Mechanical Crimping Large Gauge Wiring Harnesses

[Alan B]

A few buck shipping saves a lot of time, shipping is one of the things it is easy to buy.

The Home Depot crimp rings were about 7-9 dollars for 50 but they only have two sizes.

Anxious to see how these tubes work out, I will be needing some at some point.

 

[Harold in CR]

100 years ago, when I was a lineman for a power company, we used the "Burndy" brand of hydraulic crimpers. Had a power fed for up the pole and a hand pumper as a backup.

The crimps for copper were open sided, like the figure "C", or, like the figure "6". The loop part of the 6 was sliced. This would allow the crimp to curl as it was compressed, and those "ears" that you guys show, would not exist, unless the crimp was too large for the job.

Maybe someone could try to form the crimps similar to what I described and see if it does away with those ears, so a nice neat splice could be done ?

Type copper compression crimps into google then go to images, to see what I'm talking about. Before I get a crimper, I would like to see if nicer splices can be made. Just an idea that might help.

 

[Kingfish]

Harold, by any chance were you a Wichita lineman ? :wink:

For the tool that I purchased, there does not seem to be replacement dies. It comes ready with 0 to 14-AWG, however I'll never use the smallest sizes. Maybe I should just modify a 14-AWG to suit: "Look Ma, no ears!"

Just a thought. KF

 

[cal3thousand]

just got my eBay crimper from USPS.... drop shipped from Harbor Freight. And jeez is that thing heavy...weighs about as much, if not more than, my 30mm open end wrench.

Going to do some test crimps tonight. Since I have a box of the Home Depot copper sleeves, I will slit a couple with my dremel and see how they roll up versus uncut sleeves.

Looks like I'll be dumping my previous set of soldered 12S2P harness somewhere cheap. :|

 

[Harold in CR]

Nope, New Jersey Lineman. On what I tried to explain, After cutting the tubing into rings, take one ring and cut the side out of it, after squeezing it into an oval shape. The ends will miss each other when you crimp it, making a nice rounded shape.

 

[cal3thousand]

Nope, New Jersey Lineman. On what I tried to explain, After cutting the tubing into rings, take one ring and cut the side out of it, after squeezing it into an oval shape. The ends will miss each other when you crimp it, making a nice rounded shape.

So oval them first slightly, then cut a slit in the flat area? Is there a preferred way of aligning the ring in relation to the dies? should the slit face any certain way?

 

[Kingfish]

Nope, New Jersey Lineman. On what I tried to explain, After cutting the tubing into rings, take one ring and cut the side out of it, after squeezing it into an oval shape. The ends will miss each other when you crimp it, making a nice rounded shape.

Good idea; I understands. I'll give it a shot.

Thanks, KF

 

[dnmun]

lineman crimpers now are battery powered, just like the drills and the saws and the big 14.5oz caulking guns. same for crimping the fittings on polyethylene pressure plumbing pipe. plumbing ain't what it used to be.

i have a buncha the small diameter copper tubing, both 1/4" and 3/8". i saw whole collection of compounding racheting crimpers the other day on ebay:

http://stores.ebay.com/xins-store/tools-/_i.html?_fsub=2940294017&_sid=1088756097&_trksid=p4634.c0.m322

 

[Harold in CR]

So oval them first slightly, then cut a slit in the flat area

Yes, just whack a small piece out of the side. Easier if the opening p[aces toward you, so you can see how the ends of the cable lay in the crimp.

 

[clickman818]

Saw the post above concerning the Gardner Bender copper sleeves and somebody looking for the GCP 5000! tool . I cant find it either ( even though the box of connectors I bought at Home Depot says that I am supposed to use this tool !!!) BUT the Buchannan 24 tool does a great job . I think it is called Ideal these days ... I attach the image

 

[Alan B]

The above crimper might not be very suitable for harness crimping, a "C" shaped crimper is easier to get off the partially assembled harness. It is intended for connectors rather than splices, and minimizing connectors is often a goal in a wiring harness.

 

[clickman818]

The above crimper might not be very suitable for harness crimping, a "C" shaped crimper is easier to get off the partially assembled harness. It is intended for connectors rather than splices, and minimizing connectors is often a goal in a wiring harness.

About getting things apart .. just wait till you have crimped up the connection with the HD or Buchannan Copper ring sleeves and you realize that you inserted the sleeve with its premade upset the wrong way into the crimper and cant remove the crimped piece from the tool! You have to have the removal path wire be able to pass thru the crimper hole. A nice thing about these copper rings and this tool though is that they make a nice concentric crimp, retaining the round shape of the assy. I use this for making up octupus assys having 1-in 4-out (1-18ga in with 4-18ga or 4-16ga out) .. sure beatz soldering ...

Sure wish I could find premoulded octupus in these sizes suitable to my motorcycle ... found one that I cannibilized having 18 ga comin in, but only 24 ga going out to the legs .... too thin to work with - drat! I was going to cannibalize it and attach my own terminations ..

 

[Voltron]

Did somebody say large guage crimps? Mmmmmmm..




That's the back of our waterproof circuit breaker panel for marine electric drive...

 

[clickman818]

now THAT is what we be talking about ... What termination, What Ga Wire, What Crimper?

 

[liveforphysics]

Saw the post above concerning the Gardner Bender copper sleeves and somebody looking for the GCP 5000! tool . I cant find it either ( even though the box of connectors I bought at Home Depot says that I am supposed to use this tool !!!) BUT the Buchannan 24 tool does a great job . I think it is called Ideal these days ... I attach the image

That style of crimper typically makes trash joints.

The type that push 4-6 teeth in radially from the outside make visually appealing looking crimps that have shit electrical resistance and pull-put strength.

On top of that, the type that fully enclose the terminal are just about useless.

 

[Voltron]

That stuff is 3/0 guage... it's surprising much it tries to lever itself out of the terminals as it gets that bulky.



Old school adjustable crimper.... best one so far and we've tested a lot.