Crimping Solid Conductors

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Crimping Solid Conductors

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Midwest

Midwest

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I know that this has been debated before (quite recently in fact, but it is a boring Sunday afternoon), but as new products may have come available, I was wondering members views.

So the scenario is; Sunday afternoon, Mr DIY has finally fallen to pressure to Mrs DIY and agreed to put up shelf. Drills first fixing into cable feeding socket below. Mr DIY rings round electricians, and gets one to come & repair damaged cable. Damaged cable is middle of wall, with flat roof ceiling void filled with Celotex, with no room for JB. (this is a fictitious incident by the way, and I've not got one forthcoming :)). So crimp within the wall is the only fix (no JB on shelves jokes please).

Now I've read the debate before that there is an anti crimping society for solid conductors, as well as pro crimpers. I have seen a colleague use heat shrink butt connectors in a similar situation, and I have used them for extending an odd cable in a CU.

Now my soldering skills are pretty rubbish, so I've looked around and found these as an example;

http://katalog.klauke.com/en/sv1525-butt-connectors-cu-for-solid-conductors/

FVP-2 | JST Parallel Wire Splice Connector 16 → 14 AWG | JST - http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/products/6881149/?grossPrice=Y&cm_mmc=UK-PLA-_-google-_-PLA_UK_EN_Connectors-_-Terminals_And_Splices&mkwid=smWrFnZ4v_dc|pcrid|88056670563|pkw||pmt||prd|6881149&gclid=CNKUj-mg7NACFe297QodnSEHug

Anything else available Or should I practise my soldering skills?
 
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Midwest said:
I know that this has been debated before (quite recently in fact, but it is a boring Sunday afternoon), but as new products may have come available, I was wondering members views.

So the scenario is; Sunday afternoon, Mr DIY has finally fallen to pressure to Mrs DIY and agreed to put up shelf. Drills first fixing into cable feeding socket below. Mr DIY rings round electricians, and gets one to come & repair damaged cable. Damaged cable is middle of wall, with flat roof ceiling void filled with Celotex, with no room for JB. (this is a fictitious incident by the way, and I've not got one forthcoming :)). So crimp within the wall is the only fix (no JB on shelves jokes please).

Now I've read the debate before that there is an anti crimping society for solid conductors, as well as pro crimpers. I have seen a colleague use heat shrink butt connectors in a similar situation, and I have used them for extending an odd cable in a CU.

Now my soldering skills are pretty rubbish, so I've looked around and found these as an example;

http://katalog.klauke.com/en/sv1525-butt-connectors-cu-for-solid-conductors/

FVP-2 | JST Parallel Wire Splice Connector 16 → 14 AWG | JST - http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/products/6881149/?grossPrice=Y&cm_mmc=UK-PLA-_-google-_-PLA_UK_EN_Connectors-_-Terminals_And_Splices&mkwid=smWrFnZ4v_dc|pcrid|88056670563|pkw||pmt||prd|6881149&gclid=CNKUj-mg7NACFe297QodnSEHug

Anything else available Or should I practise my soldering skills?
Click to expand...
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Okay, I've crimped before (if you pardon the expression), but I seem to remember others disapprove of this method. I'm not trying to troll here by the way, just interested in peoples views.
 
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seems all the old skills have been forgotten. choc block with 2 layers of insulating tape.must be OK as B&Q lights have this method in their manufacturers instructions. :mad:
 
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Now my soldering skills are pretty rubbish
Click to expand...
There was a time when this would have disqualified you from being an electrician!

My soldering skills are excellent but crimping is convenient and avoids the use of heat (which causes so much needless agro on a lot of sites) and the conductors need not overlap, which can be a problem when a captive cable has lost 1/4" out of the middle where the damage was.

What I would say is that if one crimps, the crimps must be specified by the manufacturer for solid conductors of the relevant size, and must be fitted with their approved tooling. Anything else is too prone to failure on solid, which is a lot less forgiving than stranded. I would definitely not accept some unbranded red things out of a houshold bargains blister pack and a generic tool. Same with the sleeving, I use branded products within their correct size range, with appropriate wall thickness and mechanical strength to exceed the performance of the original insulation, not just random tubey stuff that shrinks.

If one solders, then the joint should be laid up properly, soldered and ideally de-fluxed, as flux residue can prevent heatshrink making a proper seal or promote corrosion later. The surface must be clean and smooth with no projecting edges or corners to damage the heatshrink. This is all just general good practice in wiremanship.

Then, whatever connection method is used, the finished joint should be adequately protected e.g. against both impact and tension on the cables. A few layers of semi-rigid adhesive-lined HS, properly applied overlapping the sheath for a fair distance, might just about do this but I would rather see it mechanically clamped. If there's room for conduit for impact protection, there's room for a gland at each end.

In a nutshell, I would only be truly happy to embed a joint in plaster that I would trust underwater, under tension, while being hit with a rubber mallet, with a similar likelihood of survival as the original cable. I can make joints like that with either crimps or soldering, so I consider both good enough.
 
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What about heatshrink solder butt connectors.
For example: http://www.workshopsupplies.co.uk/contents/en-uk/d1434_Heatshrink_Solder_Butt_Connector.html
I've used these a few times, using a decent electrical heat gun with a selection of clip on nozzles, choosing a nozzle to suit. You do have to be careful to avoid overheating the joint, it is possible to char the whole joint (which means starting again).

Plus at least one glue-lined heatshrink for an outer sheath.
 
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