Well, I just a couple days mulling over the 66-page certification specification for those little Ancor ring terminals/connectors. The document appears to have been created in Sept 2000, revised in Oct 2001, and revised again in Oct 2002, where it has been ever since and will be until 2006. In the spirit of Swimmin For Shore, I now feel scientific about my understanding of those little critters and can state without any reservation that any soldering of a properly crimped connector is an absolute waste.<br /><br />It is imperative any terminal/connector/splice used needs to be installed/applied as per the manufacturers instruction. There is nothing in the spec that specifically states solder shall not be used on a crimp, but everything else about the spec details how solder is not needed. The only cert test that may fail as a result of using solder is the testing for function and capacity during heat. That test requires the connector to be fully functional, and everything intact when heated to 225F above ambient temp. Depending on the alloy, solder melts between 244F and somewhere up over 400F. The testing for freezing, flexing, and vibration may or may not take out any solder.<br /><br />The spec requires the nylon insulator stay intact without splitting during all testing, except testing for corrosion. Dont know how you could apply solder with the insulator on the terminal
but then applying shrink tubing after soldering puts an insulator back on so thats kind of moot. The factory installed nylon insulator must sustain a 20 lb pull between the insulator and the ring connector for 1 min without displacing.<br /><br />As far a pullout testing, the conductor needs to stay securely fastened without damage to any of the strands. Here are the stress (weight) values for pullout testing of common AWG sizes. These same values are used for connectors intended as crimp only, spring clamp only, screw-down clamp only, and soldering only. The values for secureness testing are in parentheses.<br /><br />AWG 6 50 lbs (39.7 lbs)<br />AWG 8 45 lbs (17.6 lbs)<br />AWG 10 40 lbs (11 lbs)<br />AWG 12 35 lbs (11 lbs)<br />AWG 14 25 lbs (6.6 lbs)<br />AWG 16 15 lbs (4.4 lbs)<br />AWG 18 10 lbs (4.4 lbs) <br /><br />Whether you crimp and/or solder, the conductor (wire) is the weak link when a connector is subjected to stress values above those given. As such, the pullout test limits the length of the conductor used to prevent any stretching of the copper conductor from diminishing the stress on the connection (crimp or solder). Note: If you exceed these values for the application on your boat, you need to have a system of stress relief that does not include the conductor. <br /><br />Testing for corrosion resistance is done to the specifications adopted by the Department of Defense. It involves suspending the connector 1-1/2 inches above 600ml aqueous ammonia (with a specific gravity of 0.94) in a 12x12x12 inch sealed container for 10-days at 94F (+/- 4F). Upon inspection with a 25x glass, there can be no signs of cracking.<br /><br />There are a gazillion other tests
66 pages worth that covers anything and everything you can image. There are even sequences for the testing to ensure the greatest opportunity for failure
temps to 10F, then heating and flexing
Way more stuff that can be imparted here
way more stuff then any connector will ever see on your boat. <br /><br />The bottom line is this: Ancor double crimp connectors/terminals must be used with a double crimp
and your done. There is nothing to be gained from adding solder to an approved connector designed for crimping, except for a perceived peace of mind
but you may end up reducing the overall quality of the connector and its insulation.<br /><br />There was some discussion about which side of the barrel is to receive the indent during crimping. This is from Ancors current catalog, page 30:<br /><br />
<br /><br />As was mentioned above, you must follow the manufacturers instructions on how to apply/install any connector/terminal for it to meet the certification spec. That means, regardless of previous education or experience, Ancors non-insulated terminals should only be crimped as illustrated above. If another manf specifies differently, you should crimp their terminals differently, as they specify.
<br /><br /> I am kind of curious as to why the wires pull out of the butt connectors so much easier though. Does it address that somewhere in the 66 pages?<br /><br />Thanks again,<br />Joe
