Heat shrink solder butt connector test.
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- Опубліковано 30 тра 2024
- A few people have asked if I can take a look at these quick-repair connectors for cars and other applications.
The idea is that you can basically put the stripped ends of two wires into one of these connectors and when heated it solders the wires together, while also providing a waterproof seal with heat shrink sleeve and hot melt rings.
Note that wires should be shiny copper or tinned copper for any soldered connection to work properly. If the wire is oxidised, black and tarnished then it will not always readily take solder even with flux. In that instance it may be necessary to cut back either side to see if you can find clean copper and patch a new bit of wire in.
The word of the day is "smoosh". A special word mechanics use for smooshing things together.
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After seeing your comparison, I did my own. If you apply a small bit of flux to the wire before sliding it into the connector, it works perfectly. I did the same experiment twice. I cut open the soldered wired with lineman's pliers and then with a dremel. Both times, the solder had successfully worked its way into all the tiny fibers to make a solid connection.
Flux not only cleans the copper, but also helps "pull" the solder into the joints via capillary action as it heats. I agree with your findings and if you have flux handy, it is best to apply a bit of it first before you make the connection.
Just what I was going to say! I would also use a little flux before using these!!
A flux pen and these bad boys will cut a job time in half.
Did you have to fan the wires out and put flux down in the center of the strands?
Oh, nice idea.
Clive, You didn't try the "field method" using a cigarette lighter...... I can see where these connectors would be very handy using nothing but a pocket knife and a lighter.
I've done exactly this and it works perfectly. They are part of my 'get me out of the shit' kit. I've got a waterpump in my van connected with these. The connection is permanently submerged.
I also thought of this. Along the line of: "This will get me to the place i can fix it propperly".
You call it the field method, but, I wont unpack and setup my hot air station just to shrink wrap a couple of wires. The lighter is the first choice method, even when soldering with an iron first.
The old lighter, best way to strip rj45 wires
the ones I got on Amazon burned up with a lighter. The solder didn't melt.
"I shall find out by touching it and seeing if I get burned" these are the brave heroes that have answered life's persistent questions
Clive, I suggest you test these connectors by running progressively more amperage through them until they fail and then compare to a standard soldered and hear shrunk connection.
Or, use a "milliohm meter" in comparing soldered or crimped connections.
Also, use a heat gun at the recommended temperature. Clive stated that he started with the lowest temperature he thought possible. For a test should go with the manufacturer recommendation otherwise it's not really fair. After than, can test possible failure modes of too hot or too cold.
@@TheOzthewiz I was thinking this as well.
Was thinking something similar to see if the bad connections can cause heat/fire.
@@deucedeuce1572 Yes they can. So don't use it with high loads.. just low voltage, low amperage wires..
Like if your working on location and your office chair wheel kills your headphone cable but you really need the headphone for the job.. something like that..
I used these when I was in my aircraft maintenance course, I believe. You make a conventional union splice, then slide the sleeve over... then realise you forgot to put the sleeve on in the first place.
So you mean you use it basically the same way like every other sleeve?
Yes, but the advantage would be, a ring of sealant glue
@@SurajGrewal Well, my focus was more on the "forgetting to put it on" part.
And aren't there also crimp versions with sealant glue? I could swear I have seen these.
@@NightmareQueenJune yup, but I think, the crimp ones are more like jelly or wax.
Funny, looks like we all do that mistake
I can't even count the number of times I've soldered a jack, and realised that I forgot to put the plastic thing that protects the connection. Then I desolder it, which often happens with destruction of said jack cause the soldering job was too good, and now I end up with a wire which is inch shorter and one less Jack in the inventory 🤣.
@@SurajGrewal Easy with circular DIN connectors, just undo every single pin with the inserter/remover tool, and put that backshell you forgot over the pins, then start again inserting wire 1 into A, wire 2 into ZF, wire 3 into DY. then you can put the backshell on finally, after lacing up the wires again, because you need the wire numbers.
Changing connectors the easy way, a wire at a time, from old connector, new pin, into new connector. Sparkie way change connector, what pins.
We had some connectors with a scheduled pin replacement interval, they would start off as 1.6mm pins, and vibrate down to sewing needles. Luckily there was a bulkhead connector further in the airframe, so you could just change a small loom when you ran out of the slack, or the actual wires disintegrated.
you might try a mechanical load test, see how easily the joint pulls apart... and also an electrical load test, pass a current through and measure for a voltage drop at the joint.
or just pass current until it catches fire.
I would very much like this as well. I occasionally have something that'll need to withstand a little pull every now and then.
Or just soak it in acid, smash it repeatedly with a 5 lb. sledge, burn it, and then run a chainsaw over it.
@@TortureBot And to top it all off, the name even fits lmao
I was disappointed that he did not try yanking them apart.
We used these to terminate drain wires to cable shielding. A couple of notes on your application of these:
Strip each end 1.5 - 2 times the width of the solder band. The idea is to contain the solder to a limited area. Strip too much and you end up getting the exact flowing problem you found.
Pre-tinning the ends is preferred, or use a 'no-clean' flux (Rosin flux corrodes the solder joint over time if not completely washed off with IPA).
