Absolutely nothing makes a better, lower-resistance splice than the wrapped connection known as a "Western Union" splice. About 2" of insulation is stripped off the main conductor, and the wire that taps off of it is applied around it with 10-15 TIGHT wraps. It gives more copper-to-copper contact area than any sort of butt splice or other connection method. The connection can be insulated with shrink tubing, self-vulcanizing rubber tape, or plain old electrician's tape. Soldering the joint if desired is a bit of overkill, but it strengthens the
connection.
Jerry
Shoot, guess I should finish a post quicker or check for replies before posting!
I like the "Western Union" splice. I've used it in the past, just didn't know what it was called. I believe there's a formula for calculating voltage drop due mechanical splices in a circuit. I'm an old pipeliner and know little of such things. I do know that my cathodic protection, control and measurement techs would get all worked up over this type detail.
