Water Proof Butt Connectors
 

The other day i was at west marine because I wanted to pick up some of the waterproof butt connectors (the ones with heat shrink ends). Can anyone answer why it costs $100 to $130 for a 100 count vs. a standard butt connector that is $20 to $30 for a 100 count? I have a hard time believing that shrink wrap costs that much more when incorporated into a butt connector. I can go buy shrink wrap and soldier the connection and still have a cheaper, sealed connection.. Hopefully I can find those things cheaper somewhere else.

go to an auto parts store or online, they are a lot cheaper but still way overpriced imho

I just ordered the ones from delcity.net They have shrink wrap and the solder joints in the middle. I paid .70 each for them. The ones you want are only .35 each.

http://www.delcity.net/store/Butt-Co...s/p_791881.a_1

That's West Marine for you. Whatever they're asking, you can usually at least half it for what it costs elsewhere.

$0.30 a piece when you get 100:
http://www.alliedelec.com/search/pro...x?SKU=70101311
They have other sizes, too, just search.

Those marine connectors are a little more then just a shrink wrap sleeve. The ones i use have a sealer that bonds to the wires casing. You also want a connector with a brazed butted seam, the little split in the metal where you crimp it is sweated together. Del City has good quality terminals at good prices. Careful when price shopping terminals there are some fine and very small details that are easily overlooked.

Del City has great stuff, was gonna link it but just saw it above.

nice butt . . . . gonna have to check that out looks like a good price . . . . :D

Wire terminal crimping lesson #1:

Never Never Never use an insulated butt splice terminal!!!!

Why? You can never control the proper amount of crimping force applied to the terminal and therefore applied to the wire core. More specific-----You have no idea of your crimp height tolerance.

Now for you bush leaguer's, if you think this is bullshet, well continue on. For Professional's, continue reading.

For this application, use a non-insulated butt splice of the proper dimension for your wire gauge. Apply a "light" crimp only to hold the wire core in place. Solder both ends of the terminal, carefully without applying too much heat. Insert a dual wall shrink tube piece over the butt splice with plenty of overlap on both ends. Heat to properly seal the dual wall tube. Now you have a professional wire circuit connection that will perform in even the most harsh environment.

Anything wire related i am sure you are at the forefront of. Richard i thought i read somewhere that soldered terminals should not be used on boats any thoughts on this? I cannot remember who told me this but the reasoning was sound, unfortunately i cannot remember that either. I still like the idea of soldering raw terminals and shrinking them. I think it may have had something to do with how the wire flexes, if the solder wicks up the wire it has a hard pin point where the wire goes from the flexible state to rigid. Heck it might'a been you that told me :D

Just thought I'd throw in my 2cents. I work in aviation so most of my knowledge comes from that, but I never use soldered connections in aircraft wiring due to the fact that at the point where the solder and wire meet it creates a stress point and is prone to breaking with vibration.
When I need a butt splice that is sealed from the elements I use an "Enviro" splice http://www.edmo.com/index.php?module...&prod_id=18887 Best out there.....but expensive (just like everything else in boating or aviation). Also you'll need the special crimping tool to install them at a "slight" additional charge.

Let me make sure I heard that right... With insulated, you typically put more pressure to the crimp (or not enough and the wire comes out) and that you can actually have too much pressure on a crimp? I never heard that before, but defnitely glad to learn something new. Def gonna look at a new approach to wire terminals.