Never 'mesh' the wire together. Always maintain the wire twist and lay the two ends side by side. Meshing the wire adds voids where the solder does not flow and you end up with the exact flowing problem you found (second reason for the failure).
Use a bigger nozzle for your heat gun and heat the whole area up in one shot. This is just for efficiency.
They work, but they do require a specific assembly method to work properly. Good luck!
Do you know what company that produces these shrink sleeves?
@@leifhall2289 I think Amp and probably Tyco make the better quality ones, but there will be cheaper Chinese ones like JST if I remember correctly.
Just reading your comment. I use rosin flux with a 60/40 leaded solder. I dip the wires, touch the iron on the fluxed wires to heat it and flow into the strands and then add the solder. I'm guessing that's a bad way to solder?
@@rockmunkey1981 Sounds like you're doing everything right. Just gotta be sure that the rosin flux residue is cleaned off before you encapsulate the solder joint, or use a "no clean" flux and forget about the cleanup.
Hi Clive, nice video. Reminds me a demo from a very eminent engineer who told his students that soldering is not always the best. He demonstated that a good clean crimp joint has a lower resistance than a soldered one. He explained that in reality the purpose of the solder was just to stop it unravelling and keep osygen from getting in and oxidising the metal. He then demonstrated that was indeed the case by measuring the resistance and then connecting the two joints in series. Passing a high current through the two joints it was the uncrimped joint that melted. That demo has always stuck with me.
his point here seemed to be to simulate a field repair, hence he tested the product with the lowest temperature setting. part B was to compare the results of the product against a traditional method.
honestly if you're broke down on the side of the road it's pretty unlikely that the cause is going to be a wire. possible but pretty unlikely. I did counter this with one of our work vans after it had been to the mechanic. somehow they damaged a connector on the wiring harness and it took a while for it to work its way back out again whether it was by accident and they stuck it together to hide it or was on purpose so that we would have to bring it back later I don't know for sure but if so they screwed themselves because we took it somewhere else
Western Electric teaches this: a sound mechanical connection and a sound electrical connection are the same thing; solder is a sealant, not part of the electrical circuit.
Odd, there are several videos online testing crimp vs solder and solder always has much lower resistance and heat. Except in the case of a cold solder joint. But also maybe the teacher was using a different type crimp connector than what you normally find today
@@stephenwhite5444 It is interesting, I guess it mainly depends on contact surface area, the joints we used had multiple contact points and were really tight. With solder you will increase the surface area but a good solid mechanical contact should always be made where possible. If solder lowers the resistance and temperature of the joint when passing current then it is a poor joint in the first place.
@@terrybailey2769 Lower resistance and temperature increases efficiency and therefore means the joint is good. Hope this helps!
The metal "solder" may be a Bismuth alloy like they use for fire sprinkler heads. They melt at temperatures well below tin/lead allow solder.
maybe something with indium in it?
@@tommihommi1 probably not, Indium is pretty expensive and these things are dirt cheap.
Just checked, ~$540/kg vs $29 for Bismuth.
Although I'd expect it would have wicked up onto the wire more from the heat gun exposure if it was lower temp. Unless Bismuth doesn't bond as well?
@@andrewfidel2220 yeah indium is about as expensive as silver.
I would think that is what it is.
I use (used to use?) these at work, but we have the "brand name" ones which we get from RS which appear to have flux on the inside of the solder band, so they provide really quite excellent solder penetration and strong joints even in fairly high current applications, highest was nearly 25A
I agree. I used them in the past on MoD equipment. They look like cheap knock-offs to me.
I was going to comment on this as well.
Those ones appear to have a much worse solder quality compared to the name brand ones that I used at work before we quit due to RoHS issues with the ones we were using.
Even seeing the original solder band visible on the heat-shrink in his test was a warning that the solder wasn't a good quality example.
@@martinbuck3094 - I think they are - the RS ones are much better. I have used them and carried out a similar test with better results.
With the knock-offs one could easily add their own flux
I have seen them used my air craft manufactures and have used them my self. There are Coax and Triax splice kits that are about the same concept. When done right they work great. Bought some for automotive use, been seeing them become more popular the last couple of years. 8 years of aviation maintenance.
I've found that they create a dry joint and often come apart unless you mechanically connect the wires first. It definitely works better if both wire ends are dipped in flux paste.
I would use Kester #186 no clean liquid flux for that. I find it penetrates stranded wire much better than flux paste.
I thought that flux would be useful as well.
@@atomicskull6405 I agree about using no clean flux, but for a different reason. RA flux residue is slightly corrosive (thus the good advice (or shop SOP) to clean the residue off) so will slowly degrade the joint because there is no way to clean the flux out of those solder butt splices.
They should make these with PTFE heatshrink and 63/37 with RMA flux. Then you could just nuke it at 620 degrees till the PTFE shrinks, which will be more than enough to melt the solder and wick it good.
I used these and Raycem splices for years on military aircraft wiring (starting way back in the 80's) and new avionics installations. If they work on fighters they will work in your car. Since there is "no flame" allowed on aircraft we used nitrogen heat guns. Inert gas with a heating element. Never had any issues. A great solution if you hate to solder and want weather tight at the same time.
