Wire butt splice

Tried the new to me butt splices that have a ring of solder and also is a clear heat shrink. No crimping. Slide the two ends into each other, slide the splice over the bare wire then heat till the solder melts and the heat shrink shrinks. Installed a new bilge pump and float switch with these.

Sounds interesting. Link?

From a Cruising World article: If you’re still wondering if soldering is better, remember that American Boat & Yacht Council Standards exclude solder as the sole means of electrical connection for wire terminations. If you’re the belt-and-suspenders sort, you can solder after crimping.
https://www.cruisingworld.com/how/crimp-or-solder/

I’ve heard that vibrations on a boat can work harden a wire where it enters the solder. I would think the heat shrink would prevent that. I never used those butt connectors but I did sell them in my store. The heat shrink with adhesive crimp connectors sold best.

Why does ABYC exclude solder as the sole means of electrical connection for wire terminations?

HeadedToTexas said:

Why does ABYC exclude solder as the sole means of electrical connection for wire terminations?

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It has no mechanical strength

I have seen these butt connectors but a good crimp with the right tools are far superior then anyrhing solder for boat wiring. Solder is for pipes and circut boards.

HeadedToTexas said:

Why does ABYC exclude solder as the sole means of electrical connection for wire terminations?

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Probably because if it gets hot it can melt the solder and there isn’t a mechanical connection. Also solder can cause the stranded wire to become hard at the solder.

I'll bet I could solder a butt and it would take more pull to break it than a crimp.

I have used them on several things (non boat items). They do work. On some I had problems getting the heat right and melted through the shrink plastic exposing the soldered wire. But that was just an issue of heat and patience. I didnt get a great feeling from them. The Chinese butt splices and terminals that are crimp style with the shrink tube already attached like the Wirefy, used along with the appropriate crimper IMO is still much preferred.

I could see myself using them on very small gauge wire where crimping can be a bit difficult.

Delta Riverat said:

I'll bet I could solder a butt and it would take more pull to break it than a crimp.

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If done correctly, both will have about the same strength but the solder
will weaken when hot enough.

I think hopcar has it right. The concern is that soldered wire become rigid and vibration could cause it to break. Maybe the heat shrink over the soldered connection would prevent this. Now just convince ABYC so your surveyor won't complain.

Why would you use something that doesn’t meet ABYC standards? It isn’t an issue using approved crimped butt connectors. It is really easy to do it correctly so why not?

Comodave said:

Why would you use something that doesn’t meet ABYC standards? It isn’t an issue using approved crimped butt connectors. It is really easy to do it correctly so why not?

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I don’t really remember ABYC’s reason on soldered connections. I seem to remember something about vibrations but I never really concerned myself as crimp was approved and solder was not. Nothing is easier than the crimp so I never worried about the why.

OP probably thought he had found an easier better method for butt splicing and was unaware of ABYC’s stance on soldered connections. Can’t blame someone for trying to upgrade their work.

I use the approved crimps with heat shrink and a high dollar ratchet crimper. But I still think a soldered joint (with a sleeve, not just twisted) is a superior connection. For small gauge stuff I like molex pins and housings.

For the best info on marine wire termination I refer to Rod's (TF's commercial member CMS) excellent investigation and conclusions. He includes a section on solder vs crimp that some will never agree with but he even references AMP’s internal “Fundamentals of Connector Design” course.

https://marinehowto.com/marine-wire-termination/

I'd love to see a comparable study that supports soldering vs crimping but doubt anyone can provide a link

From the article Don posted the link to.

“The terminated conductor then does not have the flexure strength characteristic of strand wire, and should behave more like solid wire which fails quickly in flexure testing“

Once the stranded wire is soldered, it becomes solid wire at that point and is not as flexible.

This anecdote does not apply to the butt splice question but is solder related:

My last boat had a 24V bow thruster powered from the ER with beefy 00
cable. The installer had soldered the cables into the copper terminals at the thruster.
This worked fine for years.
While on a harbor cruise I lost steering due to a leaking hydraulic cylinder.
I used the thruster as a steering aid to get back to the dock and, not
surprisingly, really heated up the thruster motor. We made it back to our
dock where the thruster failed completely. I feared the worst but when I
looked at the motor, it was fine but one of the power cables had desoldered itself and fallen away.

I got a large cable crimping tool and crimped that cable. The motor was fine.
The steering cylinder just needed a set of seals - another straightforward fix.

My favorite has always been the ray-chem environmental splices. They are mechanically crimped and have a slide over heat shrink sleeve that seals it up nicely. Been using for years, never had a problem.

Solder/Crimp & Seal Butt Connectors

Solder/crimp & seal butt connectors. They are pricey.




