size of buss bars...

[cha0 10+ year member]

i have a buddy that works in a machine shop. he said he can get me some AL and copper buss bars no problem for free. i know how long they are all depends on how much im putting on them but whats a good thickness and width? i told him off the top of my head about 7 inches long, by and inch wide by 3/4inch thick but i want your guys opinion before he putts the order in.

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[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

That's plenty big. Go copper if you have the choice.

He's gonna have trouble getting copper for free. It is REALLY expensive right now and I would be surprised if the shop didn't have it on controlled inventory.

 

[jdc753 10+ year member]

That's plenty big. Go copper if you have the choice.
He's gonna have trouble getting copper for free. It is REALLY expensive right now and I would be surprised if the shop didn't have it on controlled inventory.

Yea definitly, copper is going crazy right now. Just saw a thing on the news the other day about thieves breaking into a house just to steel the copper pipes in it, ended up flooding the guys basement and ruining the drop ceiling. Its rediculous.

Size sounds about right, maybe go with 1/2" instead of 3/4" and how many connections are you making that you need a 7" long bar?

 

[Brian Owens 10+ year member]

My original bars were 1/4" x 3/4", and they worked great.

If you have free access, I would go with 1" x 1/4".

I just replaced mine with 1 1/2" x 1/4".

Brian

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

Brian- Those bars ran you over $100 a piece, right?

 

[hoxie08 5,000+ posts]

dannnng thats nice man.

 

[Brian Owens 10+ year member]

$32 each.

http://www.mcmurraymetals.com/

Brian

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

^^^That's an absolute steal. I looked at getting some much smaller pieces from onlinemetals.com and I was quoted around $150 total.

 

[Brian Owens 10+ year member]

He charges $5.30 per lb., and mine weighed 12 lbs.

He will ship too!

Brian

 

[AudioXtremes 10+ year member]

http://store.electrical-insulators-and-copper-ground-bars.com/b-026-250-100-048.html

 

[ultimate157 5,000+ posts]

3/4" thick is way too big for a bus bar. Remember, solid conductors can carry a LOT more current than an equivalent stranded wire.

1/4" thick should be just fine.

 

[IgnoreMe 5,000+ posts]

Yea definitly, copper is going crazy right now. Just saw a thing on the news the other day about thieves breaking into a house just to steel the copper pipes in it, ended up flooding the guys basement and ruining the drop ceiling. Its rediculous.
Size sounds about right, maybe go with 1/2" instead of 3/4" and how many connections are you making that you need a 7" long bar?

my buddy is an electrician. he told me on projects where they remove the old copper wiring, they let him keep it. all he does is strip the wiring from the jacket and goes to the recycler. price for him is $3 a pound and he had like 280 lbs or so. needless to say he paid his rent in 1 day lol.

got over $800 for some shit they let him keep for free lol.

 

[Brian Owens 10+ year member]

1/4" x 3/4" bar > 4/0 wire

 

[cha0 10+ year member]

he said he can get AL all day long. he said copper is a little harder to come by but he will get it... ill post some pics of what i get.

 

[cha0 10+ year member]

i did a roof job for International trucking last fall. we got 4800 bucks in scrap copper. it was bars about a half inch thick, 2 inches wide and most were about as long as the back bed of a pickup truck. the boss was cool enough to take us out for some good grub and let us (4 of us) split it up equally. pretty sick deal.

my buddy is an electrician. he told me on projects where they remove the old copper wiring, they let him keep it. all he does is strip the wiring from the jacket and goes to the recycler. price for him is $3 a pound and he had like 280 lbs or so. needless to say he paid his rent in 1 day lol.
got over $800 for some shit they let him keep for free lol.