FWIW- When I did my 1/0 connectors, I used a vice to squeeze the connector until the split overlapped, then turned the piece 90 degrees and hit it with a hammer.
Circa40 has one of those and it seems to work great...... I used a buddies bolt cutter style, but honestly from now on I am just going to heat up a bunch of solder inside the opening and then put the wire in..... then the connectors still look perfectly round, especially with heat shrink around it
Circa40 has one of those and it seems to work great...... I used a buddies bolt cutter style, but honestly from now on I am just going to heat up a bunch of solder inside the opening and then put the wire in..... then the connectors still look perfectly round, especially with heat shrink around it
I do something similar using regular gold plated connectors. Usually the gold plated connectors have a split in the barrel for the wire. I bend one side down into the wire with and then squueze the other side down and solder everything.
That's the one, but I think it's cheaper from Welding Supply
That's where I bought mine. As Fred alluded to the crimp very secure, yet butt ugly. If you plan on using heatshrink, like what I always do, look somewhere else. Otherwise plan on using the rubber boots
Can you provide an example? I am looking for 1/0 gauge crimper as well
What connection are you looking to crimp? There are ground lugs, battery posts, distribution blocks, ring terminals, etc ready for 1/0 by just tightening down a screw.
I have the tool posted on the top and it works friggin nice. I wouldn't hesitate at all to buy one from wleding supply since that is where I got mine. From the countless threads I have read on crimp vs solder, it is better to crimp. This is a cheap easy way to get descent crimping results. I think it is definitely good enough for the average person.
I have read on crimp vs solder, it is better to crimp.
Maybe that is what *a* book says somewhere, there are books out there and they say both, in reality soldering works better in the majority of applications... especially if you are a diyer and are going to do two connections.
I have my samples of crimped vs. solder coming back from the lab ( I sent some out to an electron microscope) The results should put the debate to rest for good.
i had that tool at my shop before, was one of the least used things ever hehe, it worked fine though but then again, if you are going to use a hammer anyway, why not just do it on the floor with a hammer hehe...
nowdays, i do it hammer style on the floor with a slight dab of CA glue as added security, but mots of the time 1/0 of mine goes with set screw or locking connectors...
One thing about those tools is that when you position the lug, it's best to crimp closer to the insert end (not too close!) then the eyelet side. Then if you want you can double crimp after that first crimp. If not you take the risk of crimping over the end of the cable and it getting squeezed out ruining the crimp job.
Double crimp = crimping further up on the same side of the lug but on a fresh part if possible
The results should put the debate to rest for good.
I look forward to seeing the results.
However, NO they will not.
As with almost every facet of mobile audio, the real-world factors that we expose our systems to (vibration, moisture, etc. etc. etc.) should outweigh the theoretical factors in system design. It seems you agree with this, which is why I don't understand your stance.
Crimping is better BOTH theoretically AND practically. What's more important in an automotive electrical connection: vibration resistance, or an electron-perfect electrical connection? What's the point of using stranded wire at all, if you're going to turn it into a solid core at each end?
Quote:
in reality soldering works better in the majority of applications... especially if you are a diyer and are going to do two connections.
What does being a DIY'er have to do with what works better? What does "doing two connections" have to do with what works better?
As with almost every facet of mobile audio, the real-world factors that we expose our systems to (vibration, moisture, etc. etc. etc.) should outweigh the theoretical factors in system design. It seems you agree with this, which is why I don't understand your stance.
Capn' Capn' Capn' We should get our girlfriends to fight it out in a mud pool, winner take all however in the absense of a highly erotic venue (such as our girlfriends mudwrestling) I must differ to the forum
I deal in the real world of car electronics five days of every week, I have been doing so for the past decade + so if we are going to debate about real world versus theoretical I will have to base my knowledge on a shitload of actual experience.
I have seen COUNTLESS crimped battery connections fail in cars. A good deal of my business is replacing these crappy crimped connections and replacing them with soldered installations. In comparison I have seen only a small portion of solder connections fail.
Perhaps the southern U.S. doesn't have the same crazy environmental factors that I see with the changes of season so perhaps the overall perspective is a bit skewed. I live in the land of rain, snow salt and sun. If something is going to be corroded it will happen in the environment I work in.
Fact: If a seal is not anaerobic (such as a crimp) it is more susceptible to moisture penetraion. Moisture in combination with air and heat will cause corrosion which increases resistance and causes all sorts of hard to diagnose problems. A properly soldered connection has no open ends and is thereofore inpenetrable (by water).
