How do you Crimp #8 AWG Terminals?

[FlyingCloud1937]

Originally Posted by Richard5

Bare with me as I attempt to express my not yet fully formed thoughts.

It is good to do the right job from the start. To many it seems there is not enough time to do the job right the first time but an infinite amount of time to do it right the 2nd time. It may seem OCD to insist (if only to oneself) that each task be performed to a high standard yet the risk of failure seems to correlate with the skill level, tool selection, time allowance for a given task.

Having said that, if I inherited a boat full of soldered electrical connections I would leave them as-is but with the understanding that repair (mortality) will be necessary and with the caveat that the connections at least survive inspection. The reason I would leave them as-is is because with repair introduces a new mortality into the fitting, fixture, system, etc.

"to many it will seem money saved is money earned". that is a false premises.

it costs what it it cost!


"Ive had more then one say" "you must be nuts", "because the other guy says it's less by twice".

Then I get a CALL TO COME FIX THE ISSUE.

So now it costs what I Said, but they already paid for labor and parts to do it wrong.

Now they have to pay for parts and labor to do it right.

Lloyd

[Richard5]

Originally Posted by Blue Stocking

I read all 138 posts, wondering how you get epoxy resin into a #8 terminal, and then realised we are talking CRIMP, not SCRIMP. Oh well!!

I had SHRIMP last night, in gumbo!

[Ziggy]

Originally Posted by FlyingCloud1937

Well I have an Ancor Crimper just as pictured in my post. I purchased it in 1998 it has 2 sides side one is clearly marked #8,#6,#4,#2, and #1, the second side is clearly marked 1-0, 2-0,3-0, and 4-0.

If you look carefully at the tool, you will see that any given die is marked for two wire gauges, depending on whether it's used on terminals or lugs. The smallest die is for lugs on #6 wire or battery terminals on #8 wire.
This is a battery terminal:and this is a lug:

[FlyingCloud1937]

Originally Posted by Ziggy

If you look carefully at the tool, you will see that any given die is marked for two wire gauges, depending on whether it's used on terminals or lugs. The smallest die is for lugs on #6 wire or battery terminals on #8 wire.
This is a battery terminal:and this is a lug:

The Ancor product which we speak is for lugs. I know of no marine manufacture that makes an 8 gauge battery terminal. Least not Ancor.

If you know of a manufacture that makes an 8 gauge terminal as you show a picture of , post it. I can't even imagine what it would be used for.

Lloyd

[Ziggy]

Originally Posted by FlyingCloud1937

The Ancor product which we speak is for lugs. I know of no marine manufacture that makes an 8 gauge battery terminal. Least not Ancor.

If you know of a manufacture that makes an 8 gauge terminal as you show a picture of , post it. I can't even imagine what it would be used for.

Lloyd

My point is not that there are 8 gauge terminals, but that the die sizes are different for lugs and terminals. Despite the fact that the Ancor tool is called a "heavy duty lug crimper", it is also marked for use on terminals. Each die on the tool is marked differently for use with lugs and terminals (look on both sides of the top bar). A die marked for #4 lug is the correct size for a #6 terminal. A die marked for #6 lug would be the correct size for a #8 terminal (even though I don't know that a #8 terminal actually exists.) Ancor does not claim that the tool crimps #8 lugs because it doesn't.

[hellosailor]

Foorgive me if I missed this in all the pages.

West Marine usually has a crimping tool available for customer use, bench mounted, if you ask nicely.

And there's the "Jamaican Crimping Tool" aka a bench vise. I don't endorse it I just note it appears to work.

But all the "hammer" tools, technically are staking the cable, not crimping it. I suppose you could go to the local electric company depot, and ask someone nicely as well. Or of course, hail down one of their trucks. The proper tool is simply damned expensive, why it costs more than a very similar $50 bolt cutter, I can't begin to guess.

[rwidman]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

.........West Marine usually has a crimping tool available for customer use, bench mounted, if you ask nicely. ..................

Sometimes you have to crimp the connector on the boat in a confined space.

I think it's been said several times that Harbor Freight sells a crimper that will handle #8 connectors. It's not a high quality tool but it will get the job done and done correctly.

[hellosailor]

And here everything I'd heard about the Horror Fright hydraulic crimper said that it was a perfectly fine tool, as long as you understood the "sizes" were Chinese Whitworth gauge with no correlation to any known "Western" cable sizes.

[rwidman]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

And here everything I'd heard about the Horror Fright hydraulic crimper said that it was a perfectly fine tool, as long as you understood the "sizes" were Chinese Whitworth gauge with no correlation to any known "Western" cable sizes.

No doubt that post makes sense to you, but I am baffled by it. Can you be more clear?

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

And here everything I'd heard about the Horror Fright hydraulic crimper said that it was a perfectly fine tool, as long as you understood the "sizes" were Chinese Whitworth gauge with no correlation to any known "Western" cable sizes.

Originally Posted by rwidman

No doubt that post makes sense to you, but I am baffled by it. Can you be more clear?

If HS is referring to the tool I am thinking he is, it has hex crimp dies that don't match common (ie USA; UK; Aus etc) cable and lug sizes.

Wire size, terminal construction and terminal wall thickness must be within given parameters and co-relate to the die size otherwise a hex crimp won't pass muster; both in relation to resistance and strain.

In fact, a hex crimp is the hardest of all crimp types to get to meet its specifications. The only way to "fix" a hex crimper that fails its calibration is to replace the dies.

However if HS is referring to another style of crimper, then he will have to answer your query

[hellosailor]

rw, wotname pretty much has it.

I'm referring to a certain vendor that I will call "Horror Fright" because some of their stuff is outright scary, even trhough their prices are great. The phrase "tools to use just once" comes to mind, and they're often cheap enough and good enough to do that job.

As to the crimper itself, there have been a couple of long threads, at least one on this forum, discussing crimping tools and the fact the Horror Freight makes a damned attractive one, for about $55. Except, anyone who has used it says that it is made from lapped up plates instead of a one-piece die, and that worse, the crimp sizes do not match the numbers used by ANY vendor. If it says a max of 00 cable, that 00 might fit a #2AWG. What they call #8, might fit #10 or #12.

From all appearances the product is made from worn dies or sloppy workmanship and the user may need to do a little fiddling to get acceptable crimps. Which could be a nasty surprise, ergo "Horror Fright".

"The only way to "fix" a hex crimper that fails its calibration is to replace the dies."
Oh, I don't know. You could laser, waterjet, or abrade the dies all out to the next standard size. Or plasma-spray them back to the smaller size. Cheaper to replace though, I'd expect.<G>

[rwidman]

Here are the specifications from the Harbor Freight website:

"Crimps 14 to 0 AWG copper and aluminum wires"

Where is the confusion? Where's the "Chinese Whitworth gauge" ?

[rwidman]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

..............From all appearances the product is made from worn dies .........

It is made from worn dies?

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

.............
"The only way to "fix" a hex crimper that fails its calibration is to replace the dies."
Oh, I don't know. You could laser, waterjet, or abrade the dies all out to the next standard size. Or plasma-spray them back to the smaller size. Cheaper to replace though, I'd expect.<G>

Ah yes... I forgot to account for the ingenuity of the cruising sailor - my bad

Or

"we don't need some stinking new ones......"

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by rwidman

It is made from worn dies?

Nah, it's made from case-hardened butter or even worse, steel from a 1960's East German steel mill re-located to China.