Crimping Tools

[boatone]

Does anyone know where I can hire/buy/borrow a heavy duty crimping tool suitable for making up battery lead terminals to Boat Safety Scheme standard?

 

[Guest]

Like rocking horse droppings, I think. Someone suggested taking them to a Lucas outlet, where they should be able to crimp them for you. I tried soldering, but it's hard going: eventually, I bought made up ones...

 

[eddieperkins]

Graham,
If you get the solder terminals that have a cup with no hole in you just have to flux them, put them in a vice and heat them with a blowtorch until hot enough to half fill with solder then dunk your prepared and fluxed cable into the hole and let it cool. Easy!!!
Regards,
Eddie

 

[Guest]

Fine in theory, and as a one time electronics engineer, I know all about solder, but in practice, it took so much heat that my Workmate caught fire, the solder poured out through a hole in the end of the terminal, and the insulation on the cable blackened and peeled off for two inches above the join. It looked like such a botch job, I binned it.

 

[jfm]

Re: Oooh!! beware

Eddie, I would be vary careful with this technique. You will get the solder and terminal hot, but inserting cold cable will result in a dry joint and failure. To do a proper job you must not insert the cable cold, you should preheat the cable till it's at least the melting point of the solder, but that will mess up the insulation as Graham says. I would definitely get crimped cables, an auto electric firm can make them up to length.

JFM

 

[eddieperkins]

Re: Soldering issues

OK guys, your points taken, but the terminals I had did not have a hole and it worked well for me, terminals 5 years old and still going strong. BTW the technique was demonstrated to me by an electrical engineer and I used a metal vice. If you are near Brundal (Norfolk) Brian Ward Electrical have them made up, or will make them up to your requirements as you wait.
Regards,

 

[Guest]

I think that Eddie is right....soldered terminals are far superior to crimped ones, especialy the type of crimp done with a manual tool as opposed to an hydraulic one, but they are much more time consuming. the technique I always used when in the trade was to use sockets with no holes make sure its clean in side, hold in a vise or some kind of clamp/molegrips, put a little flux in the socket. strip the cable back to bright( no corrosion or verdigris at all on the conductors) about a quater of an inch more then the socket depth, dip the cable in flux and insert into socket. Heat the outside of the terminal/socket but don't allow flame onto cable, keep testing the solder on the inside lip of the socket/cable conductors to see if it will run , once it will dip it in the flux a little and then stright back to the socket and fill it up to the brim...do not disturb until cool then clean flux from the outside and bind selfamalgamating tape over the last quarter inch of the socket and up the cable for three quarters of an inch.....perfect.

 

[boatone]

Thanks for all the input guys. Reason for wanting a crimping tool is to be able to fit ring terminals on existing cable ends without removing from well installed run. Soldering not practical. Friendly local chandler has now kindly offered loan of their crimping tool for the weekend so problem solved.
Now, whilst we're on a roll, can anyone answer my query about raw water intakes and AQD32's?

boatone@boatsonthethames.co.uk