12voltplanet crimping tool and spare / additional dies

[KompetentKrew]

I'm very pleased with the crimping tool I bought from 12voltplanet, now nearly a year ago. I think some will say you don't need to spend so much on a tool, and now doubt this thread will inspire others to recommend crimping tools that do just as good a job for half the price, but this one seems decent quality and more resistant to rust than many of my tools.

This week I've been poking around sites to buy more electrics / electronics supplies, and something set me to looking to see if I could find more dies for it - I have indeed found them, and also a very similar, apparently compatible, crimping tool being resold in different kits at different price points.

I share my findings here, for posterity and hoping they'll be of use to someone, before I close my browser tabs and lose these pages for all time:

• 12voltPlanet - Ratchet Crimping Tool & Quick Change Die Set Bundle
• Farnell - sell the same tool and spare dies in the "Aven" range
• Anvil brand at:
  • RapidOnline - Kit and spare dies
  • ManoMano - same range as RapidOnline (kit is cheaper, spare dies more expensive)
• Amazon:
  • ABN - kit with 5 dies
  • Wirefy:
    • kit with 4 dies
    • kit with 6 dies (and a pair of wire strippers)
    • (ignore the single-die kits because the dies are not removable)
• TME Poland - Newbrand - crimping tool only and widest selection of dies
• [EDIT] Sealey - crimping tool only and range of dies

I started out this investigation thinking "ha! the ABN kit from Amazon is cheaper than the 12voltPlanet kit, because it has one extra die for the same price". However not all kits are the same, because of the wide variety of dies - allegedly a total of 40 are available.

If anyone else is considering buying this model of crimping tool then I guess the cheapest way to do it would be to buy the tool only and just the specific dies you need from TME Poland - I cannot vouch for this supplier, as I found them only as a result of my Google searches, but they are the cheapest for replacement dies and they seem to have some specific dies that I found nowhere else.

Of the kits, the 12voltplanet and larger Wirefly kits seem to be the most comprehensive, as they both feature the dies A (insulated terminals), B (non-insulated / copper-tube terminals / Anderson power pole?), C (non-insulated / open-barrel terminals) & A5 (adhesive-lined heatshrink crimp terminals). For an extra £15 the larger Wirefly kit includes a cheap pair of wire strippers but also the A4 (insulated flag terminals - common in automotive wiring?) and D (ferrule terminals) dies, and a plastic carry case.

I have spent far too much time on this post, but hopefully it will at least come in useful to someone. The 12voltPlanet crimping tool seems to be a slightly different design to the others, but the numbering of the dies is consistent in all the models listed in this post, so I don't see why you shouldn't be able to upgrade your 12voltPlanet kit to crimp RJ-45, coaxial or solar connectors using replacement dies bought from RapidOnline or TME Poland.

 

[KompetentKrew]

Additionally, if anyone else is into the heatshrink crimp connectors, as I am, there are alternatives on CPC / Farnell and Amazon:

• 12voltplanet - 80 Piece Heat shrink Pre-Insulated Crimp Terminal Kit
• CPC - 180 Piece Heatshrink Terminal Kit
• Farnell - 180 Piece Heatshrink Terminal Kit
• Amazon:
  • 120 x bullet
  • 100 x assortment

I'd trust the quality of CPC / Farnell, but note that the photos of Amazon's spade connectors show them to be different from the 12voltplanet ones - there is insulation around the outside of the female spades, whereas the 12voltPlanet ones are bare there (as are the CPC / Farnell ones, I think).

 

[coopec]

I bought my heatshrink terminals off eBay. I use quite a cheap crimper for the small stuff but one like this for battery cables. You can swing the anvils around to accomodate different size cables. I sometimes wonder whether I should have bought a hydraulic one.

 

[Keith-i]

It looks like my Sealey crimper is another matching variant that uses those die heads. I didn't realise there were quite so many other heads available.

 

[KompetentKrew]

It looks like my Sealey crimper is another matching variant that uses those die heads. I didn't realise there were quite so many other heads available.

Thanks, have added that to the list. You can often get Sealey from local tool shops, so knowing their part numbers might save someone having to order online and wait for delivery.

 

[TernVI]

I'm very pleased with the crimping tool I bought from 12voltplanet, now nearly a year ago. I think some will say you don't need to spend so much on a tool, and now doubt this thread will inspire others to recommend crimping tools that do just as good a job for half the price, but this one seems decent quality and more resistant to rust than many of my tools.

This week I've been poking around sites to buy more electrics / electronics supplies, and something set me to looking to see if I could find more dies for it - I have indeed found them, and also a very similar, apparently compatible, crimping tool being resold in different kits at different price points.

I share my findings here, for posterity and hoping they'll be of use to someone, before I close my browser tabs and lose these pages for all time:

• 12voltPlanet - Ratchet Crimping Tool & Quick Change Die Set Bundle
• Farnell - sell the same tool and spare dies in the "Aven" range
• Anvil brand at:
  • RapidOnline - Kit and spare dies
  • ManoMano - same range as RapidOnline (kit is cheaper, spare dies more expensive)
• Amazon:
  • ABN - kit with 5 dies
  • Wirefy:
    • kit with 4 dies
    • kit with 6 dies (and a pair of wire strippers)
    • (ignore the single-die kits because the dies are not removable)
• TME Poland - Newbrand - crimping tool only and widest selection of dies
• [EDIT] Sealey - crimping tool only and range of dies

I started out this investigation thinking "ha! the ABN kit from Amazon is cheaper than the 12voltPlanet kit, because it has one extra die for the same price". However not all kits are the same, because of the wide variety of dies - allegedly a total of 40 are available.

If anyone else is considering buying this model of crimping tool then I guess the cheapest way to do it would be to buy the tool only and just the specific dies you need from TME Poland - I cannot vouch for this supplier, as I found them only as a result of my Google searches, but they are the cheapest for replacement dies and they seem to have some specific dies that I found nowhere else.

Of the kits, the 12voltplanet and larger Wirefly kits seem to be the most comprehensive, as they both feature the dies A (insulated terminals), B (non-insulated / copper-tube terminals / Anderson power pole?), C (non-insulated / open-barrel terminals) & A5 (adhesive-lined heatshrink crimp terminals). For an extra £15 the larger Wirefly kit includes a cheap pair of wire strippers but also the A4 (insulated flag terminals - common in automotive wiring?) and D (ferrule terminals) dies, and a plastic carry case.

I have spent far too much time on this post, but hopefully it will at least come in useful to someone. The 12voltPlanet crimping tool seems to be a slightly different design to the others, but the numbering of the dies is consistent in all the models listed in this post, so I don't see why you shouldn't be able to upgrade your 12voltPlanet kit to crimp RJ-45, coaxial or solar connectors using replacement dies bought from RapidOnline or TME Poland.

Most of those 'finished crimp' pix look like QA fails to me.