[JamesCH95]

Originally Posted by iyermihir

Many people seem to use uninsulated crimps. Where do you get these? We get insulated crimps, remove the insulation, crimp, solder, and heatshrink. They hold quite well.

-Mihir Iyer

McMaster has them. Although I have used this method in the past, with great success, it is a lot of work for little or no benefit over a good crimp connection.

Originally Posted by hobbes20xxx

I am always seriously surprised to hear people recommend ratcheting crimpers. In my experience, ratcheting crimpers that are under $200 seem to not work properly. Two of our mentors are master electricians with 50+ years experience combined in the field, both prefer manual crimpers (found in the electrical section of home depot, etc.) These work much better and allow the kids to crimp the p!$$ out of any connector. Its virtually impossible to over-crimp an insulated connector with a hand tool...

Soldering has the tendency to increase more than crimps do (done properly, it will be minimal however) ever notice we don't solder battery lugs on?

Can you cite a specific example or experience where a ratcheting crimping tool that was properly adjusted failed to work when used properly?

It's nice that two people prefer manual crimping tools, but that is a far cry from any substantiated evidence. Manual crimping tools DO NOT provide ANY consistency across multiple users. Some students can squeeze hard enough for manual crimping tools to work, but ratcheting crimping tools ensure consistent crimps and alert weaker students (no, not everyone is created equal) that they need to find someone to finish the crimp for them.

They do have to be adjusted properly to work properly. Though getting upset that they don't work when they haven't been adjusted is like getting angry when parts come out wrong on a mill that hasn't been indicated. I have a $12 ratcheting crimping tool that I bought at Harbor Freight that have served me well.