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amp pliers

S

stamper

Well Known Member
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.
 
I used this tool from Terminal Tool.

tt5000_with_no2_dieset_small_yff4.jpg



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.
 
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/hydraulic-wire-crimping-tool-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!
 
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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.
 
Can you cut to len and remove?

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.
 
Hf tools

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.
 
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.
 
Bill.Peyton said:
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/hydraulic-wire-crimping-tool-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!
Click to expand...

I use the Harbor Freight tool except I remember it costing a LOT more. That's a great price for a good tool.
 
JDanno said:
I use the Harbor Freight tool except I remember it costing a LOT more. That's a great price for a good tool.
Click to expand...

I am away from the shop this week, but I bought the HF unit and it did not have a die large enough for my #2 starter wire. I took it back and looked to ebay for one with larger dies and higher crimping force. The jury is out on it being acceptable from a pull test standpoint, but for quality, the dies did not match real well and the crimped #8 was not a real hexagon, it was less than round. The hang test (me at 165) passed, but I think the pull force requirement is higher than that. The #2 pull force is around 500#. Go to eBay and search hydraulic crimper. Mine is a C type, but with that force, the U type with a pin might crimp straighter.

I emailed the terminal tool guys some time ago and despite them saying they would let me know when parts arrived, they never did. Too bad it looked like the best thing going. I wish they just sold the dies so I could use a hydraulic press.

Good luck with crimpers!
 
crimper

Thanks for all the feed back. The tool you hit with a hammer does exactly what I want with a square punch set into the terminal connecter but I need to be able to do some of my wires while they are on the plane and that one you have to set it on a bench and smacks. Works real well and cheap. I have a few planes and I have a wire on a super cub that I don't want to pull to put a new end on it.
The hydraulic one looks good but does it do the square punch in the center, I looked on the site but could not tell from the tool die sets. If anyone out there has one of these harbor freight ones do they have a square punch for it.
Thanks for all the help
 
I made my own from a modified steel punch and a piece of 3/4" thick aluminum plate inserted in my vise. A few good hammer blows. Soldered them all and performed a pull test of 225 lbs. Our RV-10 is not fly-by-wire and flies fine without power.
 
Jackm said:
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.
Click to expand...

Bill, Any chance you could post a photo and perhaps a brief description of how you modified the tool to set the correct crimp diameter? Thanks.
 
I did not use the HF tool, I just pointed out that it was available. The one in Flion's post is similar to the one I have. I creates a diamond crimp.
 
You bet.

I originally bought the harbor freight model of hydraulic crimper. The dies are mismarked- much too small for the actual AWG - the die Marked 2 was actually about a 6AWG.

I returned, got money back- further research on web suggested this is common- I went back a year later, and they're still selling the faulty product.

In the meantime, I came across the temco product. I actually bought the next size up - 10 or 11 ton compression. EXCELLENT product - well built, makes a good hexagonal crimp. I pull tested to 800 pounds on a 2AWG wire. I think the smaller 5 ton model might have worked as well

Good description of product on the website. PayPal, free shipping.

Like others, wanted a terminal tool, but no longer available. This tool worked better for me as I had already run my big wires- couldn't have run in the conduits with the lugs attached. Very easy to install while in the plane.
 
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