Good Crimpers?

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CharlieS

CharlieS

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I'm looking to pick up a set of crimpers that I can use to crimp the pins for the Anderson SB50 connector.

I'd like to kill a few birds with one stone: get a crimper that works for the Anderson pins, but will also replace some of my other crimpers.

I have an assortment of cheap crimpers, but am intrigued by the ratchet crimpers with dies that interchange to cover a variety of terminals.

Are any of them both reasonably priced, effective and durable? Or is this another crap tool, passible at a bunch of things, but not great at any of them?

Ideally, I'd like one with a good selection of dies that covers the gamut from the SB50, to insulated terminals, to bare terminals, and even delphi terminals (that might be too much to ask).

Or am I better off just getting a crimper that just works for the Anderson SB50?

Thanks!
 
Do a search for hydraulic crimpers on Amazon. I spent ~$50 on some 4-5 years ago that I use for virtually everything 10 gauge and larger including SB50, SB175, and SB350. I've found that I still need some generic terminal crimpers for heatshrink terminals as well as specialty crimpers for small gauge anderson/powerpole, deutsch, and so on.
 
CharlieS said:
I'm looking to pick up a set of crimpers that I can use to crimp the pins for the Anderson SB50 connector.

I'd like to kill a few birds with one stone: get a crimper that works for the Anderson pins, but will also replace some of my other crimpers.

I have an assortment of cheap crimpers, but am intrigued by the ratchet crimpers with dies that interchange to cover a variety of terminals.

Are any of them both reasonably priced, effective and durable? Or is this another crap tool, passible at a bunch of things, but not great at any of them?

Ideally, I'd like one with a good selection of dies that covers the gamut from the SB50, to insulated terminals, to bare terminals, and even delphi terminals (that might be too much to ask).

Or am I better off just getting a crimper that just works for the Anderson SB50?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
What you don't want to belong to the Drawer Full of Crimpers Club like the rest of us? :rofl:
 
RET2 said:
Sure you could, they advertise them late at night for $19.95 and if you call right away they will send you a second unit for free, just pay a separate fee and postage. Hencho en shiney
Click to expand...

Someone is a fellow night owl! :)

Oh and... I would like to personally personally congratulate you, R, For hitting the reply button beneath the post you were replying to so it inserts a quote! Ha ha! :hillbilly: :rofl:
 
indycole said:
Do a search for hydraulic crimpers on Amazon. I spent ~$50 on some 4-5 years ago that I use for virtually everything 10 gauge and larger including SB50, SB175, and SB350. I've found that I still need some generic terminal crimpers for heatshrink terminals as well as specialty crimpers for small gauge anderson/powerpole, deutsch, and so on.
Click to expand...
I have a harbor fright hydraulic crimper that is great for the big stuff, but I don't think it has dies for the powerpole. I wonder if I can make it work... time to do some experimenting!
 
In a previous life I did a lot of network cabling, crimping a lot of RJ-45 Ethernet cables and some coax stuff, and I fell in love with Paladin ratcheting crimpers. I got away from that, so I bought jaws for my crimper handles to work with insulated (#PA2040) and non-insulated (#PA2031) connectors. I used them a lot when I was doing a ton of wiring in my mini-truck frame-off, as I had to make several custom harnesses for things like adding power windows, lighting, and a sophisticated keyless entry/alarm system.

IMG_20200611_194813.jpg


They worked well, but really are best suited for larger wires (#14 up to about #8). I have another set of crimpers similar to Klein #1005 that I use for anything smaller, which is more often than not.

I rarely use insulated terminals anymore, I either use non-insulated connectors or I pull the little plastic sleeve off (a little heat from the heat gun and they slide right off), crimp, then cover the entire thing with that adhesive-lined heat shrink (love that stuff). Any connector that is outside of the cabin subject to weather (even under the hood) also gets soldered prior to heat shrink.

