Electrical connector plugs recommendation? |
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Wilhelm Hertzog
Senior Member Joined: June-14-2014 Location: Cape Town Status: Offline Points: 334 |
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Posted: February-19-2021 at 4:56am |
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I'm relocating and rewiring ballast pumps in my boat, and am looking for the best connector to use to connect the pump wires to the power wires. I need to be able to remove the pumps for periodic servicing, so a permanent connection is not practical. The pumps are located right at the back of the boat, which requires quite a long cable run. Per the pump manual, this requires 10 gauge wire. As far as I can tell I have the following options:
1. Bullet or fully insulated spade connectors. Not ideal, as they're not sealed in any way and hence may corrode. However, the pumps are (now, post relocation) located fairly high up and should not see much moisture getting to the electrical connections. 2. Deutsch connectors. Seems to be the best tool for the job, but: a. The widely available DT series is only recommended for wire sizes up to 14 gauge. I suspect larger gauge wires won't fit into the terminal pins and/or overload the terminals. b. The heavier duty DTP series is suitable for 10 gauge wire, but the DTP series terminal pins require a super expensive crimp tool to crimp to the wire. An alternative to connect the wire to the terminal pins is probably to fill the hollow end of the pin with solder, melt the solder and then stick the wire into the pin to get a soldered connection. Just feels a bit backyard hackey to me though. 3. Some other weatherproof connector like Superseal/Delphi. I'm far less familiar with these than with the Deutsch though. Any options I'm missing? Any suggestions as to which route to go? Thanks a lot for any and all advice!
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1982 Ski Nautique PCM351W RR II Velvet Drive 10-17-003 1:1 II PerfectPass Stargazer
Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light. |
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KENO
Grand Poobah Joined: June-06-