10-25mm crimper

[shanky887614]

what do you guys recommend?

i spotted some 10-50mm crimpers for £50 at my local wholesalers and when i was price matching i can get a set for £14

at that kind of price i dont mind if it is rubbish


the ck 10-25mm ones are £60 and swa £40 at my local wholesalers (21 on tlc)

 

[davesparks]

There's no way a £14 tool is going to produce safe and reliable connections.

 

[shanky887614]

There's no way a £14 tool is going to produce safe and reliable connections.

the swa crimper is £20 so why not, its not much cheaper and we all know they all have massive markup on them

(this looks like the one selling for £50 iin local)

 

[davesparks]

I wouldn't trust the £20 option either unless it comes with proof that it has been calibrated properly.

Just because it looks like a better one it doesn't make it better. I've got one that looks similar which cost around £50 ish.

 

[overskilled]

I've seen plenty of tools direct from manufacturer at 1/3 or less retail cost. I'd buy them and try them. Should be easy enough to do some physical strength and electrical resistance / continuity tests.
Expensive doesn't always mean good just as cheap doesn't always equal bad

 

[shanky887614]

I've seen plenty of tools direct from manufacturer at 1/3 or less retail cost. I'd buy them and try them. Should be easy enough to do some physical strength and electrical resistance / continuity tests.
Expensive doesn't always mean good just as cheap doesn't always equal bad

ive had things direct from schneider an its less than 1/3.

the kit was had at cost price


at the end of the day you can see if they have been crimped at that size and if it isnt reliable it will go in the bin. it must be reliable they have solder 718 of them

 

[davesparks]

I've seen plenty of tools direct from manufacturer at 1/3 or less retail cost. I'd buy them and try them. Should be easy enough to do some physical strength and electrical resistance / continuity tests.
Expensive doesn't always mean good just as cheap doesn't always equal bad

But how many of us possess the kit to test a crimped joint properly? I certainly don't!

 

[davesparks]

ive had things direct from schneider an its less than 1/3.

the kit was had at cost price


at the end of the day you can see if they have been crimped at that size and if it isnt reliable it will go in the bin. it must be reliable they have solder 718 of them

You won't know if it's reliable until too late. Loose connections rarely show up straight away, just look at the number of loose connections in CUs that only show up 1/2 years later

 

[overskilled]

That's screwed terminations though.
Provided the crimp is secure its then a mechanical joint and generally far more reliable than solder or screwed joints

 

[davesparks]

That's screwed terminations though.
Provided the crimp is secure its then a mechanical joint and generally far more reliable than solder or screwed joints

An incorrect crimp will still be a high resistance joint the same as a screw terminal. We've all seen the occasional crimp/lug which has overheated from poor crimping haven't we.

Soldered joints are better than both screwed or crimped connections.

 

[overskilled]

An incorrect crimp will still be a high resistance joint the same as a screw terminal. We've all seen the occasional crimp/lug which has overheated from poor crimping haven't we.

Soldered joints are better than both screwed or crimped connections.

Not if its subject to movement or vibration - solder tends to crack (seen plenty of MIs that state crimp or screw terminations - DO NOT solder)

 

[overskilled]

Also why not check the resistance via a continuity test?
Give the termination more movement than its likely going to see in service and test to make sure the ohms reading stays consistent?

 

[davesparks]

Also why not check the resistance via a continuity test?
Give the termination more movement than its likely going to see in service and test to make sure the ohms reading stays consistent?

Because you will need a microhmeter (ductor) to get a meaningful reason

 

[rmc86uk]

We used to use Erma Lugs but a fire happened on another site up the road due to a loose crimp on a soft start. Since that we now use Cembre lugs and I'm not sure how much they are but the crimping tool alone was £750 without a complete set of dies.

 

[shanky887614]

i should add that im only going to be using it for bonding anyway. if i need to crimp any terminals ill get a proper big set

 

[davesparks]

Not if its subject to movement or vibration - solder tends to crack (seen plenty of MIs that state crimp or screw terminations - DO NOT solder)

Movement doesn't bother soldered terminations.
In stage lighting we use multicores with soldered terminations and they get constantly moved around from show to show yet never had failures.

 

[davesparks]

i should add that im only going to be using it for bonding anyway. if i need to crimp any terminals ill get a proper big set

A bonding connection still needs to be made to the same standard as any other connection

 

[shanky887614]

Movement doesn't bother soldered terminations.
In stage lighting we use multicores with soldered terminations and they get constantly moved around from show to show yet never had failures.

the only reason a lot of MI will say do no solder is people tend to either do a bad job soldering or damage the insulation/equipment.

a properly done soldered termination is very strong, i would rather solder than use red,blue or yellow crimps. you know the copper will break before the joint

 

[shanky887614]

A bonding connection still needs to be made to the same standard as any other connection

thats why i said im trying them, there the same as the ones which are a lot more expensive in my wholesalers.

ck are £60 each and £21 at tlc so im not suprised a firm has managed to get them this cheap when you see the quantity they have.

to be honest the company is probably trying to clear stock

 

[overskilled]

Movement doesn't bother soldered terminations.
In stage lighting we use multicores with soldered terminations and they get constantly moved around from show to show yet never had failures.

526.9.3

think BS7671 disagrees with you