Recommended Tools for building a quality solar power system
Do not buy cheap tools. You will thank yourself for years, and building a system will be MUCH EASIER.
(I make a commission for purchases made through the links below)
(I make a commission for purchases made through the links below)
Wire Strippers
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Precision Wire Stripper
Highest quality stripper I have owned. If you want to do a perfect job, use this. 8-22 gauge wire Click Here |
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Large Gauge Wire Stripper
Remove insulation on all large gauge wires up to 4/0 gauge! I only use it to strip insulation on extremely large wires, and use my automatic wire strippers for smaller wires. Lots of low quality strippers available. Avoid them and get this one. Dial works nicely and gives a perfect strip everytime. Click Here |
Crimpers
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Ratcheting Crimper
Works well for standard size crimp connectors up to 10 gauge wire A required tool for any system. Does not work that well with waterproof connectors. Use the red crimper to the right instead. Click Here |
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High quality manual force crimper
I use this crimper when I am dealing with a non-standard size connector. The long arms provide a lot of leverage and I can usually crimp anything under 8 gauge. Click Here |
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Hammer Type Crimper
Can crimp up to 4/0 gauge wire and it works great! I bought a few industrial grade crimp tools for large terminals, and I still use this crimper with a hammer. I love it! Click Here |
Cable Cutters
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Triplett CablCut
Everyone needs these cutters. These are incredible. I use these everyday. Required for most projects. Click Here to Purchase |
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Klein High Leverage Cutter
For cutting large gauge wires. This tool will last forever. Can cut anything. Usually I can get by using the cutters on the left for most wires in solar systems, so this one is not really required unless you are building huge systems. Click Here to Purchase |
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Hakko Micro Cutter
Great for trimming small solder joints/ wire strands etc. Super useful to have around Click Here to Purchase |
Crimp Connectors
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Standard Size Crimp Connector set
There are cheaper crimp connector sets available, but they are junk! Spend the extra money and buy a high quality set of connectors. The cheap chinese ones will fail and I have had it happen before. This is what I currently use: Click Here for large crimp kit if you have multiple solar power systems Click Here for small crimp kit that works well for building a single solar power system |
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Large Size Crimp Connector Set
Use this set to connect large wires together, such as inverter or solar charge controller wires. High quality lugs compared to others available at this size. Highly recommend sticking to these. Click Here |
Heat Shrink and Heat Gun
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High quality heat shrink
with Adhesive Protect large and small terminal connector joints with heat shrink. Simply slip some on and heat it up with a heat gun. Click Here |
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My favorite multimeter
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My favorite Clamp meter
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This tool will allow you to see how much current in ac or dc is going through a wire. I cannot stress how important this is. I use it every 30 minutes or so while building systems. Also, great for general diagnostics. Want to check if there is a parasitic load on your car battery? Use this meter and find an answer without removing your battery cables.
It also has a voltage meter and does everything the meter above can. I prefer the meter above for desktop testing of circuit boards because the readout is awesome And so many other uses. Every electrical DIY'er needs this tool. Combined with the multimeter above, you are set. Click here for a cheap price on amazon |