Forum Discussion
ktmrfs
Mar 28, 2022Explorer III
Mike134 wrote:jdc1 wrote:Mike134 wrote:jdc1 wrote:
Do it right....solder them together, then use the heat shrink.
Solder is good but a good crimp is just as reliable. How can I say for certain? I have yet to see a building I wired the past 40 years using crimps burn down.
How often do you drive those buildings down a pothole mired freeway at 55mph? LOL. (42 years as a general Yea, I get the push-in outlet thing contractor),, but moving vehicles are not the same as a stationary building.
Those are just garbage. No good Union electrician would ever rely on that type of connection. But the point was a crimp connection is just as good and even better than solder when solder is done wrong. IE to much heat not enough heat, wrong flux, wrong solder.
at one time our company (high tech electronics equipment) looking at field failures started looking at connector failures. What we found was that even with a great deal of training, proper equipment, inspection the failure rate of soldered connectors was higher than crimped connectors. Problem with solder is it is a very hard process to control and train. to much solder= solder wicking up wire, causing failures from flex in the wire, on and on. Field failures went down with crimped connectors. Now
1) there are LOTS of crappy crimp tools around, use them and your failure prone. And good crimp tools are not inexpensive and you need a set of jaws for every type of connector. I've probably spent $400 or more on crimp tools and jaws.
2) if you have been trained in soldering, know the connector and don't have a good crimp tool, solder is a way to go.
So, look at your skills, your tools see what you have. If you DON'T have the tools or the skill, look for some help.
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