Cheap VS Expensive Battery Cable Crimpers | Harbor Freight and Temco Comparison
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- čas přidán 7. 03. 2022
- Today we're getting prepared for the next project on the is300, so I thought I would take the time to show you guys the difference between the cheap and expensive tools on the market meant for making custom battery cables.
Make sure to follow me on instagram for early updates!
irvinortega_
Products used (paid links):
Temco Crimpers:
amzn.to/3vOCwEr
Harbor Freight Crimpers:
www.harborfreight.com/hydraul...
Battery Cable:
www.batterycablesusa.com/2-ga...
Battery Cable Lugs:
amzn.to/3sT7Pfq - Auta a dopravní prostředky
Most of the less expensive crimpers do the same thing and leave little wings on the crimp. Try this! Crimp about half way, release pressure, rotate the wire/crimp 90º and finish the crimp. When you rotate the crimp, the second crimping action will smash those wings down and you'll get a much nicer looking crimp.
@Johnathan Thomas I've been doing this for years, and I have zero issues with heating of the connectors. In fact, the connectors are on so tight, I could pull a car out of a ditch.
@Johnathan Thomas holy crap your comprehension is low.
Thank you. Because im here trying to make sure im doing the right thing and I thought I was fucking up but its actually the damn tool. I dont like these wings because it could cut into any nearby wires.
@@Lilmiket1000 when I get the wings before sliding the heat shrink over I file them dull.
@VonderbachNo, he isn’t. What he suggests is perfectly fine. It takes more time than using a more precise tool, but the end result likely will be a very serviceable crimp. The only way to know for sure is to make a crimp that way and then section it. I am betting the crimp will be fine.
It would have been interesting to pull the cable apart and see which end fails first. Looks is one thing, but staying together is what really matters.
*The most important thing is how much contact resistance is in the lug.*
*Comparing copper vs copper and tin vs tin would reduce variables.*
*I never use the 0 awg and I just ground it a little bigger to have a perfect fit for my most common crimp.*
My Harbor Freight crimpers work great and never give me any problems.
Ideally shrink wrap is used to finish it off nicely and then the wings are not a concern really.
Nice video. Partly crimping, then turning the lug 1 flat and finishing can reduce winging.
Also I went with a TEMco factory referb on their e-bay store. Other than some oily residue I couldn’t tell it from new. I suspect it had a leak and got new seals, and I saved a bunch.
My temco will leave wings depending on terminal wall thickness, that varies by type and manufacturer you know.
Rotate 90° before wings form and it will be fine.
Thanks for making this video Irvin! I still an old worn out one it doesn’t even crimp anymore lol
I was rocking the hammer one for the longest time 😂 thought it was finally time for an upgrade lol
Very helpful, thank you.
Tbh I would just put heat shrink around those anyway to make them more resistant to weather and what not and it’ll make it look nicer so to me at least can’t justify the $50 dollar difference
Thanks for putting this up. Theyre both made in China, but there are still big quality differences.
uh, what is the largest size terminal each will crimp?
thanks for the video
... tis do the temco dies fit in the harbor freight one???
Looks good, I've been looking for a better crimper.
It's honestly so worth it
That CZcams money is starting to roll in I see 😂😆
I bought all this before I was monetized 😂
Best jacket/band ever!!!!
I 100% agree 😎
I have a HF one and you have to run the dies one step lower then what you need so for a 8gag need to use a 6gag then it works the best
.... What about the 0 Guage?
There are crimping "systems" (lugs, tool, and die all from the same manufacturer with an NEC (National Electric Code) specified AWG cable used for AC power distribution) which will produce a certified (UL, UAW) crimp. Certified crimps that are circumferential (circular in shape and not hex) can produce wings (as it is called in the video) as certified for AC busbar lugs, meaning wings are expected when using U dies, in fact you are looking for the creation of wings.
