Battery Cable Crimpers

12thgenusa wrote:
Another option to spending money on a cheap crimper is to buy custom, professional made cables. I and many others on this forum have been well pleased with the cables from Genuinedealz. Free shipping as well. There is much more to making a quality cable than just the crimp.

Well you mite be right for the parallel connector cables, but thats why I mentioned that the main cables need new lugs too.

And its always just doing a "few" this time, so maybe not worth buying a hi $ tool, but what about next time, and the time after that, not to mention the many times before this when I got talked out of buying a good tool, and not to mention all my RV friends that always elect me to do their battery maintence work.
I only had to replace a "few" canvas snaps on my boat too, but I bought the $125 tool over 20 yrs ago, and NEVER been sorry.

So, back to my question, (maybe already answered) do I need an 8 ton, or a 16 ton tool ?

I love the crimps in this photo.
Anyone know what tool made these ?

Bob Landry wrote:

OldF**t wrote:

Tom_M wrote:
There are also crimpers that you strike with a hammer or ones that mount in a vice.

X2. The hammer type such as this one work ok for occasional use. Doesn't make sense to spend big $$ just to crimp a couple of terminals.

In the case of only needing a couple of them done, why not go to a battery or alternator shop and get made to fit cables with quality crimps instead of spending any money at all on an inferior tool that is going to give a less than satisfactory result. The only one who wins there is the guy who made the tool and distributed it, certainly not the end user. I'm wondering how many people who are advocating using these things have actually done so. They make a marginally OK crimp up to about size 6 wire, but when you get into the big cables, that's another issue all together. But, as the old saying goes, you pays your money and takes your chances.

Please include me in your tally on the number of people who own and use a hammer crimper to their satisfaction.

shooted wrote:

Bob Landry wrote:

OldF**t wrote:

Tom_M wrote:
There are also crimpers that you strike with a hammer or ones that mount in a vice.

X2. The hammer type such as this one work ok for occasional use. Doesn't make sense to spend big $$ just to crimp a couple of terminals.

In the case of only needing a couple of them done, why not go to a battery or alternator shop and get made to fit cables with quality crimps instead of spending any money at all on an inferior tool that is going to give a less than satisfactory result. The only one who wins there is the guy who made the tool and distributed it, certainly not the end user. I'm wondering how many people who are advocating using these things have actually done so. They make a marginally OK crimp up to about size 6 wire, but when you get into the big cables, that's another issue all together. But, as the old saying goes, you pays your money and takes your chances.

Please include me in your tally on the number of people who own and use a hammer crimper to their satisfaction.

Don't know, don't care. I do not speak for others as they often have different levels of expectations If you have one and like it, or have had crimps done for you using them and are satisfied, that's all that matters and I'm pleased for you. I personally have used them and did not care for the results, and neither would have my customers that I have built cables for.

Shadow Catcher wrote:
I solder mine and do not crimp, have not had a problem with any of the multitude of Anderson Power Pole connectors or larger lugs.

I have had several problems with crimped cables and corrosion on the battery lugs and inverter lugs. I have seen the green corrosion travel several inches up inside the cable. So what I do now is put the lug in a vise upright so the solder can melt in the cup and heat the lug, solder and cable with a propane torch at the same time then stick the cable end into the melted solder. When cool I put heat shrink around the cable end. It is more work than a crimp but it has eliminated the corrosion for me.

RJsfishin wrote:



I love the crimps in this photo.
Anyone know what tool made these ?

That appears to have been made by some kind of swage type crimper like would be used on rigging cables. I appears that it does an acceptable job and I wouldn't have a problem using them. The end result is a good mechanical connection and anything that creates that in a manner that won't come loose under stress or vibration is acceptable. My tool only crimps a dimple up under the lug terminal and into the cable and does not deform the top, but that's not the only way it can be done. I just don't think the hammer strike type works very well,(my opinion only) and I don't know anyone who works in the marine industry that uses one for reliability reasons. West Marine(and other places) sell them, but they are really intended for the casual user who is not going to be doing much commercial or production work The last time I saw one, the price was around still $80, so I wonder why you wouldn't spend a little more for a better result. Even the HF models seem like they would produce a more secure connection.

My advice is that a vise works great.

Malachite

Propane or Mapp gas with a burner and solder it in. Then heat shrink.

Overcharging and outgassing without good ventilation, or batteries on the verge of going bad do the most damage reacting chemically with copper and corroding it green. All that spare hydrogen and a pinch of CO2 from overcharging forms malachite green all over the exposed copper. Get rid of the hydrogen, the overcharging, or get some proper ventilation, and the problem goes away.

That solar system of yours is doing a bang up job of topping off your batteries. Perhaps too topped off?

Don't AGM batteries vent off a lot less to nothing, therefore preventing the corrosion on the terminals? Just another option, they aren't supposed to out gas?

If you have a hydraulic crimper in the RV down in Quartzsite, with all the rich old RV'ers down there, you could have the equipment pay for itself in one or 2 side jobs for others?

I have the hydraulic version of the crimper from harbor freight and I can tell you it works really good nice to have around. Beside the rv I have a couple of golf carts comes in handy

2oldman wrote:
My advice is that a vise works great.

Simply mashing or pinching the lug so the wires won't pull out does not measure up as a quality crimp.

To do a quality job, a tool of no less capabilities than this one should be used. A hydraulic version would be much more expensive.

Here is a nice blog on making cables.

I do have one of the Harbor Freight varieties and it will do a passable job for smaller gage wire if you are very careful. The dies are miss marked and it will not crimp as large of wire as the specs would lead you to believe. It is easy to over crimp and make "wings" on the sides of the lugs. If you continue through all four pages of the blog above, you can see some examples of this at the end.