Heat shrink solder connectors

JRT

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Feb 14, 2017
2,037
Catalina 310 211 Lake Guntersville, AL
I saw these and thought they looked interesting and useful. Any comments or issues?

 
Jul 7, 2004
8,402
Hunter 30T Cheney, KS
We used to use something like those on military programs at Boeing. Heated them with an infrared lamp. Tricky to avoid melting nearby connections.
These don't list marine standards of that matters to you.
 
Jan 11, 2014
11,321
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
I saw these and thought they looked interesting and useful. Any comments or issues?

This product comes up periodically. It is generally a bad idea. The solder is a low temperature solder, something that would melt if the wire overheated due to excessive, engine temperature, or a short. If you check the specs they are only rated for temperatures to 257° and the solder melts at 280°.

There is no mechanical connection.
 
Feb 6, 1998
11,665
Canadian Sailcraft 36T Casco Bay, ME
Those terminals are not ABYC complaint. We have some superb quality crimp/solder UL Listed & USA made heat shrink terminals but they are about $1.70 each. Best bet is to use the correct crimp tools and then use FTZ, AMP, Molex or Ancor heat shrink terminals.

 

JRT

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Feb 14, 2017
2,037
Catalina 310 211 Lake Guntersville, AL
Thanks for the feedback, will skip them for sure now!
 
Apr 22, 2011
865
Hunter 27 Pecan Grove, Oriental, NC
I have tried these in my shop for various wire connections. I had trouble getting the larger butt connectors to work well. The larger gauge wire acted as a heat sink which allowed the plastic to start melting before the solder did. I did have good luck with the smaller connectors, 22-26 gauge which can be difficult to butt join with crimpers. The connector has a ring at each end that shrinks around the wire jacket that seals and tightly holds the two wires together. I won't use on the boat as long as they are not ABYC approved.
 
Sep 25, 2008
7,075
Alden 50 Sarasota, Florida
None of these quick connection easy splice gadgets are good choice for high voltage or high current applications - if the joint becomes resistive creating heat, the solder will fail. They all inherently use low temperature solder regardless of how much they charge.
If you need to do connections, do it properly.
 
Nov 6, 2017
76
Catalina 30 5611 Stratford, Ct
I recently purchased a hydraulic crimp tool from Harbor Freight that is superior to any other method I have ever used. Far too many times using regular crimp tools and testing the connection afterward the crimps often fail. Hydraulic is the way to go in my book as you will break the wire before you will pull it from the connector. They also use terminals without plastic insulators which are cheaper and when shrink-wrapped look like they were professionally done. Yes it takes more time, but a loose or failed connection when you are out in the boat is not only aggravating but can turn into an ugly day with friends and family.
 
Jul 1, 2017
64
Hunter 356 Brightlingsea
I would not use these as it is probable you will have a poorly solder joint within the connector. The ones I use are the crimp connectors, which also have a heat shrink outer with a melting sealant within, once you have crimped the joint you can give it a good pull to check the wires are secured correctly, and then heat them with a lighter or hot air gun to seal them. The sealing compound not only prevents moisture getting in, it also holds the wires together mechanically. If there is a split in the outer plastic coating then the glue inside when heated will seal the split.
 
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Likes: Leeward Rail
Oct 22, 2014
20,989
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
recently purchased a hydraulic crimp tool from Harbor Freight
While Harbor Freight can supply you with tools at a low price, often the quality of the item is different or performs mostly but not exactly as the higher priced tool.

When the project is critical in nature as some boat projects are, I choose to use the tools that give me the best results. This may mean I rent a tool or I have the item professionally made for me.

@mainesail tested a number of different tools then showed the different end results of the tools performance. Making Your Own Battery Cables - Marine How To

I know it is a long post on his site, but the long term safe performance on your boat is in the details.

For those projects which I don’t want to be forced to fix in a storm while trying to find the port entrance thru the rocks, shoals and breakwaters, on my boat the details matter.

“It is your boat and your choice”, were words I heard and have taken to heart from a knowledgeable sailor.
 
Nov 25, 2018
17
Hunter 40 Boston
I ordered them ,from an on line, side bar advertisement, about 3.5 weeks ago.
Still waiting for delivery. Must be coming by "slow boat"
 
Mar 20, 2015
3,094
C&C 30 Mk1 Winnipeg
They are Junk except for emergencies maybe.

Could likely work as a fuse due to it's low temp solder. Hehe.

IMO a good crimper and waterproof heatshrink combined with liquid tape is a better option.

See for yourself:
 
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Likes: Megaman
Sep 29, 2015
110
Oday 222 Lake N ockamixon, pa
The problem with soldering is that the solder wicks-up the wire and becomes a brittle joint. Use crimp connectors. Unless you are doing industrial crimping, a hand tool will do very well at making a gas tight connection.
 
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Likes: Leeward Rail
Dec 25, 2008
1,580
catalina 310 Elk River
In a related thread (24 AWG Wire) I mentioned using Solder Sleeves to splice between different wire gauges. This probably was a lapse in judgment for an application on a recreational boat, did not think this through carefully, my bad!!!

In 1998 I took over a company that manufactured mil-spec computers (ROLM Mil-Spec Computers). These nuclear hardened computers launched nuclear warhead missiles such as Trident, Peace Keeper, Tomahawk, and were rated from -40-105deg.c. Solder sleeves were used ubiquitously. The problem with using them on a boat for any critical wiring is using the proper technique for installing them. They are tricky to use!!!
high temperature Teflon coated wire should to be used (which you don't find on boats) and the use of the correct heat gun w/proper tip so that it heats the device to the correct temperature uniformly.
Raychem makes them, but I would not necessarily recommend using them unless the above conditions can be properly met. Other than that they are a very good way to splice wires.