I don't wanna hear the anecdotes "shouldn't solder connections that are subject to vibration". Just don't go there, mkay? :cool: I routinely ziptie things down so they don't move or vibrate/flex.

I don't believe there is one set of crimpers that will do it all. Just like there is no perfect tire that can do it all.
 
I have three crimpers.

For most day to day use, the Titan 1955 option is by far my favourite.

For 2 to 4 gauge work, I use either the Parts Express Pro or the IWISS option. Both are good, but I tend to use the former more.
 
CharlieS said:
I have a harbor fright hydraulic crimper that is great for the big stuff, but I don't think it has dies for the powerpole. I wonder if I can make it work... time to do some experimenting!
Click to expand...

With SB50 I'm usually using 6-8 gauge wire and just use the generic dies for those sized powerpole pins without issue.
 
KLF said:
I don't wanna hear the anecdotes "shouldn't solder connections that are subject to vibration". Just don't go there, mkay? :cool: I routinely ziptie things down so they don't move or vibrate/flex.

I don't believe there is one set of crimpers that will do it all. Just like there is no perfect tire that can do it all.
Click to expand...
In the military ground vehicle world, the standard seems to be mechanical crimping followed by adding a bead of solder on the bitter end of the wire as exposed in the crimped terminal. Tensile strength and shock and vibration are a wash between the two methods. Voltage drop is better with the solder bead added, but you'd need a nanovolt meter to see the difference. Flying machines typically do not have the solder bead added and work just fine.
 
grinchy said:
I have yet to see the one to rule them all crimper + dies, and I bet if I did see it I couldn't afford it.
Click to expand...

This. And a box myself. What I have found is it's hard to get a generic tool, even with specific dies, to do a good job. My "good" PIDG generic dies are pretty good, but they don't quite capture the wire grip crimp. Really? Same with others. Sigh. When I convert from stamped to solid Deutsch terminals, I'll buy a non generic.
 
CharlieS said:
I ran across these, that seem like they might cover a lot of terminals.

powerwerx.com

CrimpBag, the best Powerpole crimping tool and accessory die sets in a custom nylon gear bag

The Crimp Bag includes the best Powerpole Crimping Tool for 15, 30 and 45 amp contacts, and interchangeable accessory die sets to expand the functionality of your TRIcrimp tool, packaged inside an oversized nylon bag to hold all of your Powerpole gear.
powerwerx.com powerwerx.com
Click to expand...

Powerwerx makes a good product so I'm not surprised they have a multi-die kit; looks good.

Like KLF, in a former life I was a telecom installation engineer, so I have the Powerwerx crimpers for Anderson terminals, Paladin crimper handles with telecom, cable plant, and electrical dies, and Klein electrical terminal crimpers. They each have their specific purpose.

KLF is right, there is no one perfect crimper to do it all, while you could probably get away with a single crimper, it won't cover all of the various terminal types and wire gauges, and for myself, the connections I make or trust. I too use the adhesive/sealing heat shrink (various colours) for most if not all of my connections (no insulator cover), as well as soldering them, and use no-ox as added corrosion protection. I am also a master with tie-wraps, besides 9-cord...;)
 
Last edited:
Thanks all. Looks like I'll get to retain my membership in the drawer full of crimpers club. Thanks for saving me !
 
Fisher23 said:
This is what I have been using ... for years on cables.

Amazon product ASIN B00E1UUVT0
Click to expand...
Thanks, I'm good with general crimping. I have a hydraulic crimper that works great. I thought the Anderson SB50 pins needed a special crimp. I'll make due with what I have, or buy a one off crimper.
 
RET2 said:
What you don't want to belong to the Drawer Full of Crimpers Club like the rest of us? :rofl:
Click to expand...
CharlieS said:
Thanks all. Looks like I'll get to retain my membership in the drawer full of crimpers club. Thanks for saving me !
Click to expand...

What?!?! Your crimpers all fit in one drawer? Pikers:rofl:

140E654C-DA47-471D-A686-8032532C2E89.jpeg
 
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