Small wires - alternative to Butt connector

[wingless]

One option on "small" wires when space and length is available, is staggered, soldered, heat shrink, strain relieved Western Union splice as shown in these images.

[PamlicoTraveler]

Thanks Wingless...Those are good pictures to explain the soldering/heatshrink method.

[redsky49]

Wingless - I thought that the Lineman's Splice was just for solid conductor wire, and some other technique was used for stranded wires. Not to say your method wouldn't work.

[wingless]

Yes, the Western Union / Lineman splice "won the west" and was used for solid telegraph wires.

The stranded marine wire requires the solder shown to NOT unravel. The splice shown has staggered joints, to not be the snake that ate the rat fat. The strain relief shown is to comply w/ ABYC and NOT have the joint provide the mechanical strength.

[witzgall]

https://www.panbo.com/heat-shrink-so...ny-boat-wires/

[john61ct]

Originally Posted by wingless

The splice shown has staggered joints, to not be the snake that ate the rat fat.

If you had written "the fat rat" I think I could have just imagined it.

But no, you knew some of us would have to google that right? Can't unsee that. . .

[Boater Brad]

Here is a video of them being used.

Anyone who has done any serious soldering knows that you heat the wire and the connection first which draws in the solder and makes a good connection. You can't blob melted solder on to cooler wire and have it flow--it will result in what is known as a cold solder joint. You may form a ring of melted solder that performs a crimp-like connection, but it won't flow and bond to the wire like true soldering. That could invite corrosion and other issues. "But it's insulated" you say. Have you ever opened up an un-tinned wire in the middle of the jacket and it's black? How did it get in there?

Maybe this product performs some new physics-altering magic, but if you think about it, the heating method is completely backwards--heating the insulator first, then the solder, and maybe the wire might get warm. The heat that the insulator would have to bear to sufficiently heat the wire within so that the wire--not the heat source--melts the solder seems impossible to me. I've looked at other videos that tore the joints apart. While the connections were strong, the melted solder just flaked away and was basically a cold joint. Does that matter? for some things, maybe not. It's not ABYC approved if that matters to you. Who wouldn't love this if it works like the video AND is a sea-safe connection. Prove that to me and I'll buy a ton of them!

[Boater Brad]

Originally Posted by witzgall

https://www.panbo.com/heat-shrink-so...ny-boat-wires/

I think this is a fairly balanced review. But if I was making a small wire connection that I really cared about and crimping was not an option, I'd solder it the old fashioned way and put the waterproof shrink tube over it. Then you will have both a strong connection, and a truly soldered one that will help resist corrosion (=resistance) of the individual strands. More work, but not that much more if you've honed your soldering skills (which every DIYer should). And yes, not ABYC approved, but since we're breaking the rules anyway, might as well break them right.

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by Boater Brad

Anyone who has done any serious soldering knows that you heat the wire and the connection first which draws in the solder and makes a good connection. You can't blob melted solder on to cooler wire and have it flow--it will result in what is known as a cold solder joint. You may form a ring of melted solder that performs a crimp-like connection, but it won't flow and bond to the wire like true soldering. That could invite corrosion and other issues. "But it's insulated" you say. Have you ever opened up an un-tinned wire in the middle of the jacket and it's black? How did it get in there?

Maybe this product performs some new physics-altering magic, but if you think about it, the heating method is completely backwards--heating the insulator first, then the solder, and maybe the wire might get warm. The heat that the insulator would have to bear to sufficiently heat the wire within so that the wire--not the heat source--melts the solder seems impossible to me.

Perhaps... but presumably there's enough heat to do the job, and the flux must be suitable for the achieved temp... and according to its proponents, you get a repeatably good joint. I dunno, never used them. One thing - aircraft wiring insulation is teflon and can withstand way more heat than boat wire. So would the required amount of heat melt the jacket of normal boat wire?

...Who wouldn't love this if it works like the video AND is a sea-safe connection. Prove that to me and I'll buy a ton of them!

Originally Posted by Boater Brad

I was making a small wire connection that I really cared about and crimping was not an option, I'd solder it the old fashioned way and put the waterproof shrink tube over it. Then you will have both a strong connection, and a truly soldered one that will help resist corrosion

Well, yeah. Since I can solder, and if the decision was made to splice and solder, I would splice, hand-solder, then cover with adhesive heatshrink... at less than a dime a connection, instead of $1 a piece for those doodads, as cool as they are.

[Boater Brad]

Originally Posted by Lake-Effect

Perhaps... but presumably there's enough heat to do the job, and the flux must be suitable for the achieved temp... and according to its proponents, you get a repeatably good joint.

I guess it depends on the definition of a "good joint". Mechanically it may be strong, but there is also the matter of potential corrosion and the effect on the electrical connection.

The fact that the solder melts and flows at all with these things is because it is a low temperature solder. If low temp solder was as good as regular solder, why don't we use it for all solder connections? All I know is that a good solder joint requires the wire to get hotter than the melting point of the solder--which I don't see happening here. That's why we don't just drop blobs of melted solder on a connection and call it good--even if it encapsulates the connection and holds it solid. Heck, it happens on circuit boards all the time--good solid connections that didn't flow properly on to the copper trace. At some point, they separate by a gnat's hare (or corrode slightly) and the connection is gone. Go back and reheat both the wire and the trace, the solder flows, and the connection is restored. Now that's magic!

[Colonel Bob]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

I use these, I like them and have had good luck with them forever. They were intended I believe for telephone wires back in the day, you would see hundreds of them in a telephone junction box.
I cut the wire to my 4G Radar a coupe of years ago and used these to connect the tiny wires back together. Good luck soldering them in the location I was at.
I believe they are filled with silicone grease

That's exactly what they were for. My dad was a telephone central office installer for Western Electric for 40 years. Sometimes he'd take me to wokr as a boy and I'd wander walkways between those old clanking Strowger stepping switches. The cable trays between switch banks were a sea of these button splices. Intended for small guage solid not stranded wire.

[CharlieJ]

I discovered Wago LeverNuts 221-xyz series a couple of years ago when working on a South African built catamaran. Started using them and never looked back. And yes, they are ABYC compliant as they meet the tensile pull test. Accept AWG 12 to AWG 22 and UL rated to 20A @ 300V.
YouTube link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZyGqCssdCU

[john61ct]

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...at-197447.html

[Stu Jackson]

I've used these for stereo speaker wires, same issue.


Like the BT-139 Gell Filled telephone wire connectors I used for our fridge module replacement in August 2016, both of these little connector tools are true “must haves” for your electrical tool kit for splicing small wires easily.