Correct way to crimp a 25mm copper tube terminal with an indent crimp?

HappyHippyDad · May 23, 2016

I am about to connect up my 12V battery to my inverter (at last!) and I need to crimp some copper tube terminals on to the end of the cable. I have purchased an indent crimper for these tube terminals but I notice it is different to my crimping tool for insulated crimps. The stem of tube terminal is much longer than the width of the crimping part of the crimping tool. Does this terminal require crimping twice in different places along the stem? And if so, does it require a slightly deeper crimp at the bottom of the stem (away from the hole)?

Cheers all.

[ElectriciansForums.net] Correct way to crimp a 25mm copper tube terminal with an indent crimp?

telectrix · May 23, 2016

load of -------. why not just use your teeth?

PEG · May 23, 2016

The indent crimpers,can do a useful job on occasion,being cheap and light,but were designed as a compromise.

Hex,faceted and formed swages,are the preferable means to ensuring a complete,void-free connection,between conductor and terminal.

The indent type of crimper,was a way of achieving the pressure desired,albeit in a small area,using human arm power.

The old "knock-on" lugs,favoured by welders and DC traction engineers,was another way round the same problem,where a raised pip on the front of the lug,was pounded with a hammer,and a similar outcome to the indent crimper,was obtained.

My first portable hand hydraulic crimper,cost over £800,when that was 10% of a new van...you can now buy a shanghai-squeezer,on ebay for 40 squid.

There is a lot more going on,in a satisfactory crimp,than just conduction.

...and remember,the next time you are in a lift,or under a crane,on a suspension bridge,or being winched up a recovery wagon...your life is dangling from a ferrule,squeezed on a wire