mstieg Posted December 2, 2014 Report Share Posted December 2, 2014 (edited) Butt connectors with solder in them and heat shrink outside = simple, solid, quick, even waterproof connections. Awesome inventive idea. Not sure how long these have been around, probably several years, but I recently was turned on to these are MUCH easier than friggin' soldering wires together under the dash. Worth sharing in case any of you have not used these yet. Wire strippers, these bad boys, and a heat gun is all you need. I'll be picking up some more at Harbor Freight along with some other various connectors. Edited December 2, 2014 by mstieg 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasQuest Posted December 2, 2014 Report Share Posted December 2, 2014 Pic of said awesomness? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NikoFab Posted December 2, 2014 Report Share Posted December 2, 2014 Pic of said awesomness? X2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mstieg Posted December 2, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2014 (edited) Looks the same as regular splice connectors that you crimp, but these you crimp (mildly if needed at all), then heat gun em to melt the solder & outer plastic shrink wrap. Nothing special to the eyes really. More a big savings of time & effort. http://www.harborfreight.com/30-pack-watertight-heat-shrink-butt-connectors-66729.html http://www.harborfreight.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/i/m/image_20144.jpg Edited December 2, 2014 by mstieg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasQuest Posted December 2, 2014 Report Share Posted December 2, 2014 Nice so it's like shrink wrap, only with a crimp inside of it. Cool! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mstieg Posted December 2, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2014 Nice so it's like shrink wrap, only with a crimp inside of it. Cool! Less emphasis on crimp, more on heat gun. That middle tube you see is made of solder, so it melts around your twisted wires and hardens for a great connection. Plastic outer wraps & seals like shrink wrap, but a bit thicker. Be careful b/c you can overheat these & have to redo if plastic melts away too much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelby Posted December 4, 2014 Report Share Posted December 4, 2014 (edited) bit of info harbor freight wire terminal are a sec rate terminal compraired to us terminals Edited December 4, 2014 by Shelby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott87star Posted December 4, 2014 Report Share Posted December 4, 2014 You can't melt solder with a heat gun, they are adhesive lined, not solder lined. They are an improvement over a crimp but not as fool proof as using a soldering gun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpstarion88 Posted December 4, 2014 Report Share Posted December 4, 2014 (edited) ^^ Yes sir you can with Low Temp solder found in these... http://www.delcity.n...ectors/p_805407 Those posted from mstieg found at harbor freight tools are just like you said... only adhesive lined and need crimping. These even these that are pretty much the same thing as thee above, made by G-Apex... but cant find anywhere that sells them. https://www.youtube....h?v=24FjjIVpk9U -Dave Edited December 4, 2014 by dpstarion88 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelby Posted December 4, 2014 Report Share Posted December 4, 2014 (edited) the best connection is still cut off the crimp terminal incert shrink wrape on one end of the wires your working on ..now twist the wire ends and incert them into you home made connector , lightly crimp to hold wires in place , now melt some solder into you new connection , once the joint cools slip shrink tube over the joint and shrink it you now have a perfict connection Edited December 4, 2014 by Shelby 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fuze Posted December 4, 2014 Report Share Posted December 4, 2014 (edited) Interesting..., but I'd still rather use a piece of shrink wrap and solder the wires correctly. No connector is needed if you are soldering the wires together unless it's a connector you can disconnect.. Low temp solder tends to form cold joints (dull, porous, not shiny) so these look like they may be better than a regular crimp but inferior to a real solder joint. (Cold joints increase resistance and are brittle.) Edited December 4, 2014 by Fuze Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpstarion88 Posted December 4, 2014 Report Share Posted December 4, 2014 Yeah I agree with fully soldering and shrink tubing. I wouldn't go outta my way to buy something like I posted. Just putting it out there that it is possible with most likely not the greatest solder. I like using adhesive lined shrink tubing to make a weather proof seal. Found cheap at harbor freight tools http://www.harborfreight.com/42-piece-marine-heat-shrink-tubing-67598.html -Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fuze Posted December 5, 2014 Report Share Posted December 5, 2014 (edited) Yeah I agree with fully soldering and shrink tubing. I wouldn't go outta my way to buy something like I posted. Just putting it out there that it is possible with most likely not the greatest solder. I like using adhesive lined shrink tubing to make a weather proof seal. Found cheap at harbor freight tools http://www.harborfre...bing-67598.html -Dave Yeah I got a few of those million piece shrink tubing kits from Harbor Freight. They have the long pieces too, I love that place. Edited December 5, 2014 by Fuze Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelby Posted December 5, 2014 Report Share Posted December 5, 2014 (edited) this makes a far better connectuion the simply twisting wires and soldering them http://i35.photobuck...om/P1011867.jpg of course you solder the connector after crimping it , this is the ring left after the eyelet is cut off and harbor freight connectors are made of a low grade metal Edited December 5, 2014 by Shelby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psu_Crash Posted December 5, 2014 Report Share Posted December 5, 2014 You can also get shrink tube that has the sealant inside to create a water tight connection. I get it from McMaster-Carr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creakyjoints Posted December 5, 2014 Report Share Posted December 5, 2014 You can also get shrink tube that has the sealant inside to create a water tight connection. I get it from McMaster-Carr Got a link? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starfighterpilot Posted December 5, 2014 Report Share Posted December 5, 2014 You can also get shrink tube that has the sealant inside to create a water tight connection. I get it from McMaster-Carr I get my adhesive lined shrink tubing from Port Supply - a wholesale Marine Supply House. They have a damn good reputation in the marine industry/boating world for quality parts at a reasonable price. Here's a link. https://www.portsupp...re19uZqxoETA== For What It's Worth. KEN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mstieg Posted December 8, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2014 The pics I posted are actually crimp connectors with heat shrink on them. What I originally posted about are lower temp SOLDER connectors with heat shrink on them. Much harder to find and about $1 each. I'll grab a pic & post soon. Looks same but inner solder/metal of butt is much smaller/shorter. Those are the time savers w/ great connection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87redcat Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 those solder connections have been around for a long time. I remember as a kid my dad would bring a few home from work. Bell Telephone to be exact. still some floating around my house somewhere.lol He would melt the solder with his lighter.haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelby Posted December 10, 2014 Report Share Posted December 10, 2014 guys ever hear of pvc glue you can use plain ol blk electrical tape wipe pvc sealant over it and the tape turns into a solid piece of pvc , don't beleave it try it don't expect to un roll the tape again lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87redcat Posted December 10, 2014 Report Share Posted December 10, 2014 Good one Shelby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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