ANY GOOD? Budget solution for LARGE WIRE CRIMPING?

In custom car audio we need to crimp wire lugs onto large wires. 8 Gauge, 4 Gauge, and 0 Gauge are very common sizes. This usually requires an expensive hydraulic crimping tool in order to properly crimp the wire terminals. Does this new cable lug crimping tool perform well? How does it stack up against the hydraulic crimper for attaching battery terminal lugs? Let's take a look!

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[Chris.technik]

With the blue tool, I crimp one size up, then again with the actual size. It completely eradicates the squished side of the crimp that you are getting. Nothing compared to the hydraulic varients. But decent enough for the money 💰

[masterbond]

another tool to use to strip large wire is actually a wheel-based pipe cutter, the one where you tighten a wheel over the copper and spin it while tightening it to eventually snap it apart

[Person.]

As a non professional I found this crimping tool to be easy and effective. I'm glad i bought it!

[ItWasWritten]

in my experience owning those blue crimpers, they are well worth the money! it's accessible, does the job more than well enough, and is fine especially if you're a DIYer! well worth the money

[mrcryptozoic]

I used a hammer crimper on the battery wires for my solar setup. It's cheap, easy and works great. Used a 4 pound hammer.
It's an attractive choice especially for a tool that's only going to be used a few times and you don't have to
"sell your first born" to get one.

[pinsandscrews]

Place I worked used to make custom length Power Cables. We used this same tool, however, on the second crimp, we turned the lug 90° from the first crimp. We never got a come back when we did that, where as, when someone made a mistake and crimped them inline, we would always get a come back and have to redo the cable, and well, after a month in service, it generally meant having to make a brand new cable for the customer. It should be noted, generally, the power cables we made, were used in applications where the cabling had to flex back and forth, putting extra strain on the lugs.

[charleswp]

I've been using that mechanical style for over 20 yrs, I have the greenlee brand, they definitely work best with certain brands of lugs, mine has a label around both handles with the types, they work great, mostly used mine in commercial electrical work but used them also for car audio power cables, never had a lug come off or fail. For the average person doing a car audio system these are perfect, the price is good ( they used to be over $100 ). As for the quality of the cheaper Amazon ones I can't say, mine were made in the USA.

[jacoblittle]

I have been using these crimpers for years. They do require a lot of force but they work. Hard part is try to do the crimping on wire that is already installed in a vehicle

[maryreed]

Wish I would have known the hydraulic crimper is so affordable before buying the big pry bar one. Great tip.

[JA-rcuy]

I own both styles. The plier style crimp started to not clamp down all the way. So the cables would be loose in the lug. I had it replaced under warranty. The replacement lived about a year longer than the first but eventually did the same thing, wouldn’t crimp all the way. No visible signs of bending or wear.
In the 6 years of using my hydraulic crimp it has never failed me and the crimps are clean and straight.

[patrickzadd]

love your channel

been watching for years
I admire your dedication to quality craftsmanship

[thelifeofriley]

Been using the blue handle crimper for like two years. I’ve had no problems.

[anthonylrosesr]

I have that crimper it's never given me an off side crimp I use it on 2ga, 4ga, and 8ga I love it it's awesome and quick.

[vincentgoforth]

I have been using the same exact yellow and black Amazon bought hydraulic crimper for years now. I think I'll stick to it as it does what I need for all larger lugs. Great to see how these mechanical ones do though

[keithbutler]

I have 3 different styles of crimpers and these two styles are the ones I use the most, the blue ones for small sizes like 1/0 on down and use my hydraulic ones for 2/0 and bigger

[stevemccormick]

I have the same crimpers and get the same results. I have resorted to doing a partial crimp, then rotating the lug and finishing the crimp. Because of the narrow die, I have to do this twice on every crimp. Not the most productive, but for the frequency of use, it's workable. I use anchor brand terminals so theoretically not chinese junk.

[Pilarski.]

I have the hydraulic crimper for the KnuKonceptz 4/0 wire. Just a heads up for anyone that wants to get the hydraulic crimper with the 4/0, you're gonna need a smaller pin as the wire/terminals don't fit through, even with the 4/0 dyes with the crimpers

[lexboegen]

I bought a hammer-style crimper to make new battery cables for my truck, using marine 2/0 cables and marine heat-shrink tubing. I made all the cables off the truck so working on the ground was fine. If I had to crimp in the vehicle I would get hydraulic crimpers.

[tluva]

Not a bad price for either. You can also use a dull railroad spike & a hammer on an anvil & actually get really good results. 2 divots on one side, one on the other right in the middle

[myevilbanana]

My diy solution is a brake line flare clamp, bolts replaced with grade 9 and use an impact driver to tighten. If using outside the car I put it in a vice. However this looks like a decent affordable tool, thanks for sharing