You were probably using a higher quality part than these lousy things people like me buy from Amazon. The ones I've used are worthless. The plastic melts through destroying any integrity before the solder will really get into the joint.
@@MAILER-DAEMON Use a heat gun, not an open flame, and you won't have that issue.
I have used these when I was working avionics on the military aircraft. We also had some designed to work with shielded cables with a pigtail built in to connect to the shield screen using the solder ring. One side of the sealing glue was smaller to seal onto the center conductor of the shielded cable, and one side was larger to seal and glue onto the outer jacket. The ones we used had a color added to the solder ring to know when it was heated enough to fully melt the solder.
Lake Nipissing I use those exact ones. They are great.
Wanted to make the same coment, ours don't have the color changing solder though.
do you know the brand? i'd love to see a high quality version of this
Good to know that a professional grade version is available.
The red is flux. They're used a lot in class 3 cables in aviation. Clive didn't fully melt the solder preform so of course the connection wasn't complete lol
They need load testing, see if they heat and fail up when passing a high current.
I was wondering if the solder would melt again if too much current was passed
Would like to see this and if someone tried to put two solid core wire together
Could also measure resistance comparisons or voltage drop across the joint at the same time
Photonic Induction agrees
@@JasonW. Crank it t'ill it pops! - I miss that guy, hope he is doing well...
If i used those id still forget to put the heatshrink on first. Damn it!!
Like 110v etc plugs
The struggle is real
Every. Damn. Time. xD
Ugh. Same.
Hi Clive. I use these at work very often than not for bilge pumps in boats where the splices will be always submerged. Never had a problem with one yet. And for dirty jobs like that where you don’t want to be down there all day these have really been a godsend. What I would note is the adisive bands need more heat so they flow like hot glue and as for the solder I’ve noticed that if you strip your wires shorter about the same length as the solder band they give nearly a 90-100% solder coverage. Keep up the great videos.
Have been using this for over 8 years never ever had any issues with it but I use more heat than your first try. And mine cost +/- 0,75 €/piece.
You definitely haven't been using these, rather a quality ones for that price
Boy that's pricey
The Racal ones cost you deep in the purse but seem to be good. As ever, you get what you pay for.
@@davidquirk8097 You don't get more than you pay for, but you can quite easily get less.
You're probably using real, aviation-grade solder splices.
I’ve been using these and their slightly more rugged self-sealing crimping butt connectors for 30 years, in all sorts of 12 and 24v harsh environments and loads, mostly heavy goods and industrial vehicles and trailers, and they hold up extremely well. Both in the field repairs and in the shop. They’re more expensive than using shrink tube + solder, but they are very quick and more weatherproof. Something I appreciate in the mud and the snows of a -40C Canadian winter. Particularly in something like a trailer wiring harness.
Hi, those self sealing crimping butt you mentioned I am trying to view the type you mentioned was there a specific description of these better ones ?
@@ZerHour Grote makes “Heat Shrinkable Butt Connectors “ in both Nylon and Polyolefin, not sure which is more waterproof. Ever-bilt, Bur-Cam, and Gardner Bender make a combo kit of crip connector with heavy gauge waterproof shrink for use with submersible pump. .
@@vaalrus Ah yes sorry I misread the first part thinking they (the rugged type )were also solder type now I see the crimping type 👍 yes I've used those come to think of it ,thanks for reply
With proper marine grade heat shrink you will get a way better seal than these can offer, it's not just a small strip of glue, the entire thing is lined with hot melt all the way down. And with a proper solder connection the tubing doesn't even really need to seal anything as the solder already soaks into and seals all of the wire strands, the tubing is really just for insulating the connection, any corrosion on the outside wouldn't cause any issues.
@@Oleg-oe1rc True, and I usually keep some of the heavy-duty adhesive lined shrinks around for harsh conditions, or in water tanks or if I have to bury a line. Heck, I’ve even used a piece in a pinch to seal a pinhole leak in an auxilary airline. It’s great stuff.
And I agree that best practice is soldered joints shrink wrapped, but on the side of a road, or you need a rapid repair to get mobile on a deadline, the sealing crimps are quite reliable. Would I expect to get 20 years of trailer service in the winter out of them, or in a marine appliation? Probably not, but I’ve zero qualms using them when I need to. And the submersible (freshwater, anyway) shrinkable crimp connectors supplied by my down-hole water pump suppliers have yet to fail me in the 30 years I’ve been putting them down wells and into cisterns. Septic tanks, well, that’s a whole other bag of sealed enclosures.
Those things are awesome. There really doesn't need to be that much solder because it also crimps the strands together with the heat shrink. So easy and fast to use those.
Your voice is very calming. You never get upset when something goes wrong.
Try dipping each end in flux before pushing them separately into the connector.
Thats a good idea..i will try that.
I do exactly this. They work really well.
At that point, it's just a step away from pre-soldering before covering with heat shrink. The point of it would be to be in a quick, on the go repair kit
That's what I was thinking.
@@SurajGrewal these also work when the wire is too short for the heat shrink method, not so easy making it look neat in that situation tho.
