Harsh environment crimp connectors

I went down to the boat today to do a little electrical work. I'm adding a circuit for some of the Audio/Video equipment so I can shut it off since some of it does not have an on/off button (like the AppleTV).

Anyway, I stopped at the local West Marine store and noticed they had some Ancor crimp connectors that had built in heat shrink tubing on them. I've never seen these before so I thought I would buy a couple and see how they worked. Here's the 3 pack I bought:



I'm working with 12 gauge wire and some #10 screws in a various bus bars. Here they are next to the standard crimp connector for 12 gauge wire:



One of the things I noticed right away was that the standard connectors I use have a longer neck and allows for more wire contact and for two uses of the crimp tool.



Before I go into the new shrink wrap connectors, this is how I build wire ends on my electrical work on the boat. I first cut a small piece of heat shrink tubing and slide it on the wire:



Put the crimps in two locations on the neck:



Pull the heat shrink tubing up on the whole assembly so I get a covering that more or less keeps the salty air out:



When it's installed on a bus bar, it gives a nice secure connection and then I spray the whole thing with boeshield T9.



So I pulled out a piece of test wire and crimped on one of the connectors with the built in heat shrink tubing. I then heated it up with my small butane torch I have.... This was the end result:



Two things... The heat shrink tubing took a lot more heat to shrink than the standard black tubing. I ended up heating it up more than I like and it melted the wire insulation a little so I should have been a little more careful. I just didn't like how long and how much heat it took. The second is I'm not crazy about that single crimp. It doesn't have as much wire exposure to the crimp as shown here:



And I'm concerned the thing could vibrate or fall out. I hate chasing electrical gremlins and I've pulled the rocker switch panel off the helm a few times and some of the wires have fallen out of their spade connectors (the ones done at the factory). I chased a loose ground wire for a week on that panel that was for the Sea Ray Systems Monitor and I really hate that.

Sea Ray uses crimp connectors and just sprays them with some sort of coating goop and does not seal the assemblies with heat shrink. Here's a shot inside the cabin's electrical panel:



So I guess I probably go overboard with my connections. However, when in a harsh environment like a sump box or a bilge pump sump area, I think it's best to shrink wrap the connections and then spray them on top of that... The connectors with the built in shrink wrap are about 3 times the cost of the regular crimp connectors but they do seal up nicely (as long as you don't burn things). They are available in butt connectors as well. I just wish they had longer necks. Because of that, I'll continue on with my old fashioned way.

My 2 cents... You are very bored if you reached the end of this write up.

Gary

You may want to take a look at these. They have solder inside the connector. You crimp, then heat. The solder melts and solders the joint, then the heat shrink does its thing.

http://www.delcity.net/delcity/servlet/catalog?parentid=791842&page=1

Gary,

Thanks for taking the extra time to include all the pics & explanations in that post. I know its not rocket science and for some maybe even trivial. But in my opinion its a damn good post. Thanks again.

Gary, on the terminals with the long barrel (neck in your speak) take one of the terminals and pull off the insulation. Is there a 3rd piece of material besides the terminal and the nylon insulation?

Apples and oranges comparison. One insulator is nylon, meaning the manufacturer needs to add a metallic sleeve that extends beyond the barrel. The second crimp needs to be past the barrel yet not past the sleeve. This also needs to be over the wires insulation, not over the non-insulated strands of the wire. The sleeve exists because nylon is hydroscopic meaning it will absorb water. After you crimp it this insulator will eventually pop back up. The sleeve does not pop back up and acts as a strain relief (not pull out strength) for the wire.

I’m not a fan of Anchor terminals. They lack the deep internal serrations that quality terminals have inside the barrel. Also, I prefer stronger and harder tongues.

I typed up a long post but it read like an advertisement so I’m not going to post it.

Gary, if you want some quality Mil spec crimp terminals send me your address and I’ll send you some. I think I even have some sitting around that are nuclear radiation resistant and 94-V-0 (self extinguishing) rated.

