Alotta Electrical threads lately, here's one more. (1 Viewer)

[VTFJ40]

Must be contagious. I've decided to rewire my rig and started to get supplies together.
I've got almost everything figured out, but I've got a few questions-

Are you guys soldering your connections? Is it overkill?

Should I just crimp and heat-shrink? Should I crimp, solder and heat-shrink?

What would be the most water/corrosion resistant?

I'm no electrical whiz, but a few that I do know have given me conflicting advise.
Some say solder and heat-shrink, one says the heat-shrink will hold in more moisture than it keeps out.
Granted, these are residential electricians, but they still know more than I do.

Thanks

 

[DSRTRDR]

I went with crimp and heatshrink. I used vibration-resistant heat-shrinkable terminals (more $ than simple crimps) or heat shrink tubing in some places.

 

[VTFJ40]

I went with crimp and heatshrink. I used vibration-resistant heat-shrinkable terminals (more $ than simple crimps) or heat shrink tubing in some places.

I have some of the painless ones, agree about the $$$. Might go with bare crimp terminals and a roll of heat shrink from waytech.

 

[el_diabolico]

Whenever I replace any wire, I "tin" the wire, solder it to the connector, then crimp the insulation over the terminal. By "tinning" the wire first, solder is driven further into the wire making for a very corrosion resistant connection.

 

[HawkDriver]

Depends on the job, time available, and what I have on hand.

No time, dinky wire= butt connector

Lots o time, dinky wire= butt and heatshrink

Lots o time, heavy wire exposed to elements= solder and heatshrink

And so on...

Never had any troubles with heatshrink, I love the stuff. Solder and heatshrink work nicely IMO. I hate electrical tape, except to maybe wrap a harness. Butt connectors are kind of cheesy but I can accept that on some small wires that don't get wet.

 

[VTFJ40]

Yeah, I got lotsa time and I wanna do it right the first time.

 

[Planet_X]

Use terminals when available save the 'twisty the wire' thing for last chance.

Crimp...solder...heatshrink

I try to use minimal solder, too much and it wicks up wire, making the wire stiff and a flex/break situation waiting to happen.

Here are some ends I scrounged up, note the ring terminal with the 3 wires would be soldered and heat shrunk protected if it was going to be installed.

 

[MrMoMo]

Well, if it i corrosion you are worried about, I'll tell you what we do. I wire boats all day long, and we have so far not had any major problems with this method.

We never solder connections. It i against marine ABYC regulations to only have solder being the mechanical means of connecting wires - the reason is that solder makes for a hard non flex point in the wire, so the wire on either side of the solder joint will eventually work harden from vibration and fail. That said, it will likely take a long time. Before you flame me, there is nothing saying you can't solder a connection on a boat, as long as it is crimped as well. (other means of mechanical connection)

All of our connections that are made in "machinery spaces" or anywhere they may get wet - are made using heat shrink crimp connections. The biggest thing that causes problems with crimp on connectors, is the crimpers. DONT use the stamped out $2 jobbies that you can get anywhere, do yourself a favour, and get a set of good ratcheting crimpers such as the following...

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wc...238&subdeptNum=124&storeNum=9&productId=25621

(Not affiliated, just an example)
There are cheaper versions out there, as well as more expensive versions, the cheaper ones don't last as long, which in your case may not be a problem, but for someone like me who uses them all day, it becomes a problem quickly.

Make sure you crimp the right way around, some of these crimpers are drectional! After crimping heat the connector until the sealant inside starts to leak back out the open end. There are many heat shrink connectors available, good quality ones will make the difference We use Quick Cable.


http://www.quickcable.com/
We use a lot of quick cable connectors, and parts, and havn't had any problems (we buy them by the hundreds at a time)

HTH. Any WestMarine or decent marine supply store should be able to help you out.

 

[VTFJ40]

Thanks for all the info. I'm prolly gonna take my time and do the crimp...solder...heatshrink method.