W dies are also circumferential but do not necessarily produce wings because they bottom out (bottoming dies like hex dies with no side gaps). When we move away from crimping AC UL approved (also UAW) cable and lugs there is really no standard result that is approved. What this means is you have to select your own lugs, crimpers and dies to get the results you want. Once you decide on a system you have to saw through some test crimps to see the cross sectional area and how the strands are compressed. If your test crimp looks good (cold forming complete) then you have a good crimp.
There is a lot of variability in making battery or high power cables terminations for transportation applications (auto, marine, off road). If we start with the tooling for copper cable lugs up to 4/0 you will need a 6 Ton hydraulic crimper. If you limit your lug size to 2/0 you can use the Temco tool which is 5 Ton and comes with both standard and HD lug hex dies. A 6 Ton crimper is very common in the industry with either W or Hex dies. The Greenlee EK622LX (as just one example, not cheap) uses Hex dies from Greenlee with an adaptor for W dies (made by Burndy, Greenlee, Panduit and many others).
In regards to the video, which is an automotive application, 2 AWG is being used so the Temco will work. The best lugs are actually made by Burndy, Panduit or Others and are color coded. I like Panduit tin plated long barrel no window and no entry flare for automotive 2 AWG. The best wire is high stranding tin plated Marine wire, which is more flexible than welding cable which is not commonly tin plated but is high stranding with a good jacket (covering). Production automotive battery cable is usually not tin plated or fine stranded or very flexible, so I don't use it very often. With a long barrel lug you can do either one, two or three crimps of either W or Hex depending on the cable size. Always use dual wall heat shrink to seal the cable to lug joint. Lugs with inspection (witness) windows are usually not used for automotive applications.
With many car builders a hex crimp will be used. The approach is to select a die that matches the cable size and lug as a starting point and see if the crimp produces side wings. What you will find is you want a die to bottom out and just produce the start of side wings. Which you can then remove by rotating the cable and crimping again if needed. If the die is a bottoming die (like a hex die or a W die) a good crimp is one that produces no side wings (or very slight) while still bottoming out. If you use this rule of thumb and then look at some crimp cross sections you will see a solid mass with no gaps, meaning it is properly cold formed (or sometimes called cold welded).
If you produce a proper cold formed crimp on a long barrel lug (three hex crimps on 2 AWG) it will outperform any soldered connection. The main advantage of the crimp connection is the soldered joint will be weaker and more prone to cracking, but if the cable is properly dressed and secured I have never seen a soldered cable fail (I have worked with techs that like to solder). They only fail if allowed to move due to vibration which I have seen. Another disadvantage with soldering is to heat up a large lug takes a lot of heat which can degrade the tin plating (Panduit lugs are not inexpensive) on the lug and also damage the cable jacket. Also, you should have a good mechanical connection before soldering as a rule of thumb, which many do not do. Overall though if you have a 6 Ton battery operated crimper with the proper hex dies you can terminate cables 10x faster than soldering. You can triple crimp a long barrel lug in about 15 seconds.
Thanks for sharing! =)
where can i find one?
I have the H F crimper. The blade or wing etc. on the sides isn't a problem. I just turn the cable 120 degrees and re crimp. Bingo, it's now smooth all the way around.
Got to admit the Temco is nice and I like having the extra sizes. You get what you pay for.
Not as worried about what's happening on the outside of the crimp as much as what's going on on the inside. If the crimper is leaving wings, I'm not confident it is producing a properly cold welded crimp. With the temco I can be sure.
Did some homework on those the dies fit the harbor freight one.....
sooo the copper terminal is bigger so it leaves wings and the tinned one has the correct size...
I tried the TEMco lever style one that’s like $110, no thanks. I’ll try this hydraulic one and hope it works.