Odd timing, I ordered some of these a month ago on impulse to try them out. Used on some 12v barrel plug connector wire ends, and they worked pretty well, although low current use yes. I was very surprised it worked so well with a pocket lighter, including the solder blob. I was expecting far less! May end up helping out in a pinch some time.
Yah I just use alighter. So nice when location isn't the best. IE low voltage wiring outdoors.
That's so funny I literally almost did the same thing, decides to try them making some low 5 amp battery harnesses with 5.5 mm connectors. Needed nine of them so I just when into production mode, fuse connectors, DC Barrel jack connectors, Spade connectors. I had a battery blow a hole in a BIG free UPS and decided to replace with a fresh set, after testing I came out with 9 Good batteries and one with a hole in it. they've been sitting around not doing anything got them wired up just in time for a power outage a few days later. The 10th harness went into a project that I needed a smaller battery for, so I was able to swap out my unfused cable with screwed terminal Barrel jack connectors.
Unfortunately I realized after the order came in that the fuse holders did not come with fuses and after blowing a few fuses I decided it was probably time to go buy one of those box sets on Amazon, that way I would have the correct fuse in all 5ah batteries. The inevitable one or two times you put the wire the wrong way accidentally bump contacts and go pop, followed by the oh sure that cellular internet backup router uses more than 5 amps on Startup situation. Leaving me swapping over to the more plentiful 10 amp fuses on the 18 gauge wire until the fuses come in next week..... needless to say I've had some bad experiences with Amazon I prefer eBay, I recently ordered something and I think the seller declined the order and that canceled out everything else I ordered and some of that was for a client install.
Edit: I just realized that the last issue I had on Amazon was ordering some transistors to repair the same UPS, I ordered new components and got refurbished recycled components...
3 weeks ago lol
These things are by far the best thing amazon has ever recommended me. I had no idea such a thing existed and they are fantastic, makes joining wires not only so much easier/faster, but when dealing with wires that are more likely to get wet, they provide some peace of mind(ive never tried soaking them underwater, when dealing with wiring underwater i just make it so there's just one continuous insulated wire leading to the device to be submerged) plus I find they work best when you just hold the wire ends next to each other and pick the smallest size that can fit the wire insulation
I use a lot of the red ones
Used them on my boat trailer..submerged in saltwater and seem to work fine..a little more heat should have been applied the center copper didn't get to temp for flow. Evidenced by the fact the middle band did not turn shiney..it all didn't melt.
I love your videos! I’m not even an electrician, but I’m fascinated by the way things work, so I learn a lot from your channel. That’s one of the beautiful things about UA-cam. The exchange of knowledge!
finally someone that knows what they are talking about reviewing these ,... thank you
rob burdack why didn’t he just put flux on the wires then
@@zoopinc because that would then defeat the reason of useing these ... the whole point is to be a single action solder conect and seal
He has not added enough heat, it is clearly seen at 3:06
It has not melted completely.
@@gsp911 If did or didn't I would still agree with him that at least the larger ones need more solder.
When someone says this is better than a crimped connection, they don't know what they're talking about
Man, I love solder sleeves. Had to learn how to use them to mil-spec in my training days, never once used them professionally since. The rule has always been, "better to remake the whole cable than use any kind of splice" But for home jobs, use one every time because I'm not paying to replace a perfectly good length of wire.
I would argue that any *properly* done crimp or solder joint is just as strong, if not more, as the rest of the cable.
@@Drives31forhalo I agree with that. Properly done, a connection either solder or mechanical is at least as strong as the base wire. The lineman's splice is an example of that. NASA uses them as just a plain lineman's splice is stronger than the base conductor alone, even without solder.
But a properly soldered wire is also stronger than the base conductor, unless the base conductor is steel or something that no one uses for conductors.
Only time I used those in the avionics world was to make a connection to the braid of data shielded cables, as you needed a short pigtail of PTFE wire to go into the connector body for the shield, plus you had to seal the end of the cable as well so it would not wick up moisture into the shield and corrode it.
The sleeves were Amphenol made, and you needed a pretty high heat to get them to reflow properly on to the pretinned end of the cable and the sleeve, the solder preform inside being there more to provide a final solder and flux flow than to actually tin the wires. You cut the outer down to the required length, then carefully spread the shield so you could cut around without nicking the inner cores, then made the end back into the correct braided shape, and tinned it to hold together. Same for the pigtail, and take the sleeve and slide over the outer sheath. Bring back down so the preform, the tinned pigtail end and the shield were all aligned, and heat with a hot air gun, till the sleeve was shrunk, and the solder melted into a solid mass.
Then allow to cool undisturbed, and finally cut to the right length for your cable plug or socket ( depending on direction), strip the insulation off the wires, tin them and solder into the insert, or crimp onto the insert. then put in the appropriate hole, and carry on with the rest of the wires, then lace up the cable and sleeve it. Finally put the backshell on to the threads, and clamp the assembly.
Some of those plugs took hours to do, referring every time to see you got the right white wire, with the number printed on it, into the right hole, while you are lying cramped up inside a wheel well with the cable above your head, and barely able to move. I wasn't even a sparkie, but a window washer, but had to do all the wiring associated with instruments, because the sparkies would not, as they were afraid they would get the wires wrong for thermocouples. Dead easy that, replace one side because it broke or wore out, you do the other, using connectors out of the same batch.