Fact: Vibration will effect any point of tension the same be it soldered or crimped the fact is the wire leads around the constriction will suffer the same damage due to vibration that a soldered connection will... However this is only theoretical, I have yet to see frayed wires in either soldered or crimped installations so this in my experience is a non-factor.
Lastly, the crimp tool being displayed here is actually designed to be used in conjunction with solder... the hex variety is the true 'cold welded' crimp tool but it is way too expensive for the average diy-er and still does not get away from the inherent moisture issues crimped connections display over time.
Factories crimp for one reason, lead is consumable (read expensive in mass quantities) and a crimp is not. Whatever is cheaper they will do, not exactly what is better.
In the end, if we want to base our debate on reality we have to look at the real world installation of DIY equipment these fact(or)s are:
Either connection is adequate. Crimping is easy but requires an expensive tool, too expensive for a 1-off install. Soldering is simple enough, requires a bit of technique but the tools can be had for a fraction of the cost (of a proper tool not meant to be augmented by solder)
So the real world factors which will impact this debate the most aren't even within the realm of mechanical connection, it is however within the realm of cost/reliability and for the cost you can't beat the reliability of a soldered connection period. Even if crimping was (and I am in no way conceding the point) better than soldering it would be by a miniscule margin... certainly not enough to say it is the definitive proper way to do a electromechanical connection.
Boosted.
Last edited by BoostedNihilist; 08-09-2008 at 11:55 AM..
Capn' Capn' Capn' We should get our girlfriends to fight it out in a mud pool, winner take all however in the absense of a highly erotic venue (such as our girlfriends mudwrestling) I must differ to the forum
I deal in the real world of car electronics five days of every week, I have been doing so for the past decade + so if we are going to debate about real world versus theoretical I will have to base my knowledge on a shitload of actual experience.
I have seen COUNTLESS crimped battery connections fail in cars. A good deal of my business is replacing these crappy crimped connections and replacing them with soldered installations. In comparison I have seen only a small portion of solder connections fail.
Perhaps the southern U.S. doesn't have the same crazy environmental factors that I see with the changes of season so perhaps the overall perspective is a bit skewed. I live in the land of rain, snow salt and sun. If something is going to be corroded it will happen in the environment I work in.
Fact: If a seal is not anaerobic (such as a crimp) it is more susceptible to moisture penetraion. Moisture in combination with air and heat will cause corrosion which increases resistance and causes all sorts of hard to diagnose problems. A properly soldered connection has no open ends and is thereofore inpenetrable (by water).
Fact: Vibration will effect any point of tension the same be it soldered or crimped the fact is the wire leads around the constriction will suffer the same damage due to vibration that a soldered connection will... However this is only theoretical, I have yet to see frayed wires in either soldered or crimped installations so this in my experience is a non-factor.
Lastly, the crimp tool being displayed here is actually designed to be used in conjunction with solder... the hex variety is the true 'cold welded' crimp tool but it is way too expensive for the average diy-er and still does not get away from the inherent moisture issues crimped connections display over time.
Factories crimp for one reason, lead is consumable (read expensive in mass quantities) and a crimp is not. Whatever is cheaper they will do, not exactly what is better.
In the end, if we want to base our debate on reality we have to look at the real world installation of DIY equipment these fact(or)s are:
Either connection is adequate. Crimping is easy but requires an expensive tool, too expensive for a 1-off install. Soldering is simple enough, requires a bit of technique but the tools can be had for a fraction of the cost (of a proper tool not meant to be augmented by solder)
So the real world factors which will impact this debate the most aren't even within the realm of mechanical connection, it is however within the realm of cost/reliability and for the cost you can't beat the reliability of a soldered connection period. Even if crimping was (and I am in no way conceding the point) better than soldering it would be by a miniscule margin... certainly not enough to say it is the definitive proper way to do a electromechanical connection.
Boosted.
I think the cold weld crimp tools make crimps that are impenetrable from water. Aren't brass to brass fittings used without any gasket material in water pipe? No leaks there.
No one should be crimping copper, only tinned copper. Let it corrode all it wants, tin corrosion still conducts electricity well enough (unlike copper). Plus it forms a corrosion skin that protects the underlaying metal from any more corrosion eating it away.
Knowing that and seeing that the mediocre crimping tools is much more affordable then what you would need to do a proper solder job, I'd say crimping is way easier, better, and cheaper in to DIY'r.
Crimp tool for 1/0
Linear Mode