The lever one is nice in that it’s dieless but the issue is it’s a crush/dent type which frankly I don’t mind but the issue is the top support die is too wide so if you want the crush to face up perpendicular to the bolt hole it may deform the ears or it may deform the flared part where the wire goes in, you have to choose which part you wanna have suck. It’s going right back quick fast…
North T. Caries a 10 ton $45 or so. There a little more fastidious but they have advantages if getting creative, for the price me liky!! Not working for the Ford line factory so teniselbow is no proba!. And Yup, choose the right die r you'll get mayonnaise drip!! The game changer are the dies if purchased separately $$. I usem backwards to flatten stuff, reshaped a couple for special items. I've crimped plugs for cables on mower levers and could work on bikes (DO NOT DO BREACKS)!!!
Also used them for deck rails. And attaching stops (end caps) on rods. Not much to em, they push together and squeeze, otherwise I ain't gona hangem next to my family photos, finish is less than glossy. I may even angle some carbon steel and make a lock type cutter eith them. Any how there as usfull as your imagination can take them..... get the pricy ones for the dies though, wished I had. more.... cash that is 😉.
Did you use the wrong die on the Pittsburgh crimper? It seems you are working with 2/0 Cable rather than 2. It would leave wings.
Nope it is not 2/0 it is 2g
@@RotaryDaddy I heard they mislabeled the die converting the size from whatever unit of measure they use in China. Have to use larger die than what is printed on them.
@@jlindstrom3807 yup! That's exactly what it looks like, just not really cool since they are all labeled as awg, like I said, you can make it work but for a bit more money I'd rather get the one that just works you know?
I just looked at HF. It doesn’t have 1/0. I’m going to by the TEMco
Good Video --
Can you use the dies from the temco in the harbor freight one?
Haven't tried but maybe...?
Nice video, however, most likely you would be using heat shrink with those connections. Therefore, your size marking and how the crimp shows, those will not be seen. 🤷♂️
Very true, the size marking is a bit of a gimmick but the fact that the harbor freight dies are undersized is enough for me not to trust it. Thanks for watching! 🤘🏼
If you would of used the 1/0 in the harbor freight one it wouldn't of winged out like that all dies are mad the same been using my hydraulic crimper since 2014 and always used the 1/0 instead of 2 awg
I have had the harbor freight crimpers blow apart on me. Literally cracked the cast head and flew across my job site. To be fair i was doing som 0/4 gauge or something and putting my body weight into the crimper against a metal skid.
I’m not gonna lie I think I’ve gotten close lol they started making some weird noises so I backed off that’s wild that you actually got them to break 😂
👍
Crimp+solder+heat shrink = bulletproof
Nice god bless
The chinese crimp dies are metric sizes not awg
They say awg on them and all of the packaging...
Just because you have an is300 ill be buying the expensive one so I can start my battery relocation on my is!
The temco is nice as hell and if you're doing this more than once it's VERY worth it 😎
no one going see the crimp after heat shrink lol
Get what you pay for!
Just buy the Temco dies.. As who cares what the crimp looks like. As I cover them up with Heat Shrink and Dialectic grease...
If the "wings" are sharp, they can cut your heat shrink.
have a temco never go back you get what you pay for
embarrassed really?
After you shrink the connector tube, you don't see a thing.
Heat shrink. Problem solved.
The issue with the winged crimp isn’t only a cosmetic one. Crimping with an incorrect die will lead to a less reliable connection and may never allow you to get the correct pressure needed to create the cold weld you’re looking for
Just use Little common sense if want save the $ lol
1) use next size up die so don’t get that crimp spill out ….
2) don’t overcrimp it usually what causes that
3) crimp then rotate and crimp again for perfect finish ….
4) could very easily just cut the “wings” as u call them off with pair dikes lol
However I personally own tempco(older version) mine has no color die marks and sizes not marked to operate 100% properly and case is wayyy smaller …mines actually closer to HB FT version performance wise and case look wise from ur video so had use bit common sense lol …. But I do like tempco(urs must be recent upgrade version) products very much and their warranty is literally SECOND TO NONE HAHA ….
I spend more than my viewers because i dont want my stuff to look like shit that they would do.
Maybe you spend more money buying tools qe already have 😂
Go ahead count