@@SeanBZA So because the electricians were too afraid to work on wiring they made the window washer do it?
Wow you were working on aircraft? that scares me.
Did they wash the windows for you?
@@thedave7760 haha something wrong there 🤦😂
If you "tin" both conductors first, then assemble the parts, then apply heat, when the solder band melts it will flow into the "tinned" conductors thus giving you afar superior joint....both electrically and mechanically
If you tin it beforehand anyway why not just solder it ? The only advantage is you will never forget to put a shrink tube on :-)
@@KB-mo3sx Speaking from experience, you don't always have enough working room. End of the day, my electrical repair kit has these solder shrink connectors, crimp and shrinks, solder, flux, double wall shrink tubing, and liquid tape. Use the best method most practical for the repair.
Personally, I love the white and red solder shrinks. Anything blue or over I prefer solder or crimps and shrinks.
Electrically and mechanically crimping is better option
Indeed, add some flux and think before you use these in a bumbling car. Should be fine for my small solar batt packs. I don't see anything in that box big enough to matter.
I worked for a defence manufacturer in the 1970s. They used a device called a solder shrink sleeve that was very similar to these devices. The shrink sleeves had a solder pre-form and a PTFE heat shrink outside but I don't remember any hot-melt glue. They worked very well and met the mil-spec standards. They were used to interconnect subassemblies. It looks like this solder that is bismuth based for low temperature.
I am surprised by how impressed I am with these things. They seem good for an emergency repair at least.
@@ts757arse Why would you run ANY wiring near a 300C heat source?
How about dipping the ends in flux, also, would have been good to see a resistance test on the joint?
Microohmeter
Exactly! All it needs is some proper sticky flux.
Okay glad someone suggested it. Dip in flux and cut one open.
The resistance test is what I was waiting for lol. I mean it really wouldnt have shown much though. Resistance of a normal crimped ground usually isn't going to be high(just structurally compromised). Even a normal solder joint is what, 0.01 or 0.02?
Amperage flow test, put a load on the connection to see if it will flow as much as the standard wire without getting hot or failing
Curious why my trade isn’t leaping on to this… lol. Thanks for your test, review and assessment of applications. Adam Savage made a whole video about how everyone should use these without any examination of risks and it all seemed pretty irresponsible to me.
When I was an apprentice with Thorn EMI back in 1980, we used to get these in from a company called Raychem...
Raychem a division of Raytheon I believe is a wonderful company and I've used there splices and kits up to 35 kv.. really cool stuff..
Clive, Thank you from the bottom of my heart,(and my beverage) for entertaining my wife and myself during this time. We both love you.
I've used these to repair light wiring on my tractor trailer. They have held up really well. Haven't had a failure yet. I run thru upstate New York year run and the salt doesn't seem to affect them either.
Exactly what I came here for.
Thank you
I remember when these were a "New Product" in the RS Catalogue (Paper version, too!). Over the years I must have used hundreds of these, and every one was a complete success (for the purpose intended). They are great for emergency repair where water ingress is a problem, and for low current applications they are more than adequate. Indefinitely durable too (must have a few "out the back of the property" which have been there in all Aussie weather conditions for well past 12 years, and still work just fine as intended).
Used them a lot when I was working on avionics, pretty strong and waterproof. Perfect also to attach a small wire to the shield of a coaxial cable before plugin into mil connectors...
Of course, brand splices are of better quality and expiration date must be respected too.
In your test with much more solder, this could produce an issue: vibration is your enemy (true for car and aircraft), and the joint brakes at the transition of the flux and coper, inside the isolation... Making the troubleshooting quite challenging. That's never happening with splice.
In avionics? That's scary. Is it an approved method in your area? (I'm a mil 38999 connector fanboi btw)
@@gliderp, yes, quite long time ago (>35 years), it was useful on Beechcraft (I worked on C90 and B200). But I don't know now.
I've used these in car wiring harnesses before, fairly low current stuff but lots of moisture and vibration. No failures yet, and they're very quick and far better than the butt joint crimp done with cheap crimpers that you see so often in modified cars because they won't pull apart, allow moisture in to corrode the connection, or cause a stress concentration and snap off internally as is the case with the non heat shrink butt crimps.
0:11 So I was driving along and then I went up a hill and my car took a dump. A fuse was blown. Replaced it, continued up the hill and it blew again. Long story short, my oxygen sensor wires were connected together with butt crimp connectors... and the plastic sleeves had expanded and slipped down the wires. So when I drove uphill, the bare metal butt connectors smacked into the firewall and shorted out, blowing the main engine control fuse.
Nice work Clyde. The anti DIY HVAC guy tried that same low temp soldier and he was amazed how well it worked. He said you literally can’t pull it apart and you could see the solder melting into the wires
I just got some of these and will have much more confidence using them after watching your excellent video. Thanks Clive!
I use these for stereo harnesses. Work well and quick easy connections.
Yes,i can see its quite useful,even for a outdoor wonderer like me.
