22-FEB-2008
The Good, The Bad & the Ugly of Crimpers
In this photo I have lined up some of my wire crimper's. The one on the far left IS NOT A CRIMPER! I only say this because I have witnessed people putting together marine terminations with a pair of PLIERS!!
The next crimper, the one with the yellow handles, is a cheap hardware store quality crimper and should only ever be used in an absolute emergency.
The middle crimper is a decent quality Klein crimper though it's not really suitable for anything other than NON-INSULATED terminals. This Klein crimper should never be used on marine grade, insulated terminations such as those made by Ancor Products unless it's a complete emergency.
The fourth crimper is a very good quality crimper, made by Ancor Products, and designed specifically for crimping marine grade HEAT SHRINK terminations. The jaws of this crimper are precision machined, and wide enough in cross section, to produce an excellent cold formed crimp. This crimper is also of the ratcheting type and will not release until a proper crimp has been made.
The final crimper shown is another ratcheting type crimper but this one, set up with the jaws shown, is designed for insulated terminals.
Read on for more details on these different crimpers.
24-FEB-2008
A Good Example of a BAD Crimper
This is an excellent example of a bad crimping and stripping tool. These hardware store quality crimper's will deflect, flex and cut the heat shrink thus defeating the purpose of spending good money on great terminals. The biggest worry with crimper's like this is the lack of strength you can achieve due to the very narrow cross section or thickness of the jaws.
24-FEB-2008
A Good Example of a GOOD Crimper
This crimper is designed specifically for use with marine grade heat shrink connectors. They will not damage the heat shrink and will yield a very, very strong, cold formed, crimp. This pair is distributed by Ancor Products and are called the "Single Crimp Ratchet Tool" Part No. 702010.
I paid about $55.00 for this crimper at
Hamilton Marine in Portland, Maine.
You can buy this identical crimper, without the Ancor name, from Sailors Solutions for only $39.95!
24-FEB-2008
Why To Use a Qualtity Tool
This should illustrate why NOT to use cheap crimpers! The bottom tool is the Ancor Products heat shrink crimper and the top one is a standard $12.00 cut, strip & crimp tool which certainly does none of it's intended uses well at all.
The thicker jaws of the Ancor Products crimper will yield a significantly thicker crimp band and lead to a better cold formed crimp.
22-FEB-2008
Properly Machined Jaw Faces
A properly machined jaw surface is very important when working with marine grade heat shrink connectors. This tool will not rip the heat shrink as a cheap tool will.
22-FEB-2008
A good Quality "Double Crimp" Tool
This is an Anchor Products Double Crimp Ratchet Tool Part No. 701030. This crimper is not as ideal for use on heat shrink connectors as the previous crimper but will work on them.
This crimper, as shown, is designed to crimp standard marine grade insulated connectors from 22ga wire to 10ga wire. This tool allows for the barrel and the strain relief sleeve to be crimped, in one motion, and at the same time.
One other key feature, of a high quality ratchet type crimper, is that you can simply re-calibrate when and if they ever go out of adjustment. You can also order different jaws or "dies" for this crimper to crimp different types of terminations such as BNC or RG type cable terminations.
22-FEB-2008
Dimple Crimper = Bad
In this photo I have placed a marine grade adhesive lined heat shrink connector into the jaws of my Klein "dimple" crimper. It certainly does not take a rocket scientist to understand why a dimple crimper should NOT be used on an insulated terminal. Once you squeeze the grip the dimple will puncture the expensive terminals protective heat shrink thus rendering the protection you paid for virtually pointless.
Note: This Klein crimper shows a spot for insulated crimps and also says insulated & non-insulated for the dimple crimp slots. I can not, with a good conscience, recommend anyone using this particular crimper, or any crimper like this, on any insulated marine termination regardless of whether or not it's a heat shrink connector or a standard insulated connector.
Using cheap one size fits all crimpers will not save you money in the long run.
23-FEB-2008
Crimp Terminals - Best To Worst
This photo shows a few of the different types of crimp terminals you can buy. The terminals in the top row are marine grade crimp connectors with built in adhesive lined heat shrink and are the best possible solution to use on a boat. Yes, they are expensive but worth it, and they are available from manufacturers such as
Ancor Products, AMP, and
FTZ.
The second row of connectors are marine grade but non-heat shrink. While these terminals stand head and shoulders above the bottom row they are not sealed connections and as such are open to the marine environment. When used in conjunction with UL Listed tinned marine grade wire these crimp connectors will last a long time provided they are not in any direct contact with water such as in a bilge.
The third row represents Wal*Mart quality connectors that should not be used on a boat! A good tip when buying connectors is this; if you can't see through the insulation, it's most likely vinyl, and should be avoided! The vinyl insulation on this type of connector can and will crack and the raw metal thickness, where the wire meets the connector to be crimped, is very, very weak in comparison to top quality terminals from reputable manufacturers such as those listed above.
24-FEB-2008
Don't Be Fooled By Cheap Connectors
Don't let your self be swayed by a cheap price on crimp connectors. All good quality connectors will be made of tinned copper and NOT aluminum! As I stated above Ancor Products, FTZ and AMP all make very good quality insulated and heat shrink terminals so you don't necessarily need to buy them at West Marine.
For example, I buy 100 adhesive lined terminals from my distributor for $36.00 per 100 so my guess is that you should be able to find them for less or slightly more. West Marine sells 25 for about $32.00..
24-FEB-2008
Real Copper !
OK, So I've ruined a few connectors for the sake of illustration, but, I did this to show what you should find beneath that tinned surface. I simply ground away the tinned coating to reveal the solid copper.
24-FEB-2008
Making A Heat Shrink Termination
This picture show you the finished product read on to see how this was done.
24-FEB-2008
First Make The Cut
This is fairly self explanatory. My only suggestion here is to use proper wire cutters similar to the ones pictured. In this photo I've chosen a pair of Klein High-Leverage Cable Cutter's Part No. 63050. They cost about $20.00 at Home Depot & Chanel-Lock also makes a set that are slightly less money. The right tool, for the right job, is always well worth the expense!
Using a set of Diagonal Cut Pliers or "Dykes" as they are normally called will not make as clean or as nice a cut as a good set of cable cutters will.