alahol2
Well-Known Member
Are you using the crimp terminals that the crimper is designed for? Different dies are required for different terminals. Insulated /non-insulated etc.
Using my Draper Expert ratchet crimper
- Thread starter cpedw
- Start date
john_morris_uk
Well-Known Member
May I humbly suggest yours need to be adjusted. There’s an adjustment you can make to tighten the jaws.
In response to others who say it doesn’t matter which way round. There is certainly a right and wrong way round. The larger aperture side is the direction the wire comes in from. (I can’t remember which side that is as mine is on our boat 3600 thousand miles away.)
vyv_cox
Well-Known Member
My experience is that some crimpers do not properly compress the fitting onto the wire. I own three of them, all apparently the same (one each for two boats, one at home for cars). All are adjusted for maximum jaw pressure. Two of them always need additional subsequent pressure from a mole wrench. The third one does not. Using fittings from the same box onto the same wire this always happens.
john_morris_uk
Well-Known Member
Perhaps I’ve been lucky with the two that I own. They’re not the most expensive tool in the box.
penberth3
Well-Known Member
This is the problem. They're all the same chinese crap with different coloured handles. A quality tool would indicate which side to insert the wire.
galeus
Well-Known Member
I found mine was ineffective until a friend kindly showed me how to use the adjustment screw.
Boathook
Well-Known Member
I've looked at mine and tried to measure and there does not seem to be any appreciable difference either side.
Mine are like this Insulated Terminal Ratchet Crimping Tool - Standard Duty and I think that they came from 12 volt planet as well.
thinwater
Well-Known Member
I'm guessing it came with instructions.
- The adjustment is not in the jaws, it is in one of the pivots. There are +/- signs and the serrated edge.It is common to adjust them to fit different brand fittings or different wire types.
- One side is for the crimp, the other is for the strain relief (probably--I would need to see it). The wire goes in the dot side.
PaulRainbow
Well-Known Member
I thought this thread must be a late April fools post, but measured mine anyway, with a digital vernier gauge. No difference whatsoever. It makes absolutely no difference which side the wire goes.
SimonX
Well-Known Member
That the same one I have. As @john_morris_uk says, most have a dial with a screw stop to adjust crimping tension like this one has.
But I have seen some cheap ones that don’t.
andsarkit
Well-Known Member
Out of my 3 tools, two are symmetrical and one has a large side and a small side. I have always used the larger side for the insulation and this happens to be the opposite side to the coloured dots so the wire goes in from the side without the dots. Best to try out your tool both ways and see which produces the best looking crimp.
The standard industry test is a pull test which requires specialised equipment to calibrate the tools but giving the crimp a good pull should be adequate for most of us.
If the tool is adjusted correctly the usual cause of failure is the wire is too small for the crimp and so it does not fully compress the crimp onto the wire.
The standard industry test is a pull test which requires specialised equipment to calibrate the tools but giving the crimp a good pull should be adequate for most of us.
If the tool is adjusted correctly the usual cause of failure is the wire is too small for the crimp and so it does not fully compress the crimp onto the wire.
john_morris_uk
Well-Known Member
Mine must be a different make/manufacturer as there’s an appreciable difference between the two sides. The ones I usually use are on the boat so I can’t measure them until February i’ll have a look for the other pair as they might be kicking around in the workshop somewhere but I think they’re the same.
PaulRainbow
Well-Known Member
I've never had a pair with a difference between the two sides John, or not that i've ever noticed. The pair i measured are on the boat, i'll take a closer look at the ones on the van this morning.
vyv_cox
Well-Known Member
These are my three. All jaws are symmetrical, no taper. The lower right one works well, made in Germany. Don't know the makers of the other two.
wonkywinch
Well-Known Member
Firstly, my apologies, I've just been playing with my ratchet crimper and the wire goes in the other side, the reverse of where the dots are. I did two crimps, the top one is with the wire going in the "back" of the tool, the bottom one wire going in on the coloured dot side. It's clear which one is correct.
Secondly, the crimp tool is definitely stepped, hence the reason the crimp has to go in the correct way. Here's the view from the "back", ie opposite side to the dots which clearly shows the stepped profile for all three crimp sizes.
Finally, it's important to understand that this type of tool is only designed for the crimps that have the coloured plastic collars. Any other crimps won't work with this tool as the jaws are designed to touch when the crimp is complete and the ratchet will release. There is no pressure adjustment on mine, the action is to simply fully close the jaws which will take more or less muscle power depending on how thick the wire is in the crimp.
The colours match a range of cable sizes and if the crimp is too large for the cable, it will not work regardless of how hard you squeeze.
wonkywinch
Well-Known Member
I don't agree, the step between front and back of the crimp is clearly visible on all of those tools.
vyv_cox
Well-Known Member
No, the angle of the photo makes them look like that. They are symmetrical.
PaulRainbow
Well-Known Member
My work crimper is symmetrical, the same as the one on the boat, and the instructions state "consistent crimp from either side of the tool".
I used to have a Draper one on the boat, same as the one in the OP, the jaws were also symmetrical. This can be seen in this picture if you zoom in.
I used to have a Draper one on the boat, same as the one in the OP, the jaws were also symmetrical. This can be seen in this picture if you zoom in.
alahol2
Well-Known Member
This video clearly shows the difference in the die 'front to back'. The fact that she then loads the terminal incorrectly just shows how careful you should be when you are researching on the internet.
If you view the video on Youtube you will see the only comment, very politely, pointing out her mistake.
From what is being reported on the forum, it is obvious that there are varying dies out there.
If you view the video on Youtube you will see the only comment, very politely, pointing out her mistake.
From what is being reported on the forum, it is obvious that there are varying dies out there.
alahol2
Well-Known Member
But the OP says "Which side should the wire side of crimp terminals be located when using this tool? The jaw with the coloured dots on is not symmetrical so I'm presuming there's a right side and a wrong side to have the wire approaching the tool."
So there is obviously a difference on his version of the Draper Expert crimp tool. Maybe the manufacturer has changed the design or the tool is sourced from different manufacturers who have different ideas. Maybe it's a matter of luck which one you happen to get.
The main takeaway from this discussion seems to be to check which type you've got and use them accordingly.