These kind of splices are regularly used in quick aviation repairs (after certain prerequisites have been met of course), we usually have a pressurized air heater with a small pistol attached to a hose (Raychem AA-400 Compressed Air Nitrogen Heating Tool) instead of a heat gun to make maneuvering around wire bundles more easy and reduce bulk at the business end, along with a deflector shield, so that only the wire that you want to repair, gets heated, excellent repair method, when used for the right circumstances.
Quite refreshing to hear someone on YT actually pronounce the letter "L" in "SOLDER."
Old school here prefer hand soldered with heat shrink, which will last forever maybe longer. Nice Tutorial.
Thanks for the video - they work well and are convenient but are not the solution for every application. Extra flux on the wires before applying heat is a good tip and will help. It would be interesting to do a resistance comparison on the uncut wire, the “classic” solder joint and this “quick” solder joint - I expect they would all be equal. Finally, considering their cost they are a good thing to have on hand and produce a very acceptable joint.
I’ve used these to wire up my car head unit and they saved me so much time and the connection is really solid compared to some other solutions.
Thank you for showing me how to actually use the pack of these I keep in my car. I just assumed they were some fancy schmanzy crimp connectors, this is much more impressive. Also reminded me to carry a heat source (=lighter) too.
Great video ! I use these frequently....my biggest complaint with them is that if you don't control the heat it melts apart at the plastic on either side of the solder. Heat control is essential as each size requires a different temperature and duration to melt it. I have found that the opaque red, blue, yellow crimp then heat shrink work better even without a solder band.
Love those. I've used them since back around 2001. They work really well as long as you don't melt the plastic.
I use a proper heat shrink wrap over the plastic heat shrink.
Would be interesting to do current tests on those connectors to see if the bonded joint can actually cope with the current rating of the cable they were joining
I never looked for a video like this but I always wondered how well they worked.
Great job brother...!
I have bought this kit from China and have been very impressed with the connections they make. I just dipped the cable ends into liquid flux and, using a small cookery blow lamp, managed to install a remote control on, of all things, a feral cat trap for the local cat rescue emporium working where the 'national grid' dare not go!. They do what it says on the video.
Two tests remain. Having seen what 300 deg. C does, what would a higher temperature reveal? Additionally, we don't know if these contain flux within the solder (yes, Clive suspected they did but wasn't sure) which would call for a pre-flux test as well.
Regardless of the result, they do "save" from certain steps - as least while combining with some manual methods of soldering.
I love these, perfect for hobbyist doing low voltage lights etc on models and dioramas. So glad I subscribed to your channel 👍
Do you think its ok to use for 12v 40w or im better to use the regular solder and then heat shrip wrap
@@dmegzel Sorry I’m no electrician, I do very simple electrics on dioramas, better off asking bigclivedotcom, I’d take his advice over mine every time 😁
@@JeffsDioramas well thanks for the reply anyway 😁
I keep a pack of these in my truck, my freightliner likes to melt headlight sockets and these things are a God send on the side of the road.
Military used and still use these today. Only reason I know about them is from military friends. Best thing in the quick fix world.
When you said "Low temperature heat shrink self soldering splices" I imagined it in the voice of the "Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Men" fella from Family Guy.
When the "wire wrap" technology was being developed in the 60s the developers quickly found that mechanical action can make a gas tight metal to metal bond. On the whole, crimping might well be more reliable than solder. Obviously, solder has it's places (you can make literally thousands of connections of a PCB simultaneously) but when it comes to one wire on one wire crimping is difficult to beat.
Yup, in the automotive land crimps are preferred because the joint isn't as brittle. Soldered joints in wiring harnesses can break down under constant flexing and vibration.
Exactly. You will never find a solder joint on an airplane or space vehicle, Every harness uses 4 point crimps where junctions are made.
@@hotratz69 does aerospace ever use ultrasonic splices? I know they exist but I don't know too much about the pros and cons
Crimping might be more reliable in a controlled environment with expensive tools. With hardware store grade stuff I have come to hate crimping and ended up additionally soldering most crimp connections because they were so unreliable otherwise.
I've always wondered about these. Thanks for the video. Some more in-depth tests like other people mentioned would be a great addition.
Avionic maintenance throbber here, we use these inline splices all the time on low current wiring. They are waterproof, which is very important because nearly all of our cables are insulated with kapton and carbon arc tracking is no joke. Ours have a red dye on the solder ring that disappears when the solder is hot enough and begins to flow, we also heat the glue rings until a small amount of the goop seeps out of the heatshrink. They're a bit of a pain it tight spots because you need a heat gun, and occasionally you come across one where the heatshrink melts before the solder flows, but they sure beat pulling cables through the bowels of a jet. Use them a lot for bonding pigtails too.
We used them for soldering earth tails on to screened cables but we still added some additional flux for a better connection. You could also get a split screen which would wrap around existing connected cables which were then held together with small plastic studs.
Funny timing, SouthMainAuto just did a video where he said they always come back to bite him in a ass a couple of years later when the solder joint fails.
He said the mechanical crimp connections are much more reliable
Solder is practically banned in marine wiring, with hex crimped terminals the sole method endorsed by the ABYC
@@wallacegrommet9343 Crimping is the way to go for any joint that needs to be physically robust.
