SPLICING WIRES CONTINUES TO IMPROVE AND GET EASIER
Whether you tinker with boats, cars, trucks, or ATVs, chances are you've done some type of electrical wiring. Maybe you've tackled a car audio project or two.
One recent and clever creation in the electrical world is the solder seal butt connector. Or self-soldering connector. These connectors eliminate the need for a crimping tool and a soldering iron. For that reason they really have simplified the task of attaching wires together.
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WHAT ARE SOLDER SEAL CONNECTORS?
- Solder seal, or solder-less connectors are typically a transparent heat shrink tube with a small ring of “low” temperature solder (with flux) inside.There's also a layer of heat-activated adhesive inside the tube. You will need a good heat gun but those are relatively inexpensive. This one from Wagner is highly rated and this one is also excellent and inexpensive.
- These connectors come in a variety of sizes, or gauges, which is indicated by color-coding. Yellow is for AWG 12-10, blue is for AWG 16-14, and red is for AWG 22-18. The larger the diameter of the wire/connector the lower the number.
- Solder-seal connectors are not as popular as the "crimp and heat" style of wire splices, but they are rapidly catching on. Even with pros.
- Self-soldering connectors provide superior electrical current flow and tensile strength. They won't break or crack under even the most extreme weather conditions.
- Solder seal connectors when used properly keep wires safe from moisture and corrosion.
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HOW TO SPLICE WITH THEM
1. Strip both ends of the wires you want to connect
2. Add a properly sized connector down one side (much like you would add some heat-shrink tubing)
3. Twist the exposed wires together.
4. Slide the connector so that the ring of solder is in place around the bare wires.
5. Heat it up with a heat gun (preferred) or lighter and watch the tubing shrink and the solder flow into the connection. Make note that the tubing will begin to shrink first, and after a little time the the solder will soften and begin to flow around the wires.
6. Don’t move the connection until the solder has cooled.
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GOOD TOOLS MAKE YOUR JOB EASIER
2 tools are needed to expertly splice wires with solder seal connectors. You'll need a good wire stripping tool, and a reliable heat gun for melting the solder and shrinking the tubing.
Wire Strippers get electrical and other wire-based work done faster, easier, and with less hand fatigue. One great choice is these vice-grip wire strippers.
The Vise-Grip wiring strippers have comfortable, textured-grip handles, and special features such as AWG selection dials, spring-assisted jaw openings, built-in crimpers, quick-release locks, and dual-metal construction.
As far as a heat gun, you'll want a versatile one that can be used for a lot more things than just your wire splices. This 1800W Heat Gun has 2 airflow speeds, and 6 temperature dial ranges, allowing it to fulfill all various requirements.
It comes with 7 multi-purpose attachments which makes it great for heat shrinking as well as vinyl wrapping, crafts, cell phone repair, paint stripping, rusted bolt removal, thawing frozen pipes.