Shrink and Insulated terminals

Roc · June 21, 2016, 05:00:04 PM

Hi All,
I purchased the Pro HST crimp tool from Mainesail's site. Real nice quality product. It's pricey, but it looks like you can just about make a fool-proof crimp. I like the nice wide jaws. I have various terminals, and they all seem to be the insulated type (I'm throwing away all the cheap ones after reading Mainesail's how-to info). I'm wondering if these insulated terminals really won't work with this tool. In the past, I've used these terminals with adhesive lined shrink tubing to make a water-tight seal. I don't have all too much of these various terminals, but if they won't work, it's a shame to throw them all away and get the shrink sleeve terminals.

mregan · June 21, 2016, 05:24:00 PM

They should work fine. Especially if you use them with shrink tubing.

KWKloeber · June 21, 2016, 05:27:30 PM

I recently used a couple of the "stake on" type terminals with that tool. It seemed to work ok when I gave it a SUPER pull test.

Of course what you're missing with this style is the 2nd crimp for the wire strain relief, but HST on the end will solve that.

Another option (I would prefer) is pull off the hard insulation sleeve with a needle nose, crimp it with a dimple-type crimper, then HST the whole thing up and including the wire exposure.

kk

mainesail · June 22, 2016, 04:00:00 AM

Quote from: Roc on June 21, 2016, 05:00:04 PM
Hi All,
I purchased the Pro HST crimp tool from Mainesail's site. Real nice quality product. It's pricey, but it looks like you can just about make a fool-proof crimp. I like the nice wide jaws. I have various terminals, and they all seem to be the insulated type (I'm throwing away all the cheap ones after reading Mainesail's how-to info). I'm wondering if these insulated terminals really won't work with this tool. In the past, I've used these terminals with adhesive lined shrink tubing to make a water-tight seal. I don't have all too much of these various terminals, but if they won't work, it's a shame to throw them all away and get the shrink sleeve terminals.

You may find that on a good quality three piece terminal you wind up with an "over crimp" (too much crimp can cause the wire or terminal to fracture) the trick is to just use the release lever before the tool hits bottom and releases. For typical two-piece insulated terminals, such as many butt splices or some "fast-ons" & ring terminals it should work okay without pre-releasing..

Roc · June 22, 2016, 09:20:05 AM

So, Mainesail, what you are saying is with the shrink terminals, I should squeeze the tool until the ratchet releases, as it normally operates With insulated terminals (two piece that has a strain relief), it's still ok to let the tool hit bottom and release itself? For the strain relief part, will this tool crimp that section appropriately? Should the tool be let to self-release or is it best to release it manually before it hits bottom for the strain relief? I would like to use these insulated terminals I have and feel confident I'm making a quality crimp. Thanks for your help.

mainesail · June 22, 2016, 11:06:37 AM

Quote from: Roc on June 22, 2016, 09:20:05 AM
So, Mainesail, what you are saying is with the shrink terminals, I should squeeze the tool until the ratchet releases, as it normally operates With insulated terminals (two piece that has a strain relief), it's still ok to let the tool hit bottom and release itself? For the strain relief part, will this tool crimp that section appropriately? Should the tool be let to self-release or is it best to release it manually before it hits bottom for the strain relief? I would like to use these insulated terminals I have and feel confident I'm making a quality crimp. Thanks for your help.

If you want to use insulated terminals (quality three piece terminals with metal insert for strain relief), and you want to crimp for strain relief, then you really need a double crimp tool.. If you want to just crimp the wire band on an insulated terminal then make sure you are not over crimping it.

Not all insulated terminals are three-piece or what I would consider "quality" terminals.

KWKloeber · June 22, 2016, 12:08:08 PM

Quote from: Roc on June 22, 2016, 09:20:05 AM
So, Mainesail, what you are saying is with the shrink terminals, I should squeeze the tool until the ratchet releases, as it normally operates With insulated terminals (two piece that has a strain relief), it's still ok to let the tool hit bottom and release itself? For the strain relief part, will this tool crimp that section appropriately? Should the tool be let to self-release or is it best to release it manually before it hits bottom for the strain relief? I would like to use these insulated terminals I have and feel confident I'm making a quality crimp. Thanks for your help.

If you want to be confident then it sounds like your questioning your ability/knowledge to tell if the crimp is "quality."
ie., using a tool that's not meant for the job (ie, "automatic",) means you have to know what to do. That tool isn't a no-brainer to use on non-HST terminals.

It can be done, but it isn't automatic -- you have to know what you're doing. The Harbor Freight dual-crimp tool is decent for those terminals, low cost, and does what you want. If you are applying HST to those terminals, then crimping the wire strain relief isn't an issue anyway -- you just need to NOT overcrush the wire crimp (ie, possibly need to release before completing the cycle.)

Take a few terminals and try it to test -- what can you lose?

Ken

Roc · June 23, 2016, 03:25:50 AM

What does over crimping produce? It can tear or nick the insulation? Or does it also compromise the wire connection to the terminal?

mainesail · June 23, 2016, 04:50:38 AM

Over-crimping weakens the terminal and can cause the wire to fracture. It can be just as bad as under-crimping. The tool you have is really designed and intended for quality heat shrink terminals such as FTZ, Molex, AMP, Ancor etc..

This tool would be a good choice for insulated terminals and is the closest I could come in die set to an AMP tool at a reasonable price.

Pro-DCT - Double Crimp Tool
http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/purchase_prodct_tool

Before you guys get too upset about the cost of proper tooling you may want to consider the close to 10K I have invested as a marine electrician just in crimp tools...

Heck just a few weeks ago I had to order some more pin & socket locators, for Switchcraft plugs, to fit my Daniels AFM8 tool. Just the locators ran me $180.00.....

mainesail · June 23, 2016, 04:54:25 AM

Quote from: mainesail on June 23, 2016, 04:50:38 AM
Over-crimping weakens the terminal and can cause the wire or terminal to fracture, often without warning. It can be just as bad as under-crimping.

The tool you have is really designed and intended for quality heat shrink terminals such as FTZ, Molex, AMP, Ancor etc.. It is an excellent US made heat shrink crimp tool.

This tool would be a good choice for insulated terminals and is the closest I could come in die set to an AMP tool at a reasonable price. I have been working on offering a die set for this tool to do heat shrink but having the dies made here in the US has been proving to cost close to the same as the stand alone tool. At that price it is best to just have two tools.

Pro-DCT - Double Crimp Tool
http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/purchase_prodct_tool

Before you guys get too upset about the cost of proper tooling you may want to consider the 10K +/- I have invested just in crimp tools to do my job properly......

Heck just a few weeks ago I had to order some more pin & socket locators, for Switchcraft plugs, to fit my Daniels AFM8 tool. Just the locators ran me $180.00.....