30A Power Pole Connector (4 Black, 4 Red) Anderson-Sermos

by Anderson Power Products

Product Features

• These are 30 Amp connectors
• Up to 13 AWG wire
• includes: 4 black plastic housing, 4 red plastic housings, and 8 pins

Product Details

• Item Weight: 0.6 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• ASIN: B000QUZD4W
• Manufacturer recommended age: 13 years and up
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #19,260 in Toys & Games (See Top 100 in Toys & Games)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)

Product Description

PowerPole connectors (formerly known as Sermos connectors) from Anderson Power Products have been very popular with electric airplanes and sailplanes. They were the first low-resistance connectors - made of silver-plated copper. The secret of their success is the stainless steel leaf spring built into the plastic housing. This spring applies 25 lb of pressure onto the contacts, ensuring good, vibration-proof contact. Contact resistance has been measured at 600 micro-ohms. PowerPoles are genderless, which means any connector can be plugged into any other connector. Electric fliers will have to exercise caution when using a speed controller (however, they are color coded). There is one distinct advantage to these connectors: if you have two packs you can use them separately and still plug them together in series. Also, these connectors link together side-by-side using keys that are molded into the side of the housings. When linked together, they become polarised! PowerPole connectors are very easy to use (we recommend soldering), compact, will handle moderate current, and are insulated but not polarised unless you slide them together in pairs. These are 30 Amp connectors, suitable for wiring up to 13ga. This item includes: 4 black plastic housing, 4 red plastic housings, and 8 pins.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Connectors, August 24, 2008

By 

New England Yankee (Northern New England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: 30A Power Pole Connector (4 Black, 4 Red) Anderson-Sermos (Toy)

Anderson Power Poles have become *the* standard DC connector used in Amateur Radio in the US, to the point where most emergency organizations specify them to facilitate interoperability. They are strong, reliable, genderless, easy to wire, and easy to reuse. The contacts' ability to handle amperage is limited primarily by the wire size they will accept, i.e., they will safely handle more amps (from surges or whatever) without self-destructing. The contact area is actually the same for the 15, 30, and 45 amp contacts. The contacts are self-wiping and rated to over 100,000 cycles.

The housings slide together in a variety of ways to form connector blocks as needed. The resulting blocks may be left as-is, pinned, cable-tied, glued, or fastened together using special Anderson clips. Most recommend strongly against using pins as they can fall out given enough vibration. Note also that some dealers substitute standard roll pins for the Anderson spiral pins. Anderson's bite into the plastic and hold better, but can still fall out. If you glue, use a drop of superglue between the housings (Anderson's recommendation) or model cement.

It is better to crimp than solder the contacts. While it is perfectly possible to solder the contacts, any solder on the contact face lowers the connect/disconnect cycle rating, as can overheating the contact. Solder can also interfere with the contact to housing fit. Finally, as these connectors are generally used with stranded wire, soldering forms a failure point where the flexible wire meets the stiff, soldered wire and connector. UL requires soldered Power Pole connectors to use a strain relief as a result.

You can use a plier-type crimp tool, like GB or Klein - both available at the big box home centers, but a die-type tool works far better. The GB will work on the 30 amp contacts, but crushes the 15s and won't work at all on the 45s. The Klein does better, but still won't do the 45s. The 45s must be crimped properly, even if subsequently soldered, as these are ear-type contacts, and the ears have to be crimped INTO the wire.

Anderson sells a crimp tool, but it's several hundred dollars. The best tool on the market for the money is the ratcheting West Mountain crimp tool specifically made for Power Pole contacts, and costs about $50. It produces an aerospace quality crimp and can be adjusted to produce crimps within a few thousands of a given specification. It can be purchased at any ham radio store or website. It handles the 15s, 30s, and 45s on a single die.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for any project, May 28, 2010

By 

J. Curtis "Dr. John" (Baywood Park, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: 30A Power Pole Connector (4 Black, 4 Red) Anderson-Sermos (Toy)

There were so many options including Molex connectors until a good friend recommended the Anderson Power Pole. Upon ordering and setting up a two 20 amp connections, it was immediately clear how well these work and how easy they are to assemble. I prefer soldering over crimping which is why these work so well and can be easily soldered and assembled. They can be slid together or kept apart. When connected, they are solid and handle the amperage well. Black and red coloured cases makes it easy and no more red/black sharpie painting. Whether it's low are high (don't exceed the rating) amps, these connectors do it well and are a joy to use. You'll appreciate them and will wonder why you didn't use them before now.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why does amazon call these a toy?, May 26, 2010

By 

Gregory M. Wells (Southern United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: 30A Power Pole Connector (4 Black, 4 Red) Anderson-Sermos (Toy)

I love Anderson Power Poles. I bought these to replace some that had broken from extreme use. I have nothing bad to say about them - far superior to trailer plugs in my opinion.