Solder Seal Wire Connectors Review - Are They Any Good? - Shop Talk

I bought a set of these Solder Seal Wire Connectors and don't like them. What are you thoughts? Have you found a situation that these work for you in? I'd love to know.

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[Eger]

I've used these on wiring for license plate lights for a new bumper on a truck. They held up good for 6 years and counting, in the wintry mountains of Pennsylvania. I bought mine at NAPA for a few bucks. I highly recommend them. All I used was a bbq grill lighter to heat them.

[nickallain]

I have used a few hundred of these things over the last 5 years. I have to tell you, they work great. I think you have a heatgun issue or bought a bad supply of them. When you;re using a heat and a little backstop, you want to get it close to the backstop. It should only take a few seconds. Again, I think this is your heat gun. Also, when you're using a lighter, DON'T hold the heat over one spot. Use some motion so that you don't burn the plastic like you did in the video. Honestly, your technique is bad. These are great tools for confined spaces and when you don't have a soldering iron. Way easier than dragging a soldering iron into the car.

[jonboysprowash]

I’m glad I’m not the only one. The only ones that worked as advertised were the smallest ones in the kit.

[ahabion]

These will work great on low voltage and small wire applications. Anything greater than 14 gauge is probably asking a lot of these connectors.

[djkalk]

I'm field mechanic for a Cat dealer. Our forklift branded red connectors(they only sell red ones)I've used for several years without any problems and recommend to other new techs when repairing broken harness wires. I use a high/low heat gun and run in on high. You adjust the heat by moving your gun around. A few years ago I purchased some of the cheap solder connectors from Amazon to have extra on my truck and to have other sizes. They have a thinner shrink tube that burns through easily. I've tried the yellow connector once, but it never heated the wire up hot enough to flow the solder for a good connection, easier to solder and shrink tube it. I would only recommend using the blue, red and white if they are high quality and not the advertised ones.

[garylsmalley]

I think you may have a heat gun issue. My son and I watched your video. I had just received a box of wirefy solder seal wire connectors and was ready to hook up my new trolling motor to my electric boat. I was bummed out when we saw your results so I told my boy I guess I'll just solder the splice I need and use heat shrink tube. He said why dont you try one on some scrap wire, since I had a full box of connectors and had purchased a new heat gun just for this project. I used a Master EC-200 brand gun set on high, 930 F temp, and high fan speed. The solder melted at about 30 to 45 seconds and I left it on for about a minute just for the heck of it. I then dunked it in water to cool it, since it was scrap wire and just a test connection. I wrapped my hand around one end of the wire and my son (24 yrs old, not a kid) did the same on the other end and we had a tug of war. We pulled so had the insulated wire started hurting our hands. The 12 gauge wire did not break and the connector did not pull apart. It surprised me! Due to the quick time the solder melted and the extent the plastic shrunk around my wire (more than in your video) I think you might just need a hotter temp gun or setting. I do agree with you that the flame method just destroys the insulation before a good solder connection is made. Thank you for such a thorough and well filmed video.

[kend]

Used these to put a new connector harness on my bass boat trailer wiring; they worked perfectly and all of my connections are solid and secure. Rather than 'butt' the wires against each other, I did create a twisted mechanical connection - bare wire to bare wire - and dipped them in flux before sliding the connector down over the join, with the exposed wire laying parallel to the wiring. Heat gun on high setting for about 35 - 40 seconds and the solder melted just fine. Bear in mind this was 10 - 12 gauge wire so the connectors are fairly small. I figure this is better than the 11 splices I found on the old harness when I stripped away all the bad wiring which was causing all sorts of problems. :)

[arturobermudez]

I've used that style of solder connectors when doing recalls on Nissan sentras for the side impact (Satelite) sensors. It cost about $20 for just 4 solder/sleeves they give us and they work so well compared to the other kit I bought on Amazon. Definitely comes down to the manufacturer and price when purchasing those.

[noninvalidargument]

They worked wonderfully on my trailer lights that I just rewired. They needed a bit of patience, but to do all the work in one step was great. I just did one, moved into the next and by the time I made it around the trailer they were cool and ready to be tucked away.

Definitely twist your wires together though. IDK what those instructions were thinking just having them next to one another.

[dgonzo]

I had the same problem with these connectors the middle solder would not melt correctly for me! Maybe the brand is crap that my dad bought but I really like how simple they should be.

[mannysr]

Use a crimper. I’ve been experimenting with all of these, and they all have their applications I suppose. When tying back spare wires to a shield in military cables, I’ll use these, but for the actual signal wires I use high quality crimp tools similar to Deutch connectors. The more I work with wiring, the more I save the solder for circuit boards, where it shines.

[candlewick]

So I watched this video, looked at the product ratings and comments, then watched other videos. Verdict: Went and ordered it and I couldn't be happier. Thanks for sharing! =)

[michaelcrow]

A little hint, install the solder sleeve on one wire, twist both wires together, then slide the sleeve over both wires"centering the solder strip on bare wires, then using a heat gun preferably but not necessary, heat the solder sleeve until the solder melts, just don't overheat the plastic sleeve. You'll see a big difference 😊

[RandomBitsRV]

Thank you for confirming my suspicions. It’s a big “NO” for this former Navy Electronics Technician.

[sgtm]

I just bought some, and was checking Youtube videos to make sure I used them correctly, when I found this video. Made me go down stairs to check how mine worked(better than waiting until I was actually using them in my car). Mine worked great, and took about 20 seconds to complete a connection. I think you might have got a bad brand or a bad batch from that manufacturer. Either that, or you need a new heat gun. The ones I got were made by "Andoer" and cost $12.75 for 50 pieces. Not the cheapest, but not the most expensive either.

[ccdmike]

I have used those at work and they worked well. I just ordered some for in the field work. A solder iron is my first choice.

[MrCoaster]

We use these in aviation maintenance. They work but there is better ways to make an environmental seal. The other ways take special tools. I think I'd rather solder the joint as well.

[muxallopeniot]

I just saw these connectors the other day. I think I am going to hold off after seeing this video. Thank you for making this video.

[alexandergonzalez]

I bought the 50 pc solderstick connectors to try out— they absolutely suck!!! And sucked… they plastics melts completely away at the time of trying ti melt the center.
Great Video.

[DeekityOG]

I think Brand matters. Raychem versions are used in Aerospace applications all the time and work very well