Crimping vs. Solder

[phantom240 5,000+ posts]

hmmm... and plumbing solder lol.

 

[disturbedfuel15 10+ year member]

Yeah, that heat gun works for up to about 6awg or so.

 

[Makaveli7haDon 10+ year member]

i think a good crimp is as good as solder. its all about if its done correctly, same goes for soldering

 

[Russkels55 10+ year member]

solder is the best connection you can make, crimping should only be used if what you are installing is not something that is going to stay with the car for a long period of time. for 0ga it is a pain butt it will give it that extra bit of strength. i like to have trustworthy connections that last

Russ

 

[phantom240 5,000+ posts]

Well, the problem with soldering is this. How the hell do you solder 4awg wire to your amp? You gotta use a crimp spade (in my case) or for those of you who have wire insert only, You guys have the fun task of fitting BIG *** WIRE in a not so big *** terminal and proceed to screw it down. Thats the thing i like best about my amp. It has wire insert or spade terminal inputs and outputs. Though when i crimp the spade on, i use about 2 feet of solder and about 35 mins with the iron to make the crimp to wire a solid piece of metal. That way the crimp doesnt come off, and has good conductivity.

 

[johnecon2001 5,000+ posts]

i think a good crimp is as good as solder. its all about if its done correctly, same goes for soldering

You think wrong. When soldering, you have a metal substance BONDING every strand of wire together. With crimping you are just smooshing them together and hoping half of the strands get contact.

Now, you tell me which sounds better.

Well, the problem with soldering is this. How the hell do you solder 4awg wire to your amp? You gotta use a crimp spade (in my case) or for those of you who have wire insert only, You guys have the fun task of fitting BIG *** WIRE in a not so big *** terminal and proceed to screw it down. Thats the thing i like best about my amp. It has wire insert or spade terminal inputs and outputs. Though when i crimp the spade on, i use about 2 feet of solder and about 35 mins with the iron to make the crimp to wire a solid piece of metal. That way the crimp doesnt come off, and has good conductivity.

With a crimp for large wire.. I usually invest in some largish copper ones. First thing you do is tin the end of the wire the crimp is going on (cover it in solder). Second is to put some solder in the cup of the crimp. Third is to heat both up with a torch and stick them together whilst adding solder. Crimp after that if you can.

 

[disturbedfuel15 10+ year member]

First thing you do is tin the end of the wire the crimp is going on (cover it in solder). Second is to put some solder in the cup of the crimp. Third is to heat both up with a torch and stick them together whilst adding solder. Crimp after that if you can.

I'm pretty sure I'd walk away with some 3rd degree burns whilst trying that //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/uhoh.gif.c07307dd22ee7e63e22fc8e9c614d1fd.gif I guess I'll stick with crimping to avoid injuries for now //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif Good advice though, for those physically inclined enough to go about a task like this!

 

[matrxx dude 5,000+ posts]

i own my own electronic repair shop,and i can tell u no doubt in my mind,soldering is 10x better than crimping.

 

[BaseSteala112 10+ year member]

Although soldering is definitely the most secure connection you can make, solder is not the most conductive of substances. None the less I solder everything. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

 

[dbphelps 10+ year member]

Although soldering is definitely the most secure connection you can make, solder is not the most conductive of substances. None the less I solder everything. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

That is why industrial applications use a copper barrel connection for extending large gauge wiring... It *IS* as secure as soldering as it is screwed together as a compression fitting... In most cases the cabling itself will tear apart before you will pull the cabling out of the connector... But that is far from a simple 'crimp'...

 

[DjiNN 10+ year member]

besides that Craftsman tool and a blow torch to solder 0ga .. What else could you use??

 

[timvanderet 10+ year member]

That is why industrial applications use a copper barrel connection for extending large gauge wiring... It *IS* as secure as soldering as it is screwed together as a compression fitting... In most cases the cabling itself will tear apart before you will pull the cabling out of the connector... But that is far from a simple 'crimp'...

whats a copper barrel connection?

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

solder is not the most conductive of substances.

Sounds like you're using the wrong solder then. Solder with a high silver content will basically be the same or less resistance as a piece of wire of the same length. I've yet to hear about a good solder joint causing a high resistance voltage drop (even after several years of use) but bad crimps and poorly connected screw down terminals turn out to be the source of voltage drops and melted terminals all the time on this forum.

That is why industrial applications use a copper barrel connection for extending large gauge wiring... It *IS* as secure as soldering as it is screwed together as a compression fitting... In most cases the cabling itself will tear apart before you will pull the cabling out of the connector... But that is far from a simple 'crimp'...

They use that type connector not because of the conductivity of solder but because it is secure and easy and consistant.

 

[DjiNN 10+ year member]

besides that Craftsman tool and a blow torch to solder 0ga .. What else could you use??

^ anyone help??

 

[CBFryman2 5,000+ posts]

Although soldering is definitely the most secure connection you can make, solder is not the most conductive of substances. None the less I solder everything. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

Solder > Crimping for conductivity.

Crimping is just metal to metal, solder provides metal to metal and a median for current travle where there was none before by filling the gaps with a conductive material.

Best conductor? no

Better than air? by far