best marine crimps

We've got A LOT of electrical connections to make on an old salt water boat. We've got good marine grade wire and crimp connectors from the big box store. Should you grease the wire before crimping or seal with something after crimping? Salt seems to coorode everything.

Karl

 

Ive used Wurth Heat shrink crimp connectors with very good results in the marine environment.

http://www.wurthusa.com/project/media/new_online_catalog_2010/03_Electric.pdf


To achieve Pro results you must use a Pro ratchet wire crimping tool and a pro wire stripping tool.... heat shrink with a hot gun.

I use spray vaseline to cover high exposure terminal strip connections.

Once agian to get pro results you must use a pro crimper and you must use a pro wire stripper.

 

....as he says, but I use lanoline grease instead of spray, much more sticky and last forever, actually even underwater. My old dive gear is now over 40 years old, twin hose regulator, used lanoline from day one, and still can use the gear..........

 

I have the pro rachet crimper and and stripping tools. And A LOT of experience wiring CNC machine tools to new controls. (inside building wiring)

But no saltwater experience. My charter boat captain is broke and wants me to use big box crimps. We have good used marine wire. My query is how to harden this combination for better service life.

I hear you say grease, makes sense. I don't see how a shrink tube would go over this style connector.

Anything else? Anybody?

Karl

 

If you have access to " telemecanique plc " electrical products use them...very well thought out components such as terminal strips , cable runs, waterproof junction boxes

http://www.schneider-electric.com/sites/corporate/en/products-services/products-services.page

 

If you want pro results on hundreds of connectors its better to bite the bullet and purchase proper heat shrink connectors... I cant imagine trying to individually heat shrink hundreds of crimps.

On top quality yachts...heat shrink crimps are only used in "unprotected" areas. In watertight boxes and for general interior use, normal crimps are used.

I understand the little buggers are expensive...three times the normal price, but I find them very robust in high exposure areas.

Ive seen some kinda plastiv CABLE END DIP..but have no experiance...perhaps google it ?

 

If you are using connectors from the "big box store" they will never crimp properly. Good quality connectors are not split like the cheap ones. Also, the plastic spreads out and gets loose when you crimp them instead of staying nice and tight. After screwing in the connectors, battery terminal spray will protect the connections. It is a waxy paste that penetrates and covers really well.

 

Big box crimps may also be zinc coated mild steel which will not last very long. Go to the Anchor Marine web site and find the proper connectors of choice.

 

This may sound cheesey, but on some of the charter boats I used to work on, We would use wire nuts and then fill with epoxy. Lasted for years.

 

It sounds like a viable alternative, but messy and time consuming. Also, not up to standards as I understand them.

 

Yep, a heavily loaded circuit could cause the epoxy to reach it's pliable stage and vibration or line strain may yank it right out. I also would red flag anything like this in an inspection or survey.

Heat shrink sleeves on crimps, are a relatively new invention. Most of us have been employing tubing for many decades. In a lot of cases you don't have a choice and tubing is the call. A good builder will double tube their connections in highly "suspect" areas. As for the costs, well the costs are what they are and you can pay for the convenience of having the sleeve built in, or buy bulk rolls of tubing and do a two step crimp. It's your call, though money saved on the bulk rolls of tubing will be eaten up by the time it takes to make the two step connection.

 

....yep, do it once and do it right...disregard this advice, and you will be doing it again, but certainly not at your convenience.....

 

I know it sounded cheesey, wire nuts and epoxy but I must quote:

Epoxy resin formulations are important in the electronics industry, and are employed in motors, generators, transformers, switchgear, bushings, and insulators. Epoxy resins are excellent electrical insulators and protect electrical components from short circuiting, dust and moisture. In the electronics industry epoxy resins are the primary resin used in overmolding integrated circuits, transistors and hybrid circuits, and making printed circuit boards. The largest volume type of circuit board—an "FR-4 board"—is a sandwich of layers of glass cloth bonded into a composite by an epoxy resin. Epoxy resins are used to bond copper foil to circuit board substrates, and are a component of the solder mask on many circuit boards.

In defense of my poor old Captain's honor, we only used wire nuts and epoxy on low voltage conductors and wire nuts utilize haywire twists and do not pull out. Wire will part first in pull conditions. Epoxy never fell away.
High voltage conductors were always home run circuits. One wire, one circuit.

 

better crimps

Karl, I have found much better quality crimps at appliance repair supply stores. They are not available in all sizes, but the conditions under a washing machine are very demanding of good quality electrical connectors. Just a thought. B

 

Of course you know that not all epoxies are equal right? At 150 degrees the major marine grade epoxies lose 50% of their strength and start becoming pliable? Of course you can get epoxy formulations that tolerate heat much better, but West System 105 isn't one of them.