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Old 10-19-2012, 06:37 AM   #41
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For some reason I find this a fascinating topic. Heaven help me. The propeller on my beanie is near to launching.

Searching the web looking for solder vs. crimp opinions I can find no clear-cut preference. NASA allows crimped connections. So too does the Experimental Aircraft Assn. But then they also allow soldered connections. A common thread appears to be to support the wire near the connection because both connections create a hard spot near the connection that promotes work hardening and subsequent fatigue failures. If I could infer a slight preference it would be for a two crimp connection over solder. One crimp on the bare wire and the second crimp on the insulation as a stress reliever. Your average cheesy crimp connector is a single crimp
Steve

I think the main difference in the recommendations you see has more to do with making a consistent connection than the method used?

The chances are just better that the connection will be reliable from a Crimping tool than by soldering. Again I am not speaking to which one is better but just which is easier to make.

Soldering is a skill that can be improved upon(or denigrated) over a lifetime of practice and there are many different styles and tricks that are seen that differentiate one joint from another even from the same operator.

Crimp connectors and tools have a higher degree of easily repeatable and strong connections (while using the proper tools and connectors for them)and thus are more easy to recommend to the public in general.

There is also a large group of "Old School" techs that will insist that soldering is best as that is the way it has been done since before there were decent crimping options.

Really small conductors are tough to terminate with either method in my experience for a lot of reasons and as I know we talked about the other day,I can't even see the tiny connections anymore well enough to solder them with the confidence I once had.

I think you are on the right track though by using both better connections and some robust mechanical reinforcement too.

I also can not believe you have not considered making your own dry ice right in the "Castle" as you camp?

Ed
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Old 10-19-2012, 06:37 AM   #42
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Tomorrow I'll tap into a black wire, check it's polarity and then splice with a 12 ga wire and then butt splice into the real small maybe 18 ga wire. That should make everything kosher.
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Actually I'm not touching the heat pads wires, they are really thick due to the 12v current draw. All I did was loosen the screw on the switch (escape uses screw connections on their switches, really secure) and slipped my little wire from the led light, crimped to a small connector under the wire and retightened. I did this on the open end of the switch, not the hot end. The black wire will be spliced into one of the existing wires nearby, must be 3 or 4 that are accessible.
The 12 gauge wire is what misled me. Not many things in a trailer that need that size wire. The heater wires were the logical choice. Raz
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Old 10-19-2012, 06:56 AM   #43
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Steve

I think the main difference in the recommendations you see has more to do with making a consistent connection than the method used?

The chances are just better that the connection will be reliable from a Crimping tool than by soldering. Again I am not speaking to which one is better but just which is easier to make.

Soldering is a skill that can be improved upon(or denigrated) over a lifetime of practice and there are many different styles and tricks that are seen that differentiate one joint from another even from the same operator.

Crimp connectors and tools have a higher degree of easily repeatable and strong connections (while using the proper tools and connectors for them)and thus are more easy to recommend to the public in general.

There is also a large group of "Old School" techs that will insist that soldering is best as that is the way it has been done since before there were decent crimping options.

Really small conductors are tough to terminate with either method in my experience for a lot of reasons and as I know we talked about the other day,I can't even see the tiny connections anymore well enough to solder them with the confidence I once had.

I think you are on the right track though by using both better connections and some robust mechanical reinforcement too.

I also can not believe you have not considered making your own dry ice right in the "Castle" as you camp?

Ed
I suspect most folks here are using those yellow handled wire strippers that take half the wire with the insulation, untinned wire they bought at the hardware store, and a crimping tool from Harbor Freight. Old school.
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Old 10-19-2012, 07:24 AM   #44
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Not that I'm old school, but.........You will pry my soldering iron from my cold dead hands.
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Old 10-19-2012, 07:33 AM   #45
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Not that I'm old school, but.........You will pry my soldering iron from my cold dead hands.
your nickname may be "Cool hand luke"
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Old 10-19-2012, 07:36 AM   #46
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"The 12 gauge wire is what misled me. Not many things in a trailer that need that size wire. The heater wires were the logical choice. "
I find when splicing a small wire with one of those in line connectors with 2 different sized wires sometimes do not work. So I match both wires within the connector and then downsize the wire later with a butt connector to the smaller wire. More connections but better connections. The butt connector seem better to handle 2 disparate sized wires better than the in line connectors do.
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Old 10-19-2012, 07:45 AM   #47
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your nickname may be "Cool hand luke"
What we've got here is failure to communicate.

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Old 10-19-2012, 07:50 AM   #48
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It may be over kill, but I typically cut the insulation off of a crimp connection, then crimp it on, then solder. Finnish with one, or two layers of heat shrink.
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Old 10-19-2012, 08:44 AM   #49
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Swimming in mixed schools is interesting.

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Old 10-19-2012, 09:49 AM   #50
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It may be over kill, but I typically cut the insulation off of a crimp connection, then crimp it on, then solder. Finnish with one, or two layers of heat shrink.
I actually do this sometimes, as well. I see two major failure modes:

  • Corrosion between the wire and whatever you are connecting it to
  • Wire breaking off due to stress concentration at the connection
The solder makes a connection less subject to corrosion and the shrink tubing distributes the stress along the wire. Using a crimp connector holds it all together so it is easier to solder.


