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NATO Plugs (Alternatives)

Mullaney

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Right... And here we are in the middle of the desert, hidden from the enemy behind a dune - and "Bob" turns on his cell phone - and all hell rains down on us because "Bob" had to check his FaceBook account.

If "Bob" hadn't had a NATO usb charger, maybe he wouldn't have turned on that d@&% cell phone.

As I understand the New Navy, there are lead lined boxes on ships for those devices to avoid those problems.
 

coachgeo

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just swap to an anderson plug on your own truck and on one end of our cable..... you would still have to buy One NATO plug for making up a cable to jump or be jumped..... but the money saved from using the anderson will pay for a good chunk of the welding cable(s) to make your cord with.
 

Mullaney

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just swap to an anderson plug on your own truck and on one end of our cable..... you would still have to buy One NATO plug for making up a cable to jump or be jumped..... but the money saved from using the anderson will pay for a good chunk of the welding cable(s) to make your cord with.
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I kept wondering what the heck an Anderson Plug was.

Turns out the AAA tow trucks and an awful lot of regular commercial wreckers use them. The battery pack in most lift trucks use the same as well. They are a lot like a NATO plug where even in the dark you can see how to connect Positive to Positive. I haven't measured the voltage off the NATO plug... I presumed it to be 24v. That might cause a big problem if the Anderson caused an over-current with jumper cables connected. Maybe?

Anderson Plug 8_720x.jpg

I haven't figured out how to make that help the cell phone charging problem though.
 

Third From Texas

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I have Anderson plugs. On a lot of the gear (my crane, the removable battery box in my trailer, etc) .

I'm poised to delete the NATO port, honestly. I just thought I toss it out there one last time before I do.

The NATO port brings nothing to the table for me and my build, personally.

But I know there are NATO plugs out there at some supplier...and if they can be had for the price of set of Anderson plugs I *might* be tempted to retain them. ;)

I'm just getting close to pulling a lot of triggers on various build aspects
 

Mario

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I'm using the SB350 with my winch. I like how simple it is to use and I think I paid like $13 for one. Rated at 350amps.
I see them a lot on electric forklifts.
 

tobyS

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Inside the NATO plugs the positive and negative come very close together in open air. Within 1/4". With small amount of water, they can have a steady, low drain that leaves the telltale signs of corrosion. If I keep them, for now I disconnect them, but I have used black silicone to fill the air gap, especially on the jumpers.

I made my set of NATO jumpers about 5 years ago and have not used them, I have a big D.C. Mine cable with strong clamps that I use all the time. Finding myself with nothing to jump from is more my problem.

My plan of attack now, using the old battery's 2009, is to run off two and use the other two as spare, fully charged but disconnected. Well close to full, that is supposed to be 12.8v but I can only hold 12.5....

There seems to be an interaction with 4 that causes a weak one to drag the rest down.
 

Ronmar

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The Andersons are also widely used in UPS battery banks, they come in all sorts of sizes, from the size of my finger tip, to the size of my hand(Or perhaps larger). Still dark compatible, they can only go together one way, so like a USB connector if it doesn’t fit in the port, roll one end over:) They can also be thru-bolted to a flat surface, so you don’t need a mounting bracket. To mount them perpendicular/thru a hole in a surface, all you need is a piece of angle mounted inside(or outside) the surface and surface mount the connector to that angle, protruding from the hole as much or as little as you like…
 

frank8003

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The Andersons are also widely used in UPS battery banks, they come in all sorts of sizes, from the size of my finger tip, to the size of my hand(Or perhaps larger). Still dark compatible, they can only go together one way, so like a USB connector if it doesn’t fit in the port, roll one end over:) They can also be thru-bolted to a flat surface, so you don’t need a mounting bracket. To mount them perpendicular/thru a hole in a surface, all you need is a piece of angle mounted inside(or outside) the surface and surface mount the connector to that angle, protruding from the hole as much or as little as you like…
photo ?
 

Third From Texas

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Inside the NATO plugs the positive and negative come very close together in open air. Within 1/4". With small amount of water, they can have a steady, low drain that leaves the telltale signs of corrosion. If I keep them, for now I disconnect them, but I have used black silicone to fill the air gap, especially on the jumpers.

I made my set of NATO jumpers about 5 years ago and have not used them, I have a big D.C. Mine cable with strong clamps that I use all the time. Finding myself with nothing to jump from is more my problem.

My plan of attack now, using the old battery's 2009, is to run off two and use the other two as spare, fully charged but disconnected. Well close to full, that is supposed to be 12.8v but I can only hold 12.5....

There seems to be an interaction with 4 that causes a weak one to drag the rest down.
Yep. The good old "12v vampiric drain". Hit's my M1079 especially hard (I suspect the rear relays combined with the trans and engine ECU are the fault).

And it strikes these trucks with dual battery mod as well (just pulls down the one 12v side).

I've been running with dual batteries connected but also have a spare set in the box (totally disconnected). I've never had to connect them because I have charger access so I'm likly going to free up the space.

But a simple disconnect is the only real answer I've found for the "leak" over the years.
 

Ronmar

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About 6 posts up, Mullaney posted a pic of one… There is another name they go by, but it escapes me right now. Have used them on UPS’s, have seen them on electric forklifts, have used them on front-back receiver hitch winch installs. I have never had an issue with one…
 

Ronmar

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Yep. The good old "12v vampiric drain". Hit's my M1079 especially hard (I suspect the rear relays combined with the trans and engine ECU are the fault).

And it strikes these trucks with dual battery mod as well (just pulls down the one 12v side).

I've been running with dual batteries connected but also have a spare set in the box (totally disconnected). I've never had to connect them because I have charger access so I'm likly going to free up the space.

But a simple disconnect is the only real answer I've found for the "leak" over the years.
Yea, a disconnect will do it, either ground or 12V. If you go 12V you can use a fairly small one as the most current it should ever see @ 12V is max alt output which won’t be over 100A. The lighting and other loads combined are only about 30A or so tops…

The only draw I have found was thru I believe CB22 to the transmission… I put together a 12V solar panel and a simple buck converter and connect it to the 0-12V batt. I set that converter to about 13.1-13.2 which is a good long term float voltage. And that re-floats the battery after the vampire draws on it all night… I have experimented with a small equalizer that sets between the batts and keeps them within 0.2v of each other and that seems to work well also…
 

Mario

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They also make dust covers and handles.
I've ordered a few. I use the cover in the battery box just to make sure that the connector's terminal doesn't make contact with battery mounting brakcet or it's post.
While I have also purchased the handle, I have not had the need to use it -- yet.

1625609425300.png
 

Mullaney

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juanprado

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I got mine and very impressed with it. Has overcharging and overheating protection built in so must have a gizmo board in it. Perfect solution for the hmmwv as the slave outlet is inside on the passenger seat box. No need for 12/24 convertor or tap a battery or 12v feed from the dual voltage niehoff. One less point of failure IMHO.
 
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