I'm all ears to hear about better crimp connectors. I posted this just to see what other people do... I saw some wiring in a picture here on CSR that someone had used solid copper wire and wire nuts so I thought it might be wise to show how I do it... I'm not married to Ancor products it's just that they are easily available and that's pretty much what all the marine stores carry for some reason.

For crimping, I have a Paladin 1300 series ratchet frame and use a 2040 die for insulated connectors.

The ancor brand don't have the solder inside, just adhesive. The solder heat shrink connectors are nice too. We get those at Fastenal. We use the Fastenal brand non solder heat shrink connectors for our installations and Ancor in a pinch.

This is the type I use. The arrow points to the “***” on the bottom where the bottom of the log is placed. The crimp will be formed evenly around the lug. Best used for lugs of 14 to 12 gauge.


PS. Will also serve as a hammer when the VHF antenna needs to be straightened…

Please keep in mind that when using ratcheting tools like the one shown in the above photo from Gary, it’s the tool that needs to be tested and approved to crimp the specific terminal, not the other way around.

Do not expect one brand of ratcheting tool to properly crimp another brand of terminal. Do not even expect one brand of ratcheting tool to properly crimp all of that brands terminals. If the tool manufacturer claims otherwise, ask for the U.L. number for the tool / terminal combination.

hack4alivin said:

This is the type I use. The arrow points to the “***” on the bottom where the bottom of the log is placed. The crimp will be formed evenly around the lug. Best used for lugs of 14 to 12 gauge.


PS. Will also serve as a hammer when the VHF antenna needs to be straightened…

Click to expand...

Oh no Mr. Bill! (I’ve always wanted to say that, LOL) It’s hard to tell in the photo, I just want to make sure you are using the non-insulated nest for non-insulated terminals and the insulated nest for insulated terminals. If you have an issue with insulated terminals coming off if you crimp them in the insulated nest you either have to work on your crimping technique or use a better terminal or tool. The tool you show is a decent pliers type crimp tool but unlike ratcheting tools, pliers type crimp tools are much more installer technique dependent.

Gary,

The Ancor heat shrink terminals also have a sealant that liquifies when the shrink tubing is heated and re-solidifies after the heat is removed. It's supposed to prevent any wicking by making a better seal than heat shrink tube alone. Heat shrink tube isn't meant to seal, but to insulate. I think you really need both the tubing and the sealant for wet or exposed areas.

Best regards,
Frank

Presentation said:

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Oh no Mr. Bill! (I’ve always wanted to say that, LOL) It’s hard to tell in the photo, I just want to make sure you are using the non-insulated nest for non-insulated terminals and the insulated nest for insulated terminals. If you have an issue with insulated terminals coming off if you crimp them in the insulated nest you either have to work on your crimping technique or use a better terminal or tool. The tool you show is a decent pliers type crimp tool but unlike ratcheting tools, pliers type crimp tools are much more installer technique dependent.

Click to expand...

I agree with your quote about “technique”, but I started my career as an industrial electrician, many years ago I’m afraid, and used this type frequently. Still do.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8078407797255965707&q=dreamsite+productions

Looks like Gary's using a double walled shrink tubing. I use adhesive lined tubing from shrinkshop.com over standard connectors since its hard to find connectors with a long crimp barrel. In areas such as the sump box where the connections are butt type and need be watertight but are outside the sump itself, I use GM weatherpack connectors. The pumps and switches seem to go bad all too often and at the wrong time so its nice to be able to quickly disconnect them and replace with a new in seconds without any tools or cutting off another 1/2" of wire. I keep a spare pump and float switch already wired with a weatherpack connector onboard at all times. SB

Hey Frank,

I was trying to not let this get to complex, but you are correct about sealant. You can get heat shrink with internally applied sealant. I’m planning on sending Gary a little bag with an assortment of heat shrink pieces, some with internal sealant and some without, even a heat shrink end cap, but he has not sent me his address yet so I’m not sure he wants to keep this going to that level of evaluation.

hack4alivin said:

I agree with your quote about “technique”, but I started my career as an industrial electrician, many years ago I’m afraid, and used this type frequently. Still do.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8078407797255965707&q=dreamsite+productions

Click to expand...

