connectorinterconnectwiring
I'm powering a load that draws 5A at 18V from a brick power supply. The power supply and load are separated by a thin metal wall that has 1/4" (6.35mm) holes in it. So I'm trying to find connectors that can fit through 0.25" diameter holes.
The best I've found is small JST plugs, but they're more like 0.29" so we'd have to file them down to fit through the holes.
I'd appreciate any suggestions, either for a 2-circuit connector or two 1-circuit connectors.
This is to illustrate @WhatRoughBeast's suggestion.
I don't have a 12 AWG wire, so this is a 1:3 scale model. The bigger wire is 20 AWG. The smaller wire is 28 AWG. The butt splice is for 22-18 AWG.
Butt splices for 12-10 AWG are fairly common. It should be able to accommodate a 12 AWG main wire and a 24 AWG next to it.
For outdoors, I would use an uninsulated butt splice (just the metal tube). Then slide adhesive-lined heat shrink over it. When it's heated and shrunk, the adhesive inside melts, fills the voids, and finally cures. This is an efficient method for keeping the water out.
Generally, proper design dictates that - for safety's sake - pluggable connectors supplying power do so using female contacts because, being shrouded, they're less likely to accidentally wind up causing a catastrophe when they're unplugged and hot.
Best Answer
A bit old fashioned by modern standards but 2mm plugs and sockets would do the job. This example is a line socket that is rated at 10A and measures 5.7mm in diameter, plugs would probably be thinner.
The only snag is lack of polarisation so you'd have to rely on colour coding.