Correct Way to Make a Weatherproof 2 into 1 Wiring Connection?

[FlyingCloud1937]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

I have pulled two cables up to my first spreaders for power to my spreader lights, and power to my PTZ camera.

I am very pleased with the cable I finally found (after a torturous Internet search) -- real marine tinned two conductor 16 awg cable encased in a robust PVC waterproof jacket.

But I need to distribute power from one cable to two spreader lights on either side of the mast. I had first thought about pulling separate cables for each side, but it's getting crowded in my mast conduits.

So what is the right way to split the power off to two different fixtures?

The only thing I have been able to think of is to crimp (I have heat seal Molex crimp connectors and a quality Swedish crimp tool) two into one, seal up with a heat gun, then seal again with a heat shrink tube. Then leave the joint inside the mast.

What do you guys think? Is there a better way?

I am assuming that you are using LED's for your spreader lights, either that very low wattage incandescent.

Here's a good way if you're going 2 wires by 1, then this crimp works well

link here, but I bet someone on your side of the pond also sells em.

Now there are 2 ways to do it. 1. get a dbl 16awg wire ferrule, and crimp it into a but splice, that assumes you are using a larger wire as the feeder. You could also use a step down butt crimp if you feeder wire is the same size.

If your feeder is the same size as your branch wires, go to an up size by 2 on the , then 2 wires one side, and 1 wire coming from the non insulated end, crimp all three in the same ferrule.

Now these don't have strain relief nor are they water tight. So you need to put on some heat shrink tube. What I do is is start the heat shrink from the single wire side, and once it's closed up, I take my hot melt glue gun and shoot a little into the dbl wire side then I continue to heat shrink the rest of the joint.

This makes a water tight connection on both sides of the heat shrink tube, including the dbl wire side.

Now you have a nice tight little package, with strain relief.

You can also do the same thing with an uninsulated pass through crimp sized to capture 3 wires.

lloyd

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

Just thinking Dockhead. Why not run to one side and wire to the lamps then run a wire across to the other side. That way , there's no buried splices as they are interconnected at the lamp terminals and can be inspected.

Can you get a wire across the mast ?

Dave

Yes, but that would put the three-way splice out in the weather, plus an ugly wire running from spreader to spreader.

I was thinking to put the splice just inside the mast so that I could pull it out to redo it if necessary.

There's been a lot of really good advice here, things I would not have thought of myself. Thanks everyone.

The wire in the mast is 1.5mm2 (about 15AWG each condutor). I'm thinking about using a lighter cable to branch off to each spreader light so that I can use one of my Molex butt connectors with the same size each end.

What if I wrap the two light cables in self-amalgamating tape, and then cover that with a heat shrink tube? The tube will contract and mash up the self-amalgamating tape, and maybe that would seal the two cables so that water couldn't get between them?

But I am puzzled by the question of supporting the cable in the mast -- how does one do this? None of my cables now has any support. They run in conduits.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by FlyingCloud1937

I am assuming that you are using LED's for your spreader lights, either that very low wattage incandescent.

Here's a good way if you're going 2 wires by 1, then this crimp works well

link here, but I bet someone on your side of the pond also sells em.

Now there are 2 ways to do it. 1. get a dbl 16awg wire ferrule, and crimp it into a but splice, that assumes you are using a larger wire as the feeder. You could also use a step down butt crimp if you feeder wire is the same size.

If your feeder is the same size as your branch wires, go to an up size by 2 on the , then 2 wires one side, and 1 wire coming from the non insulated end, crimp all three in the same ferrule.

Now these don't have strain relief nor are they water tight. So you need to put on some heat shrink tube. What I do is is start the heat shrink from the single wire side, and once it's closed up, I take my hot melt glue gun and shoot a little into the dbl wire side then I continue to heat shrink the rest of the joint.

This makes a water tight connection on both sides of the heat shrink tube, including the dbl wire side.

Now you have a nice tight little package, with strain relief.

You can also do the same thing with an uninsulated pass through crimp sized to capture 3 wires.

lloyd

A creative approach and a hot tip -- thanks, Lloyd!

Those are available through Farnell, the very cool electronics supplier Dave (Goboatingnow) turned me onto last year (I've since become a major customer!).

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Guy

There is no way. You need to run another wire from a location in the boat where you can have a splice or a terminal.

That was my original plan, but my cables all run through round conduit of not very large diameter, and with all the antennae and other stuff on my mast, it is getting really crowded in there. I decided not to pull two fat cables just to service a pair of spreader lights.

[GordMay]

You could use:

Buchanan Splice Cap Crimp Connectors
➥ IDEAL INDUSTRIES, INC. - Buchanan Splice Cap Crimp Connectors

c/w
Splice Cap Insulators
➥ IDEAL INDUSTRIES, INC. - Buchanan Splice Cap Insulators

➥ IDEAL INDUSTRIES, INC. - Wrap-Cap Insulators

or
IDEAL Pre-insulated Crimp Connectors
➥ IDEAL Pre-insulated Crimp Connectors

Unfortunately, these all require a special ±$100 tool (Ideal C-24 Buchanan Four-Way Crimp Tool)