Ancor crimper rant

[redsky49]

Sorry to hear your troubles continue.

Ancor is a part of a large conglomerate, and may no longer be making many of its own decisions regarding market and product decisions.

I have gotten the sense that they are primarily a reseller of other manufacturer's products. Maybe this has become an outsourced product that should be avoided?

[Canibul]

I tried backing off on the tension adjustment. When I get to the point that the crimpers no longer damage the heat shrink cover, they no longer crimp strong enough on the wire, either.

It's all Ancor, both the crimper and the hs butt connectors.

[rwidman]

Originally Posted by Canibul

Okay, I read all the reviews and advice here and bought an Ancor double crimper and several hundred insulated butt connectors. I find myself doing dozens of connections in refitting this boat, and I thought having a nice crimper would make the job easier and faster and result in a better crimp.
I was SO wrong.
I've now "practiced" with this thing hundreds of times. And it takes hundreds of times to maybe get 20 usable crimps. This thing just flat doesn't work for me. It's hard to get the connectors correctly lined up, and the line up is critical. I've tried trimming the insulation off, I've tried pre-loading the connector in the jaws and I've tried every wiring twist and configuration I can think of. Still, after months of trying and literally hundreds of crimps, I am lucky to get one useable crimp after going through a half dozen connectors . I wasted 75 bucks on this thing, and have wasted a lot of time and effort trying to make it work.

It might be a great tool if someone was sitting on a bench somewhere with a spool of cable to work with, but trying to get a connector onto a two inch stub sticking out of a bulkhead, this thing is worse than useless.

What works? simple vise grips. Every time.

Okay, I'm done now. But if you think getting an expensive crimper like this will make your electrical work easier, forget it. Save your money.

Vise grips will not make a proper crimp on electrical terminals. You are setting yourself up for failure.

If this particular tool isn't working for you, try another brand. Go to an electrical supply vendor (where electricians buy their supplies and tools) and see what they have that will do what you want. You could take some wire and terminals with you and try before you buy.