heat for heat-sheink terminals?

[bgary]

I have a few connections I'll be re-doing on mast wiring while the mast is down. I've read up on the tools and terminals, but... have no experience with heat-shrink connectors.

I'm assuming a butane torch is too hot for these things... so, what's the right way to apply the right amount of heat where I need it? Not sure if I'll have a 120v outlet in the mast yard, so bonus points for solutions that don't need to be plugged in...

thanks!
Bruce

 

[Frank Langer]

Hi Bruce,

It's not hard to shrink the heat shrink connectors. Best is a very small handheld butane torch like you would use for starting a barbecue, lighting candles, etc.--not a larger canister used for shop work or heavy duty heating. I have used the cigarette lighters that smokers use and also the cheap barbecue lighters available at Walmart or the dollar store. Mainly, you want to heat it gradually, evenly all round until it snugs to the wire, without setting the connector or wire on fire. :0

You'll soon get the hang of it, it's not hard. Maybe one of the pros will chime in with the "correct" technique.

Frank

 

[Shelman]

A heat gun is best, I have even used my wife's blow drier (when she's not around) but if I dont have power available I usually use my butane soldering iron with the low heat tip attached to keep from burning the insulation.(it blows hot air, I'm not touching a soldering tip to it) Also make sure you are using the heat shrink type that actually oozes out a melted liquid plastic when heated and not just the kind that shrinks.

http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/wire_termination
As always I recommend reading mainsails picture blog

 

[bgary]

http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/wire_termination
As always I recommend reading mainsails picture blog

I've been immersing in his blog for a couple of days. And building a shopping list of tools ;-)

 

[Shelman]

Yep mainsail has influenced my wallet by hundreds of dollars over the last few years, not counting what I have bought directly from his site. Most importantly the good effect on my boat has made it money well spent!

Here is some more reading in case you breeze through the other ages too quickly and are feeling mainsail withdraws.
http://forums.sailboatowners.com/index.php?forums/musings-with-maine-sail.135/&no_date_limit=1

 

[Christian Williams]

My earlier opinions below. To make the links work, go here. I am going to buy a DSUB kit for connecting small wires.

By now I sort of had a plan, thanks to hours with Nigel Calder’s “Boatowners Mechanical and Electrical Manual", Professor Maine Sail on small wires, labelling and tools , and many excellent forum threads like this one. But before cutting the first wire I needed a whole bunch of specific electrical components and some decent tools. My rusty amateur electrical kit was cheapskate junk--and the reason the crimps of my stereo wire connectors were failing after only six months. .

I knew I wouldn't get the parts list entirely right, but I'm glad I tried. A mail order house like Defender has better prices and choices than any retail outlet, and there are hundreds of sizes and styles for some of this stuff.

My favorite tool turned out to be a Channellock #909 crimper, with long handles for power and reach and good snippers at the end. The 25 bucks for an Ancor "autostrip" wire stripper was money well spent. A tiny ratcheted 90-degree screwdriver came in less handy than I expected. A new set of every screwdriver size imaginable helped a lot, and I think I used them all. Those damned-in-hell-forever shallow-slot screw heads on older circuit breakers will only stick on the tip of a driver that fits perfectly. Or one with, ugh, chewing gum on the tip. Only after the job did I realize there are numerous types of screw-holding screwdrivers designed specifically for hard-to-access areas. Duh.

I chose BSP Clear Seal ring terminals and butt connectors -- 25 each of 18-22, 14-16 and 10-12 . Maybe it's overkill, but they crimp well and the integral heat shrink with glue fits right every time even for an amateur. When ordering, note that the stud size of terminal blocks and bus bars must match that of the ring terminals

 

[bgary]

My earlier opinions below.

(laughing) yeah, I've been absorbing your blog posts, too. Picked up one of those ChannelLock tools at HomeDepot, based on your positive experience with it. Thinking about a D-sub kit, as well (Maine Sail makes a compelling case for having the right tools)

How did you do the heat-shrink in your panel project? Did you use a 120v heat gun, or a torch with a diffuser, or....?

 

[Christian Williams]

Heat gun. Also good for paint. Also good for burning yourself all over.

I also used other heat sources--matches, barbeque lighter for the stove. But that makes the heat-shrink black. And makes it look like the wires caught fire, or a major fuse blew out, or the boat recently burned to the water line.

So, heat gun.

 

[jarnold67]

Cheap heat gun is handy for wiring work and much more

When I overhauled Pickle, I purchased a cheap heat gun at Harbor Freight to heat-shrink my crimp connections. I thought it would only last a week (it was about $9), but it's lasted two years now and is going strong for not only electrical work but for warming up hoses and paint removal. It is much stronger than a hair dryer and you need to use some caution when putting it down to avoid melting something inadvertently.