Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Brad Rawls on June 3, 2016 at 6:34pm

That looks just like the one from Harbor Freight. I have the HF one, and while I am leary to admit it, it works very well and seems well built (I know, I know).  With HF you can always try it and take it back it you don't like it.

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Permalink Reply by Todd Scruton on June 3, 2016 at 8:29pm

I have that same crimper by another name. It does a fair job of crimping, many crimps must be done twice. It seems it may depend on insulation thickness. Sometime I will use the red die to crimp a blue terminal, just to make it right enough. I would like to get a better crimper, I'd use it for the rest of my life.

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Permalink Reply by John Austin on June 4, 2016 at 5:53am

Spend about $10 more and get a Neico Ratcheting Crimper. I've been very pleased and never had to re-crimp a connection.

John

N750A

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Permalink Reply by Todd Scruton on June 4, 2016 at 7:58pm

Nice find John!

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Permalink Reply by Lee Engel on June 4, 2016 at 9:18am

check aircraft-tool.com,   you can buy different dies for theirs AND they sell to aircraft mechanics.  Lee

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Permalink Reply by Scott Tyler Bragg on June 4, 2016 at 8:44pm

I love this community!!

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Permalink Reply by John Burns on June 6, 2016 at 4:42am

I like the one from aircraft tool and supply for $35.95  It is the best price I could find for a high quality tool.

http://www.aircraft-tool.com/shop/detail.aspx?PRODUCT_ID=E300-005

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Permalink Reply by Louis W. Ott on June 6, 2016 at 6:34pm

I bought most of my electrical supplies from B&C.

http://www.bandc.aero/electrical-supplies.aspx

Crimpers need to be the ratcheting type. The dies should be for the recommended PIDG terminals, both straight and flag type. They are different. Flag terminals are 90 degree between the wire and push on terminal end. The flag terminals are very useful when connecting to things that don't have much room behind for wires such as fuse blocks.

Your wire connections are vitally important and your life could depend on the integrity of a single crimp connection.

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Permalink Reply by Gary Welch on June 14, 2016 at 11:54pm

I bought the exact same crimper and used it for all of my wiring. I recently tested the electrical system and had no issues. I pulled tested every one of the hundred or so crimps and never had one fail. I would use the exact same one if I had to do it over again.

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Permalink Reply by Jim and Amelia Isaacs on June 27, 2016 at 5:23am

Out of curiousity why not solder and heat shrink instead?

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Permalink Reply by John Burns on June 27, 2016 at 6:03am

Great question.  I am sure others will have the references for this in the aviation documents, but the short answer is vibration.  Soldered connections are not used in airplanes (or cars or other machinery) because the vibration will tend to break the solder connection. 

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Permalink Reply by John Austin on June 27, 2016 at 6:31am

I think speed and convenience lead most to use crimped terminals and connectors. A quality crimper used with an aviation-quality terminal or connector will result in a connection that you cannot pull the wire out.  Quality crimpers not only crimp the electrical connection, but they crimp the terminal's shell around the insulated wire, protecting the conductor from sharp flexion.

Also, if working in the cramped confines of the cockpit and beneath/behind the panel, etc., many times it's simply easier to crimp a connector than solder and no danger of dripping solder down and shorting your power panel terminals and releasing "magic smoke!"  ;>)

Perhaps overkill, but I typically use heat shrink to seal between the wire and the crimped end of the terminal - looks good, anyway! 

John

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