amp pliers

[stamper]

What brand of amp pliers is everyone using for crimping the big wires for the altenator, starter, and battery wire. Having a hard time finding a pair and wondering what everyone is using for those big wires.

[UnPossible]

I used the tool below for the large wires on my 7, and it worked well

http://www.bandc.biz/impactcrimptool.aspx

[rleffler]

I used this tool from Terminal Tool.




I don't believe it's being sold anymore. I heard that his manufacturing costs were raised and it didn't make business sense. This is a shame, since it was one of the nicier options on the market.

There are many tools that range from $10 to hundreds of dollars on the market. Any local welding supply or electrical supply shop will have tools available for purchase.

There is one known incident in which this crimp failed which caused a fatality. So whatever you use, make sure the crimp is solid and firm.

[Bill.Peyton]

I don't have a photo or part number of mine, but it has 24" handles with selectable wire size and terminal size. Not only did I crimp, I also soldered and then used adhesive lined heat shrink to seal the joint and also act as strain relief. Here is a crimping tool carried by HF that looks to be adequate for the job.
http://www.harborfreight.com/hydraul...ool-66150.html

As Bob stated, the has been one fatal accident where the crimp was performed improperly.

From Rosie: I have this one and LOVE IT!

[flion]

This tool is similar to the one I have, though I bought mine so long ago I don't remember the actual brand or where I got it. Likely suspects are either Fry's Electronics or Home Depot. Anyway, I'm not a big fan of the 'C' crimp; I prefer the swaged hex crimp. The nice thing about this tool is that it can do several gauges, so it is good for the #8 alternator wiring as well as the #2 battery leads and so on. But you can get cheaper single-gauge crimpers. Or a more expensive and heavier-duty version of this, which I don't think is necessary.

[jdeas]

I was lucky enough to have access to the right tools but can you cut to length then go find a good electrical contractor to crimp the ends properly? FWF runs on my plane can be easily removed and the cost for this (almost one time use) tool can be expensive.

[Jackm]

I used the HF one Bill pointed out..becareful with what HF calls 2 gauge....I modified our dies to set correct crimp diameter..if you send me your address , I can borrow tool to you.

[rzbill]

The contractors may have Thomas & Betts crimpers which are a bit different in that they crimp the sheath into a diamond (or square) shape. And you won't be able to cross reference the terminal you have in your hand to the T&B terminal "hole" in the crimper. You just have to eyeball it correctly and pick the right one.

I borrowed one from work to do my large wire crimps.

If you pay attention to where the split line is on the fitting sheath when crimping, the T&B crimper will do just fine.

[JDanno]

Originally Posted by Bill.Peyton

I don't have a photo or part number of mine, but it has 24" handles with selectable wire size and terminal size. Not only did I crimp, I also soldered and then used adhesive lined heat shrink to seal the joint and also act as strain relief. Here is a crimping tool carried by HF that looks to be adequate for the job.
http://www.harborfreight.com/hydraul...ool-66150.html

As Bob stated, the has been one fatal accident where the crimp was performed improperly.

From Rosie: I have this one and LOVE IT!

I use the Harbor Freight tool except I remember it costing a LOT more. That's a great price for a good tool.

[philb]

not to be confused with similar looking harbor freight POS that has dies labelled 2AWG that are actually 6 AWG...

http://www.temcoindustrialpower.com/...rs/TH0006.html