Bruce

AquaDestiny said:

My favorite has always been the ray-chem environmental splices. They are mechanically crimped and have a slide over heat shrink sleeve that seals it up nicely. Been using for years, never had a problem.

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Those are still the standard on aircraft wiring repairs. Nothing better, especially for small wire. Some of the new Chinese crimp/shrink tube is almost as good.

AquaDestiny said:

My favorite has always been the ray-chem environmental splices. They are mechanically crimped and have a slide over heat shrink sleeve that seals it up nicely. Been using for years, never had a problem.

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I was introduced years ago to non insulted butt connectors and shrink tube. I have all the different sizes and guages in the ring, spade connectors also. No holes to get punched in the insulation for corrosion to have a place to start. They are the only connectors I use.
I looked up yours and they appear to be similar but more dollars.

From a very qualified marine engineer friend....

"The feds accept solder sleeve splices on aircraft then they should be good enough for toy boats in spite of the ABYC gurus.....

I have used them for years in aircraft (both experimental and in Part 135 service) and exposed them to all the horrors an aircraft can experience and never had one fail.

AC 21-99 Aircraft Wiring and Bonding Chapter 3 Section 2

Solder sleeve terminations consist of a heat
shrinkable insulation sleeve with an integral
solder preformed with flux and thermal indicator,
and two integral rings of sealing material. When
the solder sleeve is placed over a cable and
heated, the solder melts and flows connecting the
ground lead to the shield. The outer sleeve
shrinks and the thermoplastic insert melts,
encapsulating the termination. The result is a
soldered, strain relieved, environmentally
protected termination. Solder sleeves are
available with or without preinstalled leads."0

USAF aircraft maintenance tech. Back in 1995-6 ish we moved from soldering and waxed twine for wire bundles to crimps and solder because the connection fails less. We all thought it was stupid as we knew what was best. Turns out like most things, we did not. Ha ha. Butt splices with proper support last a very long time. If you’re not trained in high reliability soldering your joint may have impurities or a bad connection increasing resistance. Also, to the folks saying their wires heated to a point where the solder melted, you ought to check your fusing protection. That should never fail in that manner.

I looked at that section - AC 21-99 Aircraft Wiring and Bonding Chapter 3 Section 2 - and see it deals with attachment for cable shielding. A later section does deal with "primary" conductors but I have to believe there are very strict specs and training req'd to perform an acceptable solder joint. Not exactly something a DIY'er would necessarily be capable of and the acceptable shrink tubing isn't anything most boaters will have aboard... certainly not what Amazon sells for solder butt connectors.
I will stay with quality butt crimp connectors and quality crimp tool - recognizing that there is junk for both that should be avoided.

It is much easier for a novice to get a quality crimp wit a quality ratcheting crimper than for a novice to get a quality solder joint.

jclays said:

Tried the new to me butt splices that have a ring of solder and also is a clear heat shrink. No crimping. Slide the two ends into each other, slide the splice over the bare wire then heat till the solder melts and the heat shrink shrinks. Installed a new bilge pump and float switch with these.

Click to expand...

When those first came out a few years ago, I remember reading the concern that they don't have sufficient solder to properly penetrate down into the wire strands to make the most efficient connection. Not sure how real that was but expect it would impact applications that were at or near the wire load capacity.

Tak

I've been using these for a few years and like them. When I use crimps I also solder, so it saves time and it's convenient with shrink tubing in place. I've cut some open and the solder does penetrate the wire strands if you you enough heat.
In my life I've found dozens of crimped connectors that either were making poor contact, pulled out, or failed in some other way. Unless you're an idiot, solder ensures a good contact and the wire won't pull out.

HeadedToTexas said:

Why does ABYC exclude solder as the sole means of electrical connection for wire terminations?

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Primarily, if the wire momentarily overheats, the solder can release the wire, creating a short elsewhere or it can bride AC and DC systems. Especially true for this low melting point solder.

TowLou said:

It has no mechanical strength

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Reason: also b/c solder, running into the wire strands, stiffens it thus it will work-harden & fail from vibration like a single strand wire. Solder has plenty of mechanical strength. We soft solder copper pipes that carry 1000 psi and have tested them to 5000 psi

Lepke said:

I've been using these for a few years and like them. When I use crimps I also solder, so it saves time and it's convenient with shrink tubing in place. I've cut some open and the solder does penetrate the wire strands if you you enough heat.
In my life I've found dozens of crimped connectors that either were making poor contact, pulled out, or failed in some other way. Unless you're an idiot, solder ensures a good contact and the wire won't pull out.

Click to expand...

Thank you for cutting some open and taking a look. Always good to hear from someone with direct experience.

Tak