Dale! Q's about 12v electrical`

[sbshaver]

Ratching crimpers actually DO take some of the guesswork out of crimping, namely the amount of pressure to apply to the terminal. On a pair of Satan Crimpers, amount of pressure is determined by how hard or soft you squeeze. Ratcheted crimpers apply a uniform amount regardless.

[Tommy2tone_1999]

What constitutes a bad crimp? If you crimp the connector with whatever crimping tool, give it a tug and it's secure, and you heat seal it and have a power to the circuit, how much better can you get?

[Dale M.]

And if it does pull apart you have wasted a connector.... A decent ratcheting connector eliminates that as it gives a correct crimp (pressure) every time or it will not release the connector from crimper.... When I was in industry ever crimp tool we used had to be certified even from the smallest (22 gauge) to the largest (750,000) buy pressure exerted on connector and go/no go gauges on how crimper dies closed.... Our bigger machines were 10,000psi crimp heads for the 750,000cm power cable ...

But you have to help crimpers also by selecting proper terminal (connector size) appropriate for wire used and put connector in proper portion of crimp die to make crimp....

This is where you start playing with the big tools...



Dale

[MtnDon]

Would those who doubt the necessity for using a top notch crimping tool on electrical connections also 'make do' with an inferior tool when making a crimp connection on PEX plumbing?

[Tommy2tone_1999]

I don't doubt the effectiveness of a top notch crimper. I have finished all my crimps with a "crimper from hell" I have checked each crimp and am wondering if they will detach somehow. If I need to re-do these connection before I seal them up in the ceiling I will, but I prefer to leave them as is if they are good. I have a ratchet crimper ( albeit a Harbor Freight version), and frankly it has failed me. So I ask the question again, what constitutes a bad crimp?

[MtnDon]

Good and bad linky

[Dale M.]

Good and bad linky

Good link....

Dale

[Kharn]

I bought a cheapo $20 ratcheting crimper from Amazon for my build, it works great *except* for some blue connectors with 16 gauge wire. Those I have to do with the red section of the jaws and go back over with the demon crimper, otherwise they just slide right off. 10, 12, 14, 18, 20, all work great, just some 16 gauge are a problem. It was mainly my female and male blade disconnects, my barrels and terminals worked fine.

[Dale M.]

I bought a cheapo $20 ratcheting crimper from Amazon for my build, it works great *except* for some blue connectors with 16 gauge wire. Those I have to do with the red section of the jaws and go back over with the demon crimper, otherwise they just slide right off. 10, 12, 14, 18, 20, all work great, just some 16 gauge are a problem. It was mainly my female and male blade disconnects, my barrels and terminals worked fine.

Poor quality connectors....

Dale

[Dale M.]

I bought a cheapo $20 ratcheting crimper from Amazon for my build, it works great *except* for some blue connectors with 16 gauge wire. Those I have to do with the red section of the jaws and go back over with the demon crimper, otherwise they just slide right off. 10, 12, 14, 18, 20, all work great, just some 16 gauge are a problem. It was mainly my female and male blade disconnects, my barrels and terminals worked fine.

Poor quality connectors (terminals) ....

Dale

[Kharn]

I bought a cheapo $20 ratcheting crimper from Amazon for my build, it works great *except* for some blue connectors with 16 gauge wire. Those I have to do with the red section of the jaws and go back over with the demon crimper, otherwise they just slide right off. 10, 12, 14, 18, 20, all work great, just some 16 gauge are a problem. It was mainly my female and male blade disconnects, my barrels and terminals worked fine.

Poor quality connectors....

Dale

I wouldn't be surprised. The barrels and terminals I've been using are 3M, the disconnects were from Home Depot...

[High Camp Trailers]

I use Sealed Crimp Connectors on my builds...the cost per connection is much higher than non-sealed PVC connectors, but the piece of mind in knowing that none of my customers should have to hunt down a loose connection is more than worth the extra expense. It's always a joy to use a top-notch product that you never have to think about again! If the cost is too much, consider using them solely for any buried, in-wall type applications where a bad connection would be impossible to fix and use the cheaper connectors for connections where access isn't too much of a problem. Also agree on using a good ratchet-style crimper made for the type of connector you are using (insulated/ non-insulated)!

Here is a good video of the ones I use...
[youtube]http://youtu.be/pQyHFK6zGQA[/youtube]
-Dennis