I learned that when rewiring the charging system on my boat. Unfortunately I borrowed a big unwieldy crimper, did a poor job, and had to do it all over again after buying a Temco 6 ton hydraulic crimper.
I came by something similar about 7 years ago. I thought I had stumbled upon Pandora’s box but I was unimpressed by the results. The ones you used may be of better quality because your results looked far better than mine .
I just want to say that I didn't even know these existed until your test, I've nw got a box in my 4WD in case of breakdowns, thank you.
Clive, do you think putting some flux on the wire ends before applying heat might help the solder flow into the connection better?
These are mainly for automotive uses and hard to reach places where you can't setup your tweezer tool setup. And when using them like that they are absolutely amazing! Just like Dura-Seals but easier and more convenient.
RESIN / FLUX
Ryan's suggestion is spot on, if you apply a little resin / flux to the spliced or twisted wire as an addition first. This aids the solder flow of the small solder ring at the centre of the tubing, allowing it to 'wick' along the wire conductor. In addition, if the complete joint is assembled mechanically first, the heat can be applied evenly along its full length with a sweeping action. This melts the solder ring and the two glue rings evenly, making it more secure and looking pretty neat. By keeping the heat source moving, (be it heat gun or lighter), there is less risk of damaging any of the other insulation.
Just a suggestion......
Great clip Clive, and most informative.
Many thanks....
James Hennighan
Yorkshire, England
I've been using those things at work (I'm maintenance technician at a decently sized chemical plant) for quick fixes & these things are just amazing. Saved me tons of labour already. Fix the broken wires with these & then put vulcanized tape all around the cable. It'll last for years (maybe decades?).
These look likely to be very good for tight space repairs, would prevent accidental damage from a hot iron in amongst other cables, especially small cross section ones. I will buy some of these, the addition of flux to the bare wire ends I assume will help solder flow.
Will these butt connectors work with my F.A.R.T transformer?
Fart transformers sometimes have trouble with heat shrink butt connectors. Heat can effect the quality of farts.
Flatulence assisted rectal tubing 🤣😂 if you know the meme that is 🌝
I have been using these for the last 25yrs & have not had any problems
I work as an automotive master technician. I particularly use non-insulated butt connectors with heat shrink. The insulated plastic butt connectors found in most automotive stores like to crack when you crimp them leaving them exposed to the elements. So I'll take a wire and slide good heat-shrink on it then use the non-insulated butt connector and crimp it and slide the heat-shrink over it. Works like a charm. I've tried these heat shrink solder butt connectors and they can cause a voltage drop lol. Not to mention the majority you see online are super cheap and the heat-shrink will start to liquefy well before the solder in the center melts defeating the purpose all together.
We use to use these on aircraft where I believe they were first introduced. Aircraft wiring is pre tinned so they worked great.
South Main Auto's channel recently mentioned in a video he's had poor luck with these, not being reliable in the long run, and has reverted to mechanical crimping.
thats strange, we have been using them for years and never had problems with them, Some diesel cars have run them for 300.000+ in the engine bay. And a diesel car is about as bad as it gets for connections. The constant vibrations together with some heat wil break lots of connections.
Mechanical crimping on the other hand is nothing but trouble. They get water ingres problems, then either the crimp itself is going to be rusting away, or you get the greenrot in the cable wich then turns black and then you can go and replace the whole cable.
The best option I can think of right now, is those heat shrink butt connectors. Not only you get a strong connection but also a waterproof one. The best of both worlds without the disadvantages of soldering.
Most likely down to application, you want to have a good mechanical joint first, like a linesman splice, and then solder it, then use this as sleeve, waterproofing and final bit of solder. Just jamming the wires together and hoping will result in a poor joint. Pretin the wires at least, or scrape to bare bright copper at a minimum.
@@gabbermaikel I think the market has recently flooded with knock-offs. I had never seen them outside of the avionics shop at work until very recently. Now they are all over instagram and everywhere else. The name brand ones seemed to have a higher melt point and just work better all the way around.
@@tjsean0308 the name brand actually has flux in it.
After watching this I bought a small box of assorted connectors to try them out. Like others have mentioned, I wanted to see how well the side of the road/ middle of the river, knife and a lighter scene played out. Surprisingly it went well this time, still have all my fingers and minimal burns. Oh, yes, the wiring! That too went well, the smaller the better. It seems. The larger connectors will get you where you are going but change them ASAP, as the solder to wire ratio is the least. The medium and small ones seem to be just fine as far as installing and forgetting. I used a cheap blowtorch style refillable lighter from a gas station which gave a concentrated blast of heat at a distance that didn’t ignite the connectors. I even tried it out on oily wires that had road grime on them, and I just wiped it off with my fingers and slid the connector on. It still sealed up decently on the wire. In my boat’s emergency tool kit I have a handful of these, a pair of pliers, and a torch style lighter/w small butane refill. This past year I’ve used three out of that box. Luckily not on my boat, but on other guys trailers. So far they work well for an emergency fix.
Watching you melt these is so satisfying.
It would be interesting to do a resistance (assuming you could get a low enough tester) test between
1. Unrepairable wire
2. Repaired wire using the heat shrink
3. Repaired wire using a soldering iron
Get a stable voltage source, a precision or known resistor, and just use the wire and resistor as a voltage divider. Do this to both wires, and once you know both, make the connection and use that in the voltage divider.
