Wiring - Marine Grade Wiring & Electrical Crimp Terminals vs Automotive Grade

Hodakaguy

Adventurer
Marine Grade Wire & Heat Shrink Terminals vs Automotive Grade.

In this video I highlight the differences between Marine grade wire & heat shrink crimp terminals vs standard automotive grade. I also cover the difference between standard crimping tools and specialized heat shrink crimp tools.

I use marine grade crimps and wire almost exclusively in all of my builds. This is the 3rd video in a series where I'm highlighting tools, materials and techniques I use while building out our vehicles.

Hope you find this information useful in your builds as well.


Titan Heat Shrink Crimp Tool - On Amazon here: CLICK HERE
Wirefy Heat Shrink Terminals - On Amazon here: CLICK HERE
Ancor Brand Duplex Marine Wire - On Amazon Here: CLICK HERE
Ancor Brand Primary Marine Wire - On Amazon Here: CLICK HERE
Split Wire Loom - On Amazon Here: CLICK HERE

Hodakaguy
 
Last edited:

ChasingOurTrunks

Well-known member
Thanks for this video. It was very informative — I always wondered what the differences between Marine Grade and “normal” wiring is and you do a good job of not only explaining the difference but demonstrating those differences and the impact of the appropriate tool.

This will be very helpful as I do the electrics in our current project. Thank you!
 

Hodakaguy

Adventurer
Thanks for this video. It was very informative — I always wondered what the differences between Marine Grade and “normal” wiring is and you do a good job of not only explaining the difference but demonstrating those differences and the impact of the appropriate tool.

This will be very helpful as I do the electrics in our current project. Thank you!

Glad I could help....Marine grade is the way to go and worth the premium in my opinion.

Hodakaguy
 

IdaSHO

IDACAMPER
Good vid (y)

Personally, I tend to stick with non insulated crimp connectors, with the proper ratcheting crimper, and use the desired length of adhesive lined dual wall heat shrink.
 

john61ct

Adventurer
relevant thread

 

verdesard0g

Search and Rescue first responder
How about aircraft grade? I worked in an aircraft wire bundle company. We only soldered high amp circuits, everything else was crimped with specific crimpers for each connector pin. I got a bit of nice Teflon insulated wire while working there :) Nothing else compares to that!
 

john61ct

Adventurer
Ancor can be overpriced. Watch out for counterfeits, use trusted sourced.

UL1426 tinned "boat cable" is the spec

East Penn, Berkshire, Pacer are just as good, call the mfg for a local distributor, do not just trust eBay or Amazon.

http://www.bestboatwire.com is a good source, sister company genuinedealz.com will also custom cut and crimp-terminate very reasonably

Parse carefully the Maine Sail articles linked to in the thread above.
 

john61ct

Adventurer
How about aircraft grade? I worked in an aircraft wire bundle company. We only soldered high amp circuits, everything else was crimped with specific crimpers for each connector pin. I got a bit of nice Teflon insulated wire while working there :) Nothing else compares to that!
Soldering is usually banned completely in aerospace, has been for decades.

Yes a skilled solderer can do great work

but crimping with proper tools and supplies a monkey with minimal training can get

milspec gas tight 100% repeatable results every time every time

Solder does nothing to improve a good crimp, only does harm in a high-vibration use case, especially if exposed to the elements
 

Alloy

Well-known member
Marine Grade Wire & Heat Shrink Terminals vs Automotive Grade.

In this video I highlight the differences between Marine grade wire & heat shrink crimp terminals vs standard automotive grade. I also cover the difference between standard crimping tools and specialized heat shrink crimp tools.

I use marine grade crimps and wire almost exclusively in all of my builds. This is the 3rd video in a series where I'm highlighting tools, materials and techniques I use while building out our vehicles.

Hope you find this information useful in your builds as well.


Titan Heat Shrink Crimp Tool - On Amazon here: CLICK HERE
Wirefy Heat Shrink Terminals - On Amazon here: CLICK HERE
Ancor Brand Duplex Marine Wire - On Amazon Here: CLICK HERE
Ancor Brand Primary Marine Wire - On Amazon Here: CLICK HERE
Split Wire Loom - On Amazon Here: CLICK HERE

Hodakaguy

The Titan crimper you are using has single crimp jaws which is great but I've seen people using the same type of crimper with double jaws and make a mess. Be good to make people aware of it.

The jacket of wire is porous that's why you can strip back 10in or 100ft and there will be corrosion on bare (not tinned) copper.

Increasing the number of wire strands adds to the flexibility and makes crimping easier.

Here are the UL, ABYC, NMMA, USCG specs for marine wire. If the wire isn't printed with one of these specs who knows what you get....I've seen tin coated aluminum being sold at a trade show.
UL Standard 1426 BC-5W2 (Electric Cable for Boat) ABYC E-11, NMMA, USCG 33 CFR Part 183.430, 183.435, SAE J378, 1127, 1128

They also make round duplex wire but it cost more.

Why use Ancor wire and not Anchor (quality) terminals? The heat shrink connectors you've shown don't have heat shrink covering the end of the barrel. Who know the % copper or what they are tinned with.

Heatshrink needs to cover the end of the barrel like this.



1590375540447.png


Vertex buys the wire and terminals out of the same USA factory as Ancor does...there's another company that has the same Ancor type wire but I can't remember the name.

 

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