Tip: Inexpensive Crimper for 2-8AWG

[alpinelakespilot2000]

Based on a suggestion from Ron Leach, I found an inexpensive crimping tool from www.weldingsupply.com.



It is the LENCO 840 and it costs $8.24 (+ $7.95 shipping). It will handle wires from bigger than 2AWG to at least as small as 8AWG. It's designed to be hit with a hammer but I found that using a vise works great. There are even indicator marks on the tool showing you when you've crimped sufficiently. It ends up crimping not just from one side, but actually crimps from three sides, so the load is distributed pretty well around the circumference of the wire. It also has a built-in spring to hold the terminal in the proper place until you get the wire inserted and begin squeezing.

I know some people are very passionate about soldering vs. crimping, and others about using a $300+ crimping tool for these instead of a "cheap" crimper, but my crimp easily passed the 40# test that Van's suggests in one of their service bulletins for their own battery/starter cables. I guess time will tell whether $8.24 was enough.

Hope this helps the next person save a few bucks. Thanks again to Ron.

[captainron]

While you are at www.weldingsupply.com, you can get a few feet of #2 Ultraflex Orange welding cable. It's around $2.50/ft., and is super flexible. Makes great battery cable! I have been making my own cable lugs out of 1/2" o.d. copper tubing, and the inside diameter is just the right size for the cable to fit into. The ends of the lugs will be closed to the elements, and you can drill the terminal holes to the size appropriate to its use.

[Bill Dicus]

Steve: Ordered one today. Thanks so much for this info! Relative to solder, I think Aeroelectric Bob said with a wire this large solder is not a problem and doesn't require extra support - he also is a fan of welding cable. Bill

[alpinelakespilot2000]

Glad it helped, Bill. If your vise doesn't have a really heavy duty handle, be careful. I needed to get a better grip and leverage on my vise handle to completely squeeze the terminal on so I put a piece of pipe over the handle. I ended up bending my vise handle. Instead, what I do now is use the vise to start the crimping process, and then just finish it up with a hammer to get the indicator mark on the die where it needs to be.

I know soldering works OK as long as it is strain reliefed. That said, I practiced two different solder joints and could tell immediately how stiff it made the cable, suggesting that solder was wicking farther up the cable than was necessary. So long as my crimps pass the pull test (which they all more than adequately have) I'm happy with crimping.

In any case, I'm pretty sold on this very cheap method.