[VAC] Re: Olympic rivets, and wire

[david@xxxxxxxxxxxxx (David Josephson)]

Brief comments on a couple of things in the last few
digests.

I tried some of the Olympic rivets with sealing washers
too with similar results. Andy at Inland also advised me
that especially in the intense sun here in the west, the 
rubber washers would not provide the sort of lifetimes
we expect. Also as any rubber deteriorates it will 
begin to leak if there is any movement in the riveted 
part. I think the washer-equipped rivets are for use in
applications like attaching fiberglass panels to aluminum
framework, where a little flexibility and short term leak 
resistance are needed. I used regular Olympic rivets and
Vulkem when replacing a window on my '71 AS and it has
remained tight.

On the matter of stranded vs solid wire, both sides of 
this discussion have some correct points. The resistance
of the two types of wire is identical. The impedance of 
solid wire at high frequencies is somewhat lower than that 
of stranded wire (as noted by the original poster), but 
for DC this is irrelevant. Per the electrical code (NEC
1996) the ampacities of solid and stranded wire of 
equivalent gauge and insulation are identical. More 
importantly, (for several very good reasons) single
wire low voltage conductors in recreational vehicles are
required to be stranded per NEC 551-10(b)(3). Solid
wire may be used for 120/240 volt circuits but only when
enclosed in conduit or sheathing (NM, Romex, etc.)

I can understand why Andy gets excited about liability in
this case; it's not pleasant when the brake circuits fail.
The original poster mentioned that these were "messenger"
circuits as if relays or other controllers were provided
in the trailer. This is not the case --  all of the 3 to 10
amps of brake magnet current comes through that wire in the
trailer connector.


-- 
Josephson Engineering / Santa Cruz CA / david@josephson.com