Now that is funny right there!

With regards to the ratchet crimp tool by Paladin, I bought that thing back in the early 90's and it's one of the best tools I have. It seems every connector I get requires a specific crimp tool and they usually specify the Paladin die to use... Needless to say, I have a dozen or so dies now.... and it does take the "technique" out of the equation. It either works or it doesn't. For example, crimping on all the pieces to a coax for a mini-UHF amphenol connector is not something I think could be done without this thing. I thought about sending Sea Ray one of these as a half-hearted joke so they could do RG-6/RG-58 cable connections properly.

I guess I didn't think about the adhesive. That's probably the goop that oozed out the Ancor connector and not insulation. The shrinkshop.com website is a nice find! Has anyone used their shrinkwrap connectors? They have a bunch...

And where was all this crimp expertise when the dude put up that picture with the air conditioner and wire nuts on it?

A great source for marine wire, heat-shrink connectors and tubing is http://bestboatwire.com/

They sell Pacer wire which I have found to be better in some respects than Anchor. The outer insulation on duplex and triplex wire for example is solid-filled - not hollow.

They also sell a very thick heat-shrink tubing for battery cables, etc.

Price is typically less than half of Anchor at WM.

I get a lot of stuff from bestboatwire.com but I've never got their crimps. They are Pacer brand...

One of my questions here for those that use "non-marine" crimps is do they have a tin coating on them so they won't corrode? I sure wouldn't want the types of connectors from my trailer lights on my boat. The copper on those pins always gets crapped up and I have to sand them down once in awhile.

I guess the concept of the single crimp with adhesive inside is that the shrink wrap will provide the strain relief. The double crimps without the shrink wrap have one crimp on the exposed wire and one on the wire insulation to provide strain relief... I've been a bad boy in that I use both crimps on exposed wire and then put shrink wrap on the thing which provides strain relief. I guess I should be using an adhesive shrink wrap for that to work properly... or just install them like they instruct...

As an FYI, Ancor (no "h") is a Marinco brand... they have good info on their website on various rules/regs... like this:

http://www.marinco.com/page/abyc-standards

I think I've posted that here before...

Not pushing their brand but just showing some of their docs.

I bought a boat load (over 1500) of miscelaneous 'waterproof' crimpable terminal connectors in different sizes and configurations.

Presentation:

You seem quite knowledgeable on this subject. The brand I have are Tech-Line made by Calterm. They have the waterproof glue liner that melts and encapsultes the connection during installation.

I'm curious what your opinion is on this brand.

thanks,

Four Suns said:

......Ancor (no "h") is ......

Click to expand...

If we are having a spelling contest, you win and I give up.

Standards from easiest to most demanding

NMMA Marine rated / ABYC

ABS (American Bureau of Shipping)

Military standard / Mil-spec such as:
MIL-T-7929 or MS-25036 or the specific mil spec number for the given application. There are a lot of categories, MS-17143, MS-21004, MIL-T-MS-23002, it goes on.

All the terminals I sent you today meet the applicable Mil-spec except the more economical vinyl terminals.

All the terminals have protective tin plating. At the core, the terminals are copper based, the disconnects are brass based.

I’d have to do some checking and really I need to get back to work but I don’t believe the heat shrink terminals meet mil-spec.

The tool I sent you has a locater guide. You place the terminal in the nest with the same color dot, tongue down. You swing the locator guide down until it touches the tongue. Push the terminal into the locater guide until the barrel on the terminal touches the locator guide. Next you begin crimping the terminal until its one click into the terminal getting compressed.

Now the terminal is held in the correct position and you can insert the wire into the terminal.

Next, insert the wire then complete the crimp cycle until the tool releases.

Don’t put your toes in between the dies as you are crimping, ok?


If you do get your toe stuck you do not need to complete the crimp cycle, there is a manual release in the ratcheting system. Dang, I should have put a post it note on the tool pointing this out.

I can't wait to look at the stuff... This is going to turn into "The Crimp that Stole Christmas."