Recommendation for Insul. Crimp Terminals Crimping Tool?

deckingman

@wilriker said in Recommendation for Insul. Cable Lug Crimping Tool?:

@deckingman Thanks Ian.

Am I right in thinking that the category of these parts is then called just terminals? I mean like ring and spade and fork terminals. Or would I then rather refer to wire terminals?

"Crimp terminals" would probably be the best all encompassing name for them.

wilriker

@deckingman OK. And I guess I could then also specify it just a tiny bit clearer in saying "insulated crimp terminals", right? Because the insulated and non-insulated need different tools.

deckingman

@wilriker said in Recommendation for Insul. Crimp Terminals Crimping Tool?:

@deckingman OK. And I guess I could then also specify it just a tiny bit clearer in saying "insulated crimp terminals", right? Because the insulated and non-insulated need different tools.

Yes that would be better.

Maut

I'm using this one:
https://www.amazon.com/Titan-Tools-11477-Ratcheting-Terminal/dp/B0069TRKJ0

hayseed_byte

For regular ring/fork terminals, I use Klien Crimpers. My dad bought the ones I use in the early 90's when he was a maintenance technician and now I use them as a maintenance technician. They last forever, create strong crimps and are simple to use. I've never seen anyone use the ratcheting ones for regular crimp terminals.

sigxcpu

I got this https://www.banggood.com/Paron-JX-D5301-Multifunctional-Ratchet-Crimping-Tool-Wire-Strippers-Terminals-Pliers-Kit-p-1175325.html?rmmds=myorder&cur_warehouse=CN.

Tested the Molex KK for Duet only, but other dies look fine, too.

crynool

Over the last couple of weeks, I bought a lot (and I mean a lot) of Crimping Tools from Amazon for testing purposes for all kind of Crimp Terminals.
I kept some, sent others back, most between 15 and 50 USD.

Some are good (the manual ones, give you good control over the crimp), others are really bad

JoergS5

@crynool I thought the isolated crimps and the tool which crimps in one step is the best solution. But yesterday the main voltage connection to Duet slipped out. I had unhappy results with crimping yellow connector to solarcable before also.

So I will use a manual tool for unisolated crimps in the future with the 2-step procedure, protecting the crimp after I am sure the connection is secure.

I bought the PA-09 and PA-20, they seem to be very good.

crynool

@joergs5
Yup, they are, have them both as well as another one, same company. Missed the Return Window.

The yellow in the middle squeezed the wire and damaged the insulation ... nothing shrink tube cannot fix, but ...

JoergS5

@crynool funny, the crimp tool which failed so dangerously is also yellow. So it's proven that yellow crimp tools don't work

autsch

The best for the price (a have it in orange and blue):
alt text
https://de.aliexpress.com/item/Crimpen-zangen-HS-03BC-8-backe-f-r-stecker-rohr-insuated-nicht-isolierende-crimpen-kappe-koaxialkabel/32893154249.html?spm=a2g0s.13010208.99999999.276.24853c00aaDUdm
I have the 190mm and 230mm Version.

wilriker

@hayseed_byte These Klein Crimpers look basically like the beefy manual tool I was hoping to find. Will have to see if I can get them at a reasonable price here in Germany, though.

From someone whose opinion I trust very much I also got a recommendation for ratcheting tool BGS 1412.

autsch

@wilriker why buy in germany, when they are manufactured in China?
It looks like you only want to talk about crimping
Here my recomendation Nr 2, price made in germany:
https://www.bauhaus.info/crimpzangen/knipex-crimp-hebelzange/p/11025709

wilriker

@autsch If I would by a ratcheting crimper from Knipex I would prefer the PreciForce one. Only half the price but probably equally good.

Also I do buy from China if I can get the same product - but neither Knipex nor Klein produce in China. And I am tired of cheap tools that don't work, especially if I work with mains voltage. I rarely do but then I don't want to worry about live wires falling out of crimps (as I had with a cheap one already).

But I am still collecting recommendations and will decide a little later.

hayseed_byte

@wilriker said in Recommendation for Insul. Crimp Terminals Crimping Tool?:

Also I do buy from China if I can get the same product - but neither Knipex nor Klein produce in China. And I am tired of cheap tools that don't work, especially if I work with mains voltage.

Heh, even though they say they're not insulated because they don't have the rubber coating on the shaft, my Klein 6-in-1 has saved my life more than once. The one I use at work has a pretty gnarly burned spot on the shaft.

Knipex makes good stuff, too. Germany made is usually better than USA Made, I gotta admit. Been eyeing some Knipex dykes lately, myself.

autsch

@wilriker, if you have to crimp thousands of connectors, how I had in RocknRoll and Soundstudio business, Knipex is worth the money.
How many connectors do you have to crimp a day?

wilriker

@autsch Actually, I rarely have to crimp wire terminals at all. Therefore an expensive ratcheting tool like the PreciForce or comparable tools from Wiha and others are far down the list because they would be overkill for my usage.
But a cheap tool that doesn't do the job right is no option for me either because when I have to do it I want to have it done right first try.

In the first post I already referenced the Knipex 97 22 240 as a tool that is good quality (I think) at an affordable price. Not much more expensive (at the moment) and recommended by someone outside this forum that I trust is the BGS 1412 but I do prefer manual tools because they usually are lighter, cheaper (compared to equal quality ratcheting tool) and give me more control.

What I don't like about the above manual Knipex tool is that it has a lot of functionality that I do not need like wire stripping and cutting (I already have good tools for these tasks) and I rather like the "do one thing and do it good" approach. That's where the Klein tool would be more appropriate or something like a Snap On 29CF (which is hard to get in Germany as it seems to me).
I have also seen someone using Knipex 97 71 180 to crimp insulated wire terminals but that feels wrong to me.

And since I also trust this community here I was asking about recommendations. In the end I will select from all recommendations the tool that feels right for me.