Are off-brand heatshrink terminals alright? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / projects

author: DaAwesomeP
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: December 24, 2020, 08:47:06 pm
content: Hello everyone,Looking into the 3M heat-shrink crimp terminals. They're very expensive in the kit from 3M, but there are lots of knockoffs on Amazon like these:https://www.amazon.com/810PCS-Heat-Shrink-Connectors-Electrical/dp/B07P6G7HBB/https://www.amazon.com/Connector-Electrical-Insulated-Automotive-Terminals/dp/B01GXQMP66/https://www.amazon.com/Connectors-Waterproof-Electrical-Automotive-Assortment/dp/B08FFKNPYM/https://www.amazon.com/TICONN-Connectors-Waterproof-Automotive-Electrical/dp/B07ZPF1TTX/Does anyone have experience with these? Are the knockoffs perfectly fine or are they not worth it? This is purely for hobbyist use, but I want them to last as long as they can. I have a multi-die ratcheting crimper that supports these.Happy holidays!

author: wizard69
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 25, 2020, 10:02:16 pm
content: Lets put it this way, the are probably OK to some individuals. Honestly though just by looking at some of the pics for those kits I can see why they are so cheap. Some of those ring terminals for example barely have any copper to them. However even if that wasn't the case I have bigger issues with insulated crimp terminals of this type.The number one is is that you simply don't get the same quality of crimp as you do with bare crimp terminals. That is my experience working years in industry, some will argue against this issue but that is my perspective. This is especially the case if you want full performance out of the terminal. One trick in using these sorts of terminals is to know their limitations.The number two issue is that such terminals make it far harder to inspect that crimped connection.Number three is that you can crimp these terminals with all sorts of special made pliers and still end up with insulation damage.The two brands of crimp connectors I use a lot are Sta-Kon and 3M, sometimes I'm also using high temperature rated crimps. These will be in both insulated and non insulated types. There are competing brands of course but the quality varies widely, some just not feeling good at all. Those pictures did not leave be with a warm fuzzy feeling.Often it is better to add shrink insulation to a connector insulated or not. The melt liner shrink tubing can give a much better seal and improve the mechanical connection. If you are working on outdoor equipment (cars, RV's, heavy equipment & such), a crimped connection might not be the right solution, even if it is you need to seal the connection really well to prevent corrosion. So in some cases it just makes sense to use a bare connector with a good heat shrink tubing that will seal to the wires.As for cost there is a simple way to address this, buy what you need when you need it. Eventually you will have a complete kit of frequently used connectors. I look at some of those pictures you linked and wonder if half of those connectors would ever get used. Go to a place like Digikey and you can buy what you want in the quantities you want. In some cases it would make a lot of sense to buy in their 50 or 100 count bottles.Another problem I have with those kits is that they are supplied in really crappy containers. Wall-Mart, of all places, have better storage options especially if you want to maintain a kit with crimpers, strippers and so forth. Step away from wall mart and you can consider other options that would be far better, even a fishing tackle box would last longer than some of those kit boxes. In the end I'm not a big fan of such kits if you have an even modest usage rate. Consider hooking up to a small DC drive with barrier strip connections, you can easily go through 10 ring terminals just hooking up one drive.Another thing to consider is that for modern electronics, that use set screw terminal blocks, you really want to get your self wire ferrules and a crimper for them. Ideally the would be kept with the terminal kit.

author: coromonadalix
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 25, 2020, 11:31:58 pm
content: Get Panduit terminals or any good terminal brand(s) not theses chinese knock offs, and wanting them to last is contradictoryI usually do this, i use non insulated terminals, i use shrink tubing with an added sealant in them, and before shrinking them i solder all the strand(s) in the crimped terminal.And yes a good crimp tool is needed, i have my old reliables panduit ct-2xx series crimp tools for 15 years and they still work perfectlyI personally hate any kind of ratcheted crimp tool

author: H713
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 02, 2021, 08:21:14 am
content: I've bought some cheap terminals off amazon before... waste of $10. Tried with several different wire gauges and several different crimp tools. All of them failed the pull-test. There just isn't enough copper in there to get a decent bite.