“Interesting. The solder is soft at relatively low heat levels” Finds out later they used mercury.
Bismuth
@@chubeye1187 This. Mercury actually drops the melting point down way too low when alloyed in any significant percentage, this is likely either a bismuth-lead or bismuth-tin alloy. Bismuth-lead alloys can have a melting point of about 120°C
@@richardmillhousenixon 57% bismuth 43% tin melts at 147°C no lead required. What is absolutely required is flux for good wetting.
@@paulcooper9011 Yep seeing the super low temp crosses out a lead based solder. When he melted the solder and it got wrinkled that told me it lacked lead. Most lead-free solders don't wet as well as lead based solder.
I'm an Electrician and just bought these for projects and car stuff at home.. I think they're pretty awesome!
I used these in repairing a headlight of my wife's car. they held on perfectly despite the hot temps of the headlight running.
Self-sealing stem bolts?
Is Nog selling them ?
You can't get a better stem bolt in the sector!
Given how low heat that solder takes to melt I would be a little worried about it reflowing in an automotive application here in Australia, especially somewhere like an engine bay
There's crimp connectors that have a heat shrink sleeve integral to them. Probably a better bet for automotive.
Given the low temp solder is held in place with heatshrink and the glue bands, it'd probably do that a lot in such conditions. But possibly no bad thing assuming the heatshrink didn't give up.
It's still 138c
You don't solder connections in an engine bay.
@@flandrble Tell that to your fuse box, alternator circuit board and many other places you can find solder in an engine bay.
Really enjoyed that. I was sold some of those things at an electronics store and I wasn’t totally convinced.
Hi Clive.. great demo as usual.. As I don't want to do destructive tests on the joints I'm making and my assortment was cheap enough; I have decided to put the solder butts on to one wire out on the way and solder directly as you have done. Then I slide the solder butt up into place and just heat up the tubing and use it as both an insulation and waterproofing of the soldered joint.
Do you own a NanoVNA, Clive? I would be curious how the frequency response differs between this and a traditional soldered joint.
Oh god, Clive is doing butt stuff on youtube again!
Anybody else remember that electrode plug video?
Having run across these in real life I can tell you find all you have and trash them.
My solid connection is where I do what you did by pushing the ends together and then taking one strand of wire and coiling it uniform and tight around the splice point. Then solder it properly finalizing the connection by wrapping 3M Super 33+ rubberized black tape.
That connection is stronger that the original wire and will NEVER fail in a 100 years.
I used to work for Mercedes in a truck dealership, these connectors were the only approved ones we could use for wiring repairs. I always thought they were great.
My brother is a farmer and they use them all the time with a lighter to fix their tractors.
Maybe that's the problem...
We use those to splice data wires during avionics repair on airplane. When it's a very low current application with much smaller wires it works great.
Edit: Having solder wick up the wires in a high vibration area, like an airplane, is a big no. It makes the wire very prone to work hardening and breaking. With the all-in-one heat shrink you solve the electrical problem, you also solve the mechanical problem by adding strain relief, and finally the hot melt glue make an air tight seal to prevent moisture or other nasty thing like fuel to get to the splice. With all of that said they are not great everywhere, but for avionics repair it's great.
I have tried these before and noticed there can be better solder flow with more heat but not too much. They are good for some things, quick fixes and such.
Prefer butt crimp (proper connector3M, molex, etc and Klein crimpers) or solder and shrink tubing.
There is an old ongoing argument and discussion on forums about which are better. I use what I feel is best for situation. Thanks Clive!
I like your video a lot. I already used heat shrink connectors on my boat. But never the the one that has solder in it as well. I honestly bought them because the didn't have the regular ones for me that that moment. I did exactly what you did, but instead of heating the solder, I thought I just had to use my regular cable tool and clamp on to the metal, haha. So, you reached something! Gratefull for the find and your video. And... really like these connectors!
I used these with Western Electric as far back as the 70's. I forget the brand (but you can be sure they weren't cheap) but they were a much higher quality than these appear to be. Turned out to be great for installing car stereos back when that was a thing.
Would be awesome to have a current carrying capacity comparison for each solution, with high current magic smoke
The wire fails first if done correctly, the joint has higher thermal mass.
Wow😲this will solve my many problem, helping me to solder outdoor when i have no electricity in some case, thank you for the video,sir.
These things are great ,so glad i stumbled on them a few years ago
what about, applying first some flux to the cables bevor heatgun-it?
6:33 Raise your hand if you were thinking, "Taste it!" right about now...
I used to work in a factory that made military-grade cables and we used these all the time. The conductors would be tinned in a solder pot first though and then simply placed next to each other inside the sleeve. We used 450 deg C of heat on a wide heatgun nozzle and the joint would litterally take 2 seconds. Due to the fact they were tinned conductors, we always got a perfect, full penetration joint.
I have used this exact pack to wire not only a trailer but also a backup camera/Bluetooth stereo. I drive on rough roads with high frequency sharp bumps. No problems yet, almost a year now. Of course I have weatherproofed the connections for the trailer. But sure works better than wire nuts!