Solder seal wire connectors - any good?

[FuzzyTiger]

I ran across these on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07GBZ9543/?tag=atomicindus04-20

I've never used them before and was wondering if anyone has any experience with this style of connector. Does it make a solid connection that actually holds up over time? They seem to most be being sold by random Chinese retailers with no actual brand.

The fact that the wires aren't twisted together is a concern + how low temp must that solder be if they're advertising it for use with a heat gun? Or do they require soldering heat guns?

 

[dnschmidt]

According to Eric O of South Main Auto they are the work of the devil. He used them for many repairs and had a ton of call backs. Don't know the specific issue but he HATES them.

 

[plout99]

I have used the ones Kimball Midwest sells on many things with no issues. Re-powered a skid loader used them on all the connections, sold it 3 years later and never had any problems. The machine was used almost daily after the re-power.

 

[Honda guy]

The ones I get are from Wurth, which I believe are made in Germany. Been using them for 30+ years, on motorcycles, ATV's and watercraft. I love those things! It does take a little practice so you don't melt the heat shrink, or let the solder run out the end. I use a lighter or a small soldering torch. Easy to use, waterproof, and a good strong connection.

I don't know about the chinese made ones.

 

[theoldwizard1]

According to Eric O of South Main Auto they are the work of the devil. He used them for many repairs and had a ton of call backs. Don't know the specific issue but he HATES them.

The specific alloy they use in the solder is designed to melt at a low temperature and it leads to cracks.

 

[theoldwizard1]

The ones I get are from Wurth, which I believe are made in Germany. Been using them for 30+ years, on motorcycles, ATV's and watercraft. I love those things!

Old school ! Non-insulated crimps with marine/dual wall heat shrink.

 

[Honda guy]

Old school ! Non-insulated crimps with marine/dual wall heat shrink.

Please explain. I don't know what you mean by "non-insulated crimps" and "dual wall heat shrink".

The connectors that I get from Wurth appear identical to the ones that the OP linked to.

 

[Negen]

I find these work good if your wires are clean and you use a flux pen before hand. I always do my best to make sure I have the proper sized wire. Not wire vendors sell wires with correct gauge. They work fine with tinned copper too. But never used them in vehicles.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6013 using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[cvairwerks]

The mil-spec ones work fine. Not cheap tho.

 

[HenryAZ]

Please explain. I don't know what you mean by "non-insulated crimps" and "dual wall heat shrink".

Non-insulated crimp connectors are just that...connectors with no insulation, just metal. They come in all the common types, like spade, ****, ring, etc. You crimp them usually with a crimper intended for non-insulated, since there's less material to be "squeezing" when you crimp.

Dual wall, or marine grade, heat shrink tubing is thicker, and has glue inside which melts when you shrink the tubing. The glue forms itself around the connection, and oozes out of the ends, forming a completely water tight seal. This type of connection is ideal for vehicle wiring, due to vibration. Since I had the connectors and heat shrink left over from an FJ-40 project, I also use this type of connection for just about everything. I only use an insulated connector when the exposed end of a connector needs some protection against incidental contact.

 

[dubdoc]

This type are big, bulky and ugly. I use a soldered-on terminal and a piece of heat shrink tubing.

 

[glennm]

I just replaced all the lights on my trailer (changed to led’s). Used that exact same product and a heat gun. They worked great and were easy to install. I’m sure it’s waterproof and you could tell when the solder melted easily enough. I just trimmed the bare ends so they overlapped at the solder point, heated the heat shrink so they stayed in place and then continued to heat until the solder melted. So far no issues, I really like them!

 

[csi123]

The fact that the wires aren't twisted together is a concern

Why is it a concern? Just because the wires in the ad aren't twisted doesn't mean you can't twist them if you want.

 

[GTO]

I got suckered into buying a box of these...tried them a couple of times.. did not work.
IIRC I ended up throwing them out.
I will stick to soldering and heat shrinking, the old fashioned way.

 

[2ndGearRubber]

I got suckered into buying a box of these...tried them a couple of times.. did not work.
IIRC I ended up throwing them out.
I will stick to soldering and heat shrinking, the old fashioned way.

I got some I use to fix the most basic of lighting circuits - mainly only repairing aftermarket add-ons. Ehh, I'm not sure I like them. They're not that much more convenient than a standard red/yellow/blue/white insulated crimp. With proper technique the latter is a solid connection.


If I'm going into factory wiring, I typically prefer uninsulated crimps, then 3:1 adhesive filled shrink tube. Lamps, bulbs, and basic connections like power/ground I don't mind using the insulated crimps. Done correctly, they work fine. If the circuit is monitored for inputs to a computer, like a TPS or a communications line, I prefer solder. Just ordered a Hakko adjustable soldering iron last night, after some frustration with my butane powered one last week.


For an idea of usage levels, I probably use 20 crimps for every solder connection I make. I'll just let people around the shop use the solder/seal connectors for their projects. Better than the techniques they would normally use.

 

[mikester]

Please explain. I don't know what you mean by "non-insulated crimps" and "dual wall heat shrink".

The connectors that I get from Wurth appear identical to the ones that the OP linked to.

Probably non insulated crimp **** connectors and heavy wall adhesive lined shrink tubing. Ive used the same when connecting fusible link wire to 12AWG.
Ive also made multi wire splices using the same things but instead of crimping the non insulated **** connector Ive drilled small holes in the middle and filled them with rosen core solder. Then the shrink tubing. Never had one fail.

 

[will335i]

I think they definitely serve a purpose but they are not a one size fit all solution.

