Sparkies - Crimp Tool?

[SWR Banned Find all posts View Profile Close SWR]

I will be making some cables this weekend using, amongst other things, 50amp Anderson connectors.

You might also want this link below!

Wire gauge calculator

Cheers

[Beach Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Beach]

Very handy. Thank you.

[Guest Close Guest]

This is the Ratchet Crimper I was talking about...
http://www.rhinotools.com.au/hand-cr...e-crimper.html

That looks like a nice tool. I'm a bit addicted to Anderson Powerpoles
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/ANDERSON-...ba1ae96&_uhb=1

Is there info on your tool about the suitability of crimping 15A Powerpole contacts?

[mjrandom Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close mjrandom]

I have used the ratcheting tool above and I now have a version of the hydraulic crimper that D4D posted. The indent crimper can make it difficult to fit Anderson plugs, especially the Powerpoles due to the distortion of the crimp. The hydraulic set does a wonderful job and has done pretty much every crimp I have done this year. Some fittings have thicker material and you get some flash that needs to be filed off but at $150 - 200 a set they are expensive. Mine were a present so good value for money!

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Thanks MJ. I see that the proper crimper like this one
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/ANDERSON-...57668ad&_uhb=1
makes an indent the entire length of the barrel.

What does your hydraulic one do?

Edit: Any thoughts on this hydraulic crimper?
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Hydraulic...9a02600&_uhb=1

[SWR Banned Find all posts View Profile Close SWR]

Wow!!!..... Some of these hydrolic crimper's go up to 16 Ton!!

hydraulic crimper

Cheers

[mjrandom Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close mjrandom]

Mine is the same as Andrew's link. 8 tonne with dies from 4mm2 through to 70mm2. I don't know how well it would crimp 70mm2 cable but I have done 35mm2 down to 4mm2 and it produces tight hexagonal crimps. If you do Powerpoles with smaller cable than that the flash is quite large so I double up the cable in the fittings.

[Defender90 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Defender90]

I will be making some cables this weekend using, amongst other things, 50amp Anderson connectors.

Can anyone with the know how direct me to where I can get a half way decent crimp tool?

Supplier? Brand?

I'm on the northern beaches of Sydney, so there are the usual outlets handy.

Something middle of the range with a range of jaw sizes would be great.

I needed one for a dual battery install and went to Autobarn to buy one and they lent me one for the day for free. I didn't even buy the crimps from them. Not sure if they will all do that.

Good luck

[Beach Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Beach]

So I ended up getting a crimp tool with adjustable jaws from Jaycar. The only place I could find that had one in stock and in some cases, knew what I was talking about. Not the best quality, but it got me out of trouble and it was only $50.

For the record - the people at John R Turk Electrical are total knobs! The people at Jaycar are very helpful. Even if they don't stock it, they try to help as best they can.

I also picked up a butane blow torch as I wanted to try a different technique and not use a soldering iron. It worked very well and was much easier in applying heat to heavy gauge wire.

I'm going to order one of the hydraulic jobbies from ebay as I will be needing it again.

As a side note, I also checked out the LED lights that Jaycar sell. Quite a range, very bright and not a bad price.

[Graz Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Graz]

I have 1 of these. not cheap but covers most bases
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Quick-Cha...item20d82c87bb

[Chriso57 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Chriso57]

Waiting for the firestorm........
Chriso

[mumstruk Member Find all posts View Profile Close mumstruk]

One thing I learned a long time ago was that a soldered lug if it gets hot will soften the solder joint, causing more heat from a poor connection and the eventual failure of the joint.
You can't beat a decent crimp job with the right tools. For high current apps I use mastic lined heat shrink over the lug shank. This prevents fine strands from breaking out of the joint, supports the joint and keeps air and moisture out.

Solder is a poor conductor of electricity and can cause a hot joint or give poor performance or voltage drop. But there is nothing wrong with crimping and soldering a cable lug!

[RanJ Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close RanJ]

I solder damn near everything under 8ga. After 8ga, I do both... crimp the hell out of it and then using a mini jet lighter I flow 1.5mm leaded solder into the crimp.

@mumstruk. While I agree that if a joint gets hot it will soften the solder and cause a potential failure but a voltage drop at the least. Isn't it safe to assume though if your joint is getting that hot, you have bigger issues to deal with? What application are you talking about where it's acceptable for it to get that hot?

As this is a forum and everything is so easily taken out of context... I'm not disagreeing with you... just trying to understand. In my job (auto electrician) any joint that gets that hot is typically incorrect cable, excessive current draw. If it's outside enviromental factors causing heat (exhaust) then the insulation around the cable is my first concern.

[D4D Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close D4D]

If your whole car is crimped from the factory, why is it necessary to add solder to aftermarket wiring?

BTW in a previous life I was professionally trained how to solder so I do know how to solder properly.

[RanJ Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close RanJ]

Because I don't have the industrial crimping tools that the robots have.