Solder Sleeves

[etcswjoe]

I was talking to one of our techs at work the other day and venting my frustrations of soldering the wires on the regulator rectifier, when she asked me "why not use solder sleeves? I have seen them used for years on our  shipboard cables but have never used them until now. They were really easy to use  and the connections look really clean and sturdy.  I am curious if anyone else has ever used them and if so what results have you had?

 

Solder Sleeves

[Squidley]

They're made for doing precisely that, so I'd be all for using them for stator and reg/rec replacements.

Edited November 2, 2020 by Squidley

[cowpuc]

So what are we looking at here you two?  Are talking a "sleeve" that has solder molded right into it so all you do is trim the wires, slide the sleeve over the trimmed wire and then touch the sleeve with a solder gun?  Is the sleeve crimped on the wire before soldering? Define please.. Pics too if possible.. 

[etcswjoe]

Puc, 

It is a piece of heavyduty heat shrink with a band of solder in the middle, slide the two wires into it till they overlap in the middle, heat with a heat gun or lighter untill the solder melts.

 

[cowpuc]

1 minute ago, etcswjoe said:

Puc, 

It is a piece of heavyduty heat shrink with a band of solder in the middle, slide the two wires into it till they overlap in the middle, heat with a heat gun or lighter untill the solder melts.

 

wayyyyy cool brother!!!!! wayyyy cool!! I was just watching this one,, NEATO!! TKS Joe!! 

 

[BlueSky]

Man, that is slicker than owl poop!

[BlueSky]

According to the Summit ad, the solder in the sleeve starts melting at 280 degrees.  This may not be a good application for stator wire connections.  That temperature might be exceeded in that application?  Don't know?

[etcswjoe]

1 hour ago, BlueSky said:

According to the Summit ad, the solder in the sleeve starts melting at 280 degrees.  This may not be a good application for stator wire connections.  That temperature might be exceeded in that application?  Don't know?

My first time using them so I guess I will find out. 

[Flyinfool]

Using the solder splices you need to make sure that you are heating the solder to the correct temperature, to hot or to cold and the solder will melt but made a weak connection that may fail. It is very difficult to tell by looking at it if you have a good connection while it is very easy to end up with a poor connection.

When making high reliability wire connection for critical equipment, solder is not the preferred option, Crimped or welded is the preferred method. Welded is not an option for 99.9% of us. I have had the best results using the crimp but splices that have the adhesive lined heat shrink tubing on them. You can buy them at any Auto Zone and probably most other auto parts stores. The crimp on adhesive lined shrink tube splices, and terminals are all I use anymore for terminating wires. A proper crimp is more reliable than a proper solder joint in a vibration environment.

[etcswjoe]

6 hours ago, Flyinfool said:

Using the solder splices you need to make sure that you are heating the solder to the correct temperature, to hot or to cold and the solder will melt but made a weak connection that may fail. It is very difficult to tell by looking at it if you have a good connection while it is very easy to end up with a poor connection.

When making high reliability wire connection for critical equipment, solder is not the preferred option, Crimped or welded is the preferred method. Welded is not an option for 99.9% of us. I have had the best results using the crimp but splices that have the adhesive lined heat shrink tubing on them. You can buy them at any Auto Zone and probably most other auto parts stores. The crimp on adhesive lined shrink tube splices, and terminals are all I use anymore for terminating wires. A proper crimp is more reliable than a proper solder joint in a vibration environment.

I have looked at severral diffrent crimp tools ranging in price from $5 to $150, do you have a preffered one that you use?   

[saddlebum]

I agree with @Flyinfool and there fore have never been a big fan of these. You  need to consider that solder joints are only truly reliable on new and/or very clean wire. If the integrity of the  soldered connection is not as good as it should be you may end up with resistance in the connection. Under a heavy enough load that poor connection will heat up and in many cases the solder will melt and the connection will come apart.

In the trucking industry wiring is an on going battle specially in places like here in Ontario were salt is used on the roads in winter. So like wise I am not a fan of the one piece crimp connector with heat shrink because often times when you crimp these the insulation gets pierced and as a result I have seen many of these turn green and fall apart.

The most reliable form of connection I have used is the bare crimp type butt connectors and for very severe conditions I will prefill the connector with dialectic grease (in a pinch silicone brake lube or Vaseline also work well ) I then slide a piece of dual wall with sealant heat shrink over the connection (slid on to one of the wires prior to making connection ) I have never had this type of connection fail on any equipment regardless how severe the environmental conditions it is exposed to.

Crimp connectors; ask @Marcarlwhat my preference is. I once threw out his cheap Walmart specials and replaced it in his tool box with an extra pair I had in the truck LOL. I prefer the type made like the ones made by Klien, Channelok or stake-on.

Edited November 5, 2020 by saddlebum

[etcswjoe]

I have a set of those, I think they are Klein.  I will have to buy a handful of crimp connectors and play around around with them till I get it right.  

[Marcarl]

@saddlebum,,, sir you need to be corrected, I did not but those crimpy things at Walmart, I got them from Home Hardware, and yes I always considered them to be cheap and didn't do the job as a good tool would. Mighty happy to be the inheritor of your old crimp tool, even though I had to get the rheumatism out of it, but since then, I closely guard it's whereabouts, especially when you are around. Funny how a feller never has enough time to go get the proper tool when it's needed and can never remember to get one when he's at the store eh?

 

[Du-Rron]

Here is what NASA thinks of them... Click below.

 

Click Here to see what NASA standards are on Solder Sleeves

[saddlebum]

On 11/9/2020 at 7:49 AM, Du-Rron said:

Here is what NASA thinks of them... Click below.

 

Click Here to see what NASA standards are on Solder Sleeves

If you look at all the unacceptable conditions on the chart you will see why I do not use it since 9 times out of ten it is the unacceptable conditions that take place. Pretty much the only time you get an acceptable result is when using new and perfectly clean oxidation free wiring. The method I use as explained earlier is much more forgiving and reliable specially when working with older wiring.

Edited November 18, 2020 by saddlebum