I used them when installing a remote start system on my truck and installing a new abs pigtail on the rear axle. I put heat shrink over top for added assurance. The connections are definitely less bulky than insulated crimp connectors and in my opinion more secure.

If you are able to put the wiring on the bench then traditional solder and heat shrink or new wire and repining is the way to go.

 

[FuzzyTiger]

So the conclusion seems to be that the good ones work, the bad ones are completely useless and its just a question of which ones you get... and with Amazon being the way it is, you have no clue which you got until you actually try to use them.

 

[redmondjp]

So the conclusion seems to be that the good ones work, the bad ones are completely useless and its just a question of which ones you get... and with Amazon being the way it is, you have no clue which you got until you actually try to use them.

No, my conclusion is that like most non-fusion welding methods, SURFACE PREP is key. As one poster stated above, if you have clean bare metal strands that you applied flux to before using one, and provide sufficient heat, it will probably be fine.

But corroded and/or dirty copper won't solder well. So you can't just blame the connector.

 

[pizza]

+1 on the non-insulated crimp followed with heavy, adhesive-lined heat-shrink tubing.

crimping is sturdier than soldering, and that matters if there's any vibration or tugging involved.

 

[FuzzyTiger]

No, my conclusion is that like most non-fusion welding methods, SURFACE PREP is key. As one poster stated above, if you have clean bare metal strands that you applied flux to before using one, and provide sufficient heat, it will probably be fine.

But corroded and/or dirty copper won't solder well. So you can't just blame the connector.

Sorry I guess I should have mentioned. One of the posters mentioned a YouTuber, I went digging and it seems with alot of the random Chinese brands the problem seems to be that they use the wrong kind of plastic. So the plastic burns long before the solder will ever melt which makes the whole thing kind of pointless. It seems like a pretty common complaint.

For the proper ones - you're right. Like with most things, proper prep is everything

 

[bwringer]

Yup, the ones on Amazon are universally garbage; the plastic melts or burns long before the solder melts.

The "good" ones are very, very spendy.

They do work for the most part, but I have trouble imagining any situation where they're actually the best solution. So I don't really see the point.

These connectors are not appropriate for any connection that might experience heat, like near an engine, or higher-current connections like a motorcycle stator.

These connectors only use a small amount of solder, so it's not really going to "creep" very far up the wire. But the connector does create a stiff spot to be aware of. Solder in general is also not the best solution in most vehicle applications where the connection will experience vibration.

Not to re-open that tired old debate; that's just what NASA and the FAA say, so there. That said, down here on earth, crimped with the proper tool is always best; it's the most reliable and repeatable. However, skillfully applied solder is better than a crappy crimp with a crappy tool or pliers, and can be a "good enough" way to reinforce a crappy crimp or splice as long as you're mindful of the effects of solder creep, vibration, and motion.

There are some decent crimper sets on Amazon for fairly cheap, and with name brand connectors, good glue lined heat shrink, and a heat gun (the under $10 cheapie at HF will work fine) you'll make a far more reliable and repeatable connection.

 

[pi_guy]

Terminating a wire harness to a connector that has pins. They make a version of these connectors for exactly that job. This is the best way to do it. Each pin is covered with shrink wrap and soldered to a wire. I was shown this by the company that builds the radio harness for NASCRAP.
I have always bought my supplies from the same outfit that supplies F1 and the rest of pro motorsports this cuts down on ****.

 

[Bacon!]

+1 on the non-insulated crimp followed with heavy, adhesive-lined heat-shrink tubing.

crimping is sturdier than soldering, and that matters if there's any vibration or tugging involved.

It's the opposite. A properly soldered joint is far more robust in vibration or tugging situations. A bad solder joint on the other hand, sure, and a bad crimp is bad too, lol.

It would be fair to say that it's easier to learn to crimp well, and faster, but a crimp puts an indentation in the wire strands which were already weaker due to not being twisted together so a fatigue point, or else if they were twisted, they come out of the crimp connector much easier.

However, this distinction should be meaningless because a wire joint should not be subject to enough vibration or tugging that it would matter, and even in slight strain situations either type should have a sealing sleeve that provides stress relief from bending.

 

[Bacon!]

Not to re-open that tired old debate; that's just what NASA and the FAA say, so there. That said, down here on earth, crimped with the proper tool is always best; it's the most reliable and repeatable. However, skillfully applied solder is better than a crappy crimp with a crappy tool or pliers, and can be a "good enough" way to reinforce a crappy crimp or splice as long as you're mindful of the effects of solder creep, vibration, and motion.

The best crimp on earth is inferior to a merely "good" soldering job, but only a little and either if done right should achieve the desired service life and that's what counts.

Crimping is just instructed to people who don't know and have to be told, with the assumption that if they can't figure out it, make it as easy for them as possible and hope that's enough. Those who already know how to make good solder joints, realize there is nothing to gain and a little to lose with crimping.

There is no correct design where a crimp outperforms a solder joint. If you're trying to overcome some problem with the wiring stress, fix that problem directly rather than hoping a little difference between a crimp or solder joint matters as much as fixing the real problem.

 

[bobforman]

Notwithstanding the merit of the connectors, I find Solderstick's web page incredibly deceptive. You have to search around for the small print link which will let your out of the product page in order to get to checkout. Then, as I've found out, you have to opt out of products or they will be added to your order without you knowing. I ended up with a heat gun I didn't want and am still wrangling over its return. I found the connectors at Walmart for a much cheaper price. Lesson learned.