers are your friend when fitting such wire to said connectors!

I use 3-14ga wires in my "ground" connection, even in a Wattgate!
2 grounds and a drain, no spade required and the Wattgates have a much smaller opening than the Furutechs!

[Moose68Bash]

Thanks, again, pepster.

I think I neglected to post that this particular cable is 9 AWG, and the Furutech connectors are spec'd to take a maximum of 10 AWG. However, the Sonicraft (see post #16 above) said that he uses this cable and connector combination by "forking" the strands in the conductors.

I'll give the needlenose pliers a try. I had some trouble getting the 10 AWG Carol conductors into the holes for them in the Wattgate plugs. I used patience and persistence, but the needlenose pliers might have made the process faster and easier.

[Moose68Bash]

Well, yesterday I finished building and burning in (partially) my power cords from the Furutech FP-3T5S862 cord and Furutech FI-25 (IEC) and FI-25M-N1 (Edison) plugs. I want to thank pepster, helipilotdoug, drumminman, and zingo for their help.

I would give myself about a B to a B+ on the work -- the heat shrink is not as "tight" to the connectors as I would like, and I'm not happy with the "grip" on the cord from the strain relief clamps.

The Furutech 9 AWG wire was a beast to work with. Not only was it "fat," it was also very stiff. I tried to get the wire into the "ports" in the plugs by forking it, but even with needlenose pliers and very fine pointed tweezers (which were great for unbraiding the copper shielding!), I could not get satisfactory results inserting the wire into the clamps.

So, I resorted to the Furutech spades helipilotdoug suggested. Even with those (designed for 10 AWG wire), I had to spread them to allow me to insert the drain wire and the ground wire simultaneously.

But, I got the job done, burned them in for about 24 hours using the "burn in box" I acquired from pepster (thank you, again).

The reward came when my wife heard the inaugural CD playing and announced (shortly before beginning to dance to the music) that the sound was "decidedly richer." My observation was that, yes, it was richer and the sound stage opened up a bit more -- to my surprise, because it is already very wide. Today, I would add that the definition of individual instruments, their placement on the sound stage and the accuracy of their timbre is improved. This would be my explanation of what my wife calls "richness."

Here are some pictures.


A piece of the leftover Furutech cord.


A picture showing the product number of the cord.


A picture showing the completed cords surrounding pepster's "burn in box."


A picture of the male connector on one cord and the female connector on the other.

Look like I learning to insert pictures in a rational way!

[helipilotdoug]

Very nice job! Those look outstanding! I know from working with the Furutech 3TS762 cable it can be a b I ich to work with. But the results make all the hard work very worthwhile. Enjoy!

[Moose68Bash]

Very nice job! Those look outstanding! I know from working with the Furutech 3TS762 cable it can be a b I ich to work with. But the results make all the hard work very worthwhile. Enjoy!

Thank you, and thank you for your advice. I couldn't have gotten this done without your suggestion.

I've been listening all day, and the sound is getting even better.

Is there no end to improving these rigs?

[VR3]

Hey Phil!

Those turned out FANTASTIC!

Good job!

[Moose68Bash]

Hey Phil!

Those turned out FANTASTIC!

Good job!

Thank you, Trey.

The FP-3TS862 power cord was so "fat" that the top part of the strain relief "clamp" could not be used. The cord would simply not go through the opening in the plugs with that part in place. As a result, I'm not sure how tightly the cord is actually clamped in the plugs. However, I don't expect to be connecting and disconnecting these cords very often; so, I'm hoping it won't be a problem. When Furutech designed the plugs for 10 AWG maximum wire, they weren't kidding.

Now, i have to turn my attention to building the "shotgun" power cords for my CD player and preamp out of the Supra Rondo Lo-Rad cable. I'm hoping the 13 AWG wires will fit in the clamps on each side of the screw without resorting to the spades that I had to use with these PCs.

What are your thoughts -- and thoughts of others who have an opinion -- about tinning the ends of the individual 13 AWG wires before inserting them in each side of the clamps? Does twisting the two wires from the double run produce a better connection? Does tinning the ends of the wires reduce the conductivity of the connections?

Any advice about these issues will be greatly appreciated!

[Speedskater]

Don't solder tin the ends of stranded wires if they are to be used in screw terminals! What happens with time and changing temperature, is that the tinning will cold flow and the terminal will loosen.

[Moose68Bash]

Don't solder tin the ends of stranded wires if they are to be used in screw terminals! What happens with time and changing temperature, is that the tinning will cold flow and the terminal will loosen.

Speedskater,

Many thanks.

I'll either insert the bare wires and torque the clamps down on them, or I'll use the Furutech spades, again.

Phil

[helipilotdoug]

Whatever you do, don't tin the wire. You can torque down on the Furutech connectors without fear. They are very tough, and unless you are superman, I doubt you will break one. The 13AWG wire should fit in there with no problem.

[Moose68Bash]

Whatever you do, don't tin the wire. You can torque down on the Furutech connectors without fear. They are very tough, and unless you are superman, I doubt you will break one. The 13AWG wire should fit in there with no problem.

I am certainly no superman; so, I should be all right with 13 AWG bare wire!

Thank you for advising me about this.

Another concern I have is about the double-run of wire. My thought is that it should be twisted (somewhat loosely), as twisted pairs are in CAT 5 or 6 cables to reduce interference between the two long parallel runs (these will be about 15 feet each). However, since the current in each run will be the same, this may be sheer nonsense.

Does twisting the two cables make any sense?

If so, how do I keep them twisted? I'm planning to use Techflex for the full length and heat shrink at the connectors, but it does not seem to me that these will maintain the twist.

(I have never built a power cord with a double run of wire; so, I fully acknowledge my ignorance about this matter and enter a plea for mercy from those to whom this may seem terribly newbie-ish!)

[VR3]

I would recommend giving them a small twist (granted you wont be able to twist them much) - I definitely would not go in straight (no twist) or two individually twisted runs into the same slot

[Speedskater]

I would recommend giving them a small twist (granted you wont be able to twist them much) - I definitely would not go in straight (no twist) or two individually twisted runs into the same slot

Very, very true! With unshielded paired cables, twisting is always good. Be they AC power, DC power, interconnect, control or speaker.