Affordable crimping tool?

MissFitz

MissFitz

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I need to rewire my boat - well, wire it really, it's got no electrics at the moment. I'll have quite a bit of crimping to do & from everything I've read that means I need a decent crimping tool. At the same time, I really don't want to spend upwards of £100 on one. Are there any affordable ratchet crimpers that would be fit for purpose?
 
Widely available for about half the price you quoted. I am in favour of using the uninsulated crimp, not the red, blue and yellow variety. Bag of 50 is about £4. Just for example look at 12 volt planet site, although I have never used them they have a comprehensive range.
 
I use Klauke tools as recommended by one of the forum specialist boat leckies. The advantage of the model I have is that it has 3 sets of interchangeable dies, so that every type of connection can be made with every size of wire you are likely to come across on board, with the exception of battery cabling.

Good kit will apply exactly the right amount of 'squeeze' on the tail of the connector, so that you do not run the risk of over-crimping and cutting strands.

Similarly, I would go for the best terminals and connectors you can buy. Cheapy stuff will break at the waist of the connector if slightly or repeatedly flexed. And that leads to disappointments.

I take 3rd engines point about uninsulated crimps, but using the coloured ones means you have the right size crimp and die for the mm2 of the cable. Connectors with pre-installed heat shrink are a luxury, when you can buy the tube by the metre in different colours and shrink ratios.

Farnell and CPC are good suppliers.
 
sarabande said:
I use Klauke tools as recommended by one of the forum specialist boat leckies. The advantage of the model I have is that it has 3 sets of interchangeable dies, so that every type of connection can be made with every size of wire you are likely to come across on board, with the exception of battery cabling.
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I've looked at Klauke crimpers but they do seem quite pricey. Will they really make that much difference? Would it be a disaster to buy a Draper one from Amazon for £16.50? ( https://www.amazon.co.uk/Draper-35574-Ratchet-Action-Terminal-Crimping/dp/B0001K9TGA/ )
 
MissFitz said:
Would it be a disaster to buy a Draper one from Amazon for £16.50? ( https://www.amazon.co.uk/Draper-35574-Ratchet-Action-Terminal-Crimping/dp/B0001K9TGA/ )
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I'd probably be happy with that one, provided it fits the crimps I was using (which is probably more about the crimps than the tool).

What matters is that you shouldn't be able to pull the crimped fitting off the end of the wire. I believe the US standard for this is whether you can hang a 60lb weight from it, so don't be shy in giving it a good yank.

Pete
 
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prv said:
What matters is that you shouldn't be able to pull the crimped fitting off the end of the wire. I believe the US standard for this is whether you can hang a 60lb weight from it, so don't be shy in giving it a good yank.
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After buying my first 'proper' crimper, I tested it by making a loop of 14 gauge or thereabouts and standing in it. It took my 80+kg with no fuss.
 
I would definitely go for something with interchangeable dies. I have recently done a lot of tidying of the wiring in my boat. A friend lent me a set of crimpers and a selection of cord end ferrules. These range in size to match the cables. With the ferrules you basically end up with a solid end that makes a good connection with screw terminals in bus bars and connector strips. I used a lot more of them than the normal red, blue and yellow crimps. Having used the borrowed set I have decided I need a set for myself, but have the nagging doubt about the cheap offerings on eBay and Amazon.
 
MissFitz said:
I've looked at Klauke crimpers but they do seem quite pricey. Will they really make that much difference? Would it be a disaster to buy a Draper one from Amazon for £16.50? ( https://www.amazon.co.uk/Draper-35574-Ratchet-Action-Terminal-Crimping/dp/B0001K9TGA/ )
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I bought one that looks near identical to that for half the price from e-bay, and it works just fine. If buying now I would look at this one, which had interchangeable dies. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4-Spare-...m=322569469007&_trksid=p2045573.c100506.m3226
 
I've been using the Laser Professional Ratchet Crimping Tool for several years, does what it says at a reasonable price....https://www.bikerstoolbox.co.uk/acatalog/Electrical_Tools.html

L1913_L.jpg
 
MissFitz said:
I've looked at Klauke crimpers but they do seem quite pricey. Will they really make that much difference? Would it be a disaster to buy a Draper one from Amazon for £16.50? ( [url]https://www.amazon.co.uk/Draper-35574-Ratchet-Action-Terminal-Crimping/dp/B0001K9TGA/ [/URL])
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For your job they are absolutely fine, remember they are for insulated terminals, which i would recommend you use. Buy decent terminals though and get some heat shrink, some connections benefit from a little extra support or some extra damp protection. If you make any connections in really damp locations use glue lined connectors or glue lined heat shrink.
 
I bought some of the yellow, hydraulic crimpers from Ebay for crimping heavier cable than the ratchet tool can handle. They proved ideal for the battery cable and bigger supply cables.
 
I have the draper one and very happy with it-makes good crimps. If you have any battery work to do you will want a hydraulic battery cable crimper. I got one for about £20 of eBay-again did the job fine.
 
While it may not meet the OP's "cheap" requirement, I can warmly recommend the Swedish made Pressmaster "Mobile Crimp Tool" with exchangeable dies. I have one of these myself with dies covering everything from regular yellow/blue/red/green "Faston" terminals to uninsulated open & closed barrel terminals, ferrules, RJ45/RJ11 and coax connectors. Great space saving tool of highest quality.

Pressmaster MCT.jpg

https://www.rapidonline.com/pressmaster-4300-3163-aaa-electricians-crimp-kit-33-0396
 
Ratchet crimping tool from Screwfix for 12.99 does as good amongst as any. The only drawback is that crimping the largest sizes it can take is quite difficult and needs slot of pressure. End result is uniformly good and rarely get one that doesn't stand up to a hard pull failure usually because the wire has partly slipped out again before it was crimped!
 
Personally, i'd find some of those crimpers with interchangeable dies a pain in the bum. In the course of some installations i might use red, blue and yellow terminals, plus some bootlace ferrules, it would be a nuisance to keep changing dies back and forth.
 
Some very good links on this thread, some of which I will chase up, as I need to do some electrical work. But, for the OP, who has no systems at the moment, probably the cheaper end, like draper, is the way to get started.
For battery terminals, prob only two or four needed, soldering the ends is just as good. A Camping gaz blowlamp does that OK, and has other uses.
 
PaulRainbow said:
Personally, i'd find some of those crimpers with interchangeable dies a pain in the bum. In the course of some installations i might use red, blue and yellow terminals, plus some bootlace ferrules, it would be a nuisance to keep changing dies back and forth.
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I would agree if you are using the crimper règularly, but for the amateur toolbox and doing the odd job, they save buying 2 or 3 different crimpers.
 
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