# Crimping battery lugs



## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Thanks for slogging thru all that battery system upgrade stuff. Now, I just read that Practical Sailor says that the hammer crimper (which I just bought) makes totally ineffective crimps as there is still air in there and hence future corrosion. Seems like a hammer crimp, followed by a good solder job, followed by adhesive shrink tubing should be great. I know soldering is just an adjunct cause it could melt under heat and that it may make the connection brittle if flexed alot. Do you guys have continuing issues with hammer crimps and what about my suggestions? Alternatives, rent a big honking crimper? And whats this about a hex vs dimple crimp?


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

I like the industrial hex crimpers.. but they're a bit expensive.


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## JohnRPollard (Mar 26, 2007)

Everything I've heard and read says not to hammer-crimp battery terminals.
Many chandleries will crimp them for you, or let you use their big crimpers to do it. Alternatively, you can buy pre-made battery cables of varying lengths.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

thanks for the hex crimper link. Not too much more than that darn hammer crimper. Do you need to by a die for each lug size?


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Scosch-

Glad to help. Don't believe so, as I don't believe it uses dies. If it required separate dies, it would have them listed as accessories.


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## btrayfors (Aug 25, 2006)

In a pinch....ouch--sorry for the pun  ...

I've found that a Nicopress tool works quite well. It makes very secure crimps and may even be an acceptable substitute for a proper hex crimp tool.

Bill


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Bad Bill...bad, bad Bill... not punny... not punny at all. A Nicopress tool is probably only good for the larger battery cables. The hex crimper I posted a link to above will do 8-4/0 AWG. Since my ratchet crimping tool does down to 10 AWG... that would cover most of the wiring needs for my boat.


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## HoffaLives (Feb 19, 2007)

Personally, I would buy the pre-made cables unless you plan on doing it for other folks as well. As far as soldering goes, the connection is supposed to be just as strong with or without solder so the crimp has to be just as good. This is a place where you can't make a mistake...


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

OK, hammer crimper = bad for lugs, Hex crimper= good and no solder needed.
Am redoing batteries and adding new combiner switch, acr, link 20 so Im guessing itll pay for itself rather than buying premade cables. Certainly be more convenient than 20 trips to the store. 
As you guys said, sooner or later we end up with one of everything.
Thanks.


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## Morgan3820 (Dec 21, 2006)

Genuinedealz.com has these premeasured plugs of solder/flux. place into the lug, heat until melted , then just stick the bare end of the cable into the molten solder, wait until solid. They also have really great prices for tinned wire and cable


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## HoffaLives (Feb 19, 2007)

Morgan3820 said:


> Genuinedealz.com has these premeasured plugs of solder/flux. place into the lug, heat until melted , then just stick the bare end of the cable into the molten solder, wait until solid. They also have really great prices for tinned wire and cable


Bad, bad idea. Almost certainly have a high-resistance cold joint. And totally not ABYC. I hate it when companies sell stuff like this; just leads to heartache for someone down the line. And when your boat burns to the waterline and you decide to sue, probably find the company headquarters listed on an ice floe off Greenland.

I'll stress this again, 12volt circuits might seem safe because they can't "zap" you, but with high current applications you could start a fire if you don't do it right. Drop a wrench across battery terminals to get an idea of the power you are dealing with.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

My neighbour is an industrial electrician. I pre-cut all my cables to length and he borrowed the hydraulic crimper from work. It took us a couple of hours to crimp all the lugs on. I paid him back with a boat ride and some drinks for him, his wife and son. The type of crimper he used had different dies for different sized cables but there are other types which don't use dies.

You may be able to rent these as opposed to buying? http://unlimitedsupplyinc.com/crimper.html


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## sailingfool (Apr 17, 2000)

I don't know how the PO did the connections on my batteries, but one of them shorted, even though the crimp felt and looked solid, it just dstopped passing current. I walked the cable into a NTB auto store and the guy at the sedk took it out back and fixed it for nothing, said to come back some day and buy something.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

The one major advantage of having the crimping tool is that you can fix a bad lug while out cruising... and not having a convenient auto parts store nearby.


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## fcsob (Apr 28, 2007)

I have a set simular to Dogs. These have adjustable dies in the jaws. I bought mine from Wurth USA & have about 20year of shop use on them.


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## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

A master electrician I know swears the hex crimp is the only safe way to go. But...I've also heard several companies say that because the lugs vary in size, you need to use a lug and crimping tool form the same vendor--or made to the same spec--or it is STILL unreliable. (Or at least, less than 100.0% reliable.)

But I've never seen hex crimping tools available, or used, on boats. Seems like it shouldn't be all that hard to make up some steel dies with various hex sizes, that could be worked down tight with a good ratchet or wrench.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Again, thanks for everyone's input, I learned a lot. Sounds like it will be hard to meet all the requirements for a "perfect" crimp. Assuming I cant beg,borrow or rent one, I think Ill try the hex crimper that sailingdog suggested or another one made by Burndy which although retailing for over $300 is available at my local electrical store for only $160. Ill hope it will do a 99% job with Ancor lugs. It will be good to have one on board as I dont see an end to my "fiddling around with boats".
Also, I learned from my local solar/ battery shop that adding a little corrosion inhibitor (I mean very little) is helpful. The Ancor inhibitor is dielectric, meaning that it wont conduct and the stuff he sold me will. Just dont get it all over the place.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Glad to help TradewindSailing..  I believe that's the same one my friend had and I knew it could do the different size cables, but wasn't sure how it managed it..


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## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

Dunno why I read this "(Capacity 8-4/0 AWG)" " as meaning two sizes only, didn't realize how big a range that handles. Now...I WANT ONE! 

The only thing is, how to you know to set it for different lugs made to different specs by different companies?


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

LOL.... Two words... *Brain Fart*...  IIRC, they list what brand lugs they are compatible with in the documentation...


hellosailor said:


> Dunno why I read this "(Capacity 8-4/0 AWG)" " as meaning two sizes only, didn't realize how big a range that handles. Now...I WANT ONE!
> 
> The only thing is, how to you know to set it for different lugs made to different specs by different companies?


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