Now did someone have a question about grounding a light switch?
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Old 10-19-2012, 12:50 PM   #51
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Soldered (with and without tape), butt........
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Old 10-19-2012, 12:51 PM   #52
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and ThomasG ( with and without tape)
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Old 10-19-2012, 01:12 PM   #53
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and ThomasG ( with and without tape)
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Old 10-19-2012, 01:19 PM   #54
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clarifying

Interconnection systems have been a problem for the electrical/electronic industries for at least the 50 years I was involved. My views are colored by that 50 years and changes that have happened.

Now to clarify.. Preferred connection methods.
2 wires of similar size. 1. Crimp 2. wire nut 3. solder
more than 2 wires or wires of vastly different sizes .. 1. wire nut. 2. solder.
Terminal on the end of wire. 1. crimp 2. solder.

The crimp connection is qualified by the use of the term "properly". As was point out that using cheap crimpers will NOT make a good crimp. The ones that crimp both insulation and wire along with requiring a fixed height in order to release the crimpers are required.

Now as to moisture getting into the crimp connection, particularly a spliced connection, can be solved, by using a good heat shrink. In this case one with an adhesive inside will improve the long live of the connection. This is the case with both solder and crimped connections.

For somebody that really knows how to solder, it can be a good connection, the key here is knowing how to make a really good solder connection.

I'm not totally anti solder, in fact one of my tasks during part of that 50 years was as a soldering instructor. A new person had to make close to a thousand "good" solder connections before they were they were allowed to solder on product that was to be sold to customers.

Another thing about soldering today is common use of lead free solder. This takes bit of a different technique. The solder melts at a higher temperature than the tin-lead stuff. Higher heat means more damage to insulation and other stuff near by.

So there you have it.
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Old 10-19-2012, 01:33 PM   #55
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I found my ground in that I used a snap splice into a black wire, ran a short piece of 12g wire to my 18g led black wire. I used ThomasG method, wire nut/tape and then taped the entire splice/wirenut connection to the existing wires/pipes bundle, tight with no vibration possibility. The led now is lit when the pads are activated. Remember I'm working upside down under my bed in a space smaller than a MRI chamber without my glasses since I'm working so close to my eyes I can not see wearing them nor with them off. The sense of touch becomes important as one gets older. I am also using a flashlight held in my mouth which I find keeps my cursing to a minimum.
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Old 10-19-2012, 02:01 PM   #56
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I found my ground in that I used a snap splice into a black wire, ran a short piece of 12g wire to my 18g led black wire. I used ThomasG method, wire nut/tape and then taped the entire splice/wirenut connection to the existing wires/pipes bundle, tight with no vibration possibility. The led now is lit when the pads are activated. Remember I'm working upside down under my bed in a space smaller than a MRI chamber without my glasses since I'm working so close to my eyes I can not see wearing them nor with them off. The sense of touch becomes important as one gets older. I am also using a flashlight held in my mouth which I find keeps my cursing to a minimum.
Good job. With the sense of touch technique soldering become problematic.
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Old 10-19-2012, 02:19 PM   #57
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I suspect most folks here are using those yellow handled wire strippers that take half the wire with the insulation, untinned wire they bought at the hardware store, and a crimping tool from Harbor Freight. Old school.
not me. I've got me a real good pair of wire stripper and I'm a solder and shrink wrap kind of girl. As taught to me by the Tin Can Tourists. Did it that way when changing over to LED running lights - funny enough Scamp had used twist on wire connectors on the rear running lights - which explained some of the intermittent problems I was having with the old lights.
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Old 10-19-2012, 02:52 PM   #58
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I just ordered one of these, I borrowed a friends and these really make it easy and simple
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ls_o00_s00_i01
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Old 10-19-2012, 04:23 PM   #59
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not me. I've got me a real good pair of wire stripper and I'm a solder and shrink wrap kind of girl.
Carol, good for you. Jim, don't put your fingers in the wrong place.

I would suggest folks avoid the V notch strippers. (left)

The strippers with individual cutters are ok but I prefer the clamp and cut type. Mine were made by Speedex which are no longer around but can be found on eBay.
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Old 10-20-2012, 06:13 AM   #60
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I found my ground in that I used a snap splice into a black wire, ran a short piece of 12g wire to my 18g led black wire. I used ThomasG method, wire nut/tape and then taped the entire splice/wirenut connection to the existing wires/pipes bundle, tight with no vibration possibility. The led now is lit when the pads are activated. Remember I'm working upside down under my bed in a space smaller than a MRI chamber without my glasses since I'm working so close to my eyes I can not see wearing them nor with them off. The sense of touch becomes important as one gets older. I am also using a flashlight held in my mouth which I find keeps my cursing to a minimum.
Sounds good, pretty much what I was thinking, but likely did not put across well. Glad to hear you got it set up and working good.

I understand the wiring under the bed issue, as I just did a bit of that a short while ago hooking up additional tail/brake lights. I have good distance vision, but do need reading glasses to see close, and they are not always the best thing working all twisted up and laying cramped under the bed.

The black wire is a negative though, and not a ground. The fact that the ground in a vehicle is bonded to the negative for safety reasons, should not be confused with how DC power works. I know that this is just a case of terminology, but I also think proper understanding of these terms and how things work, is very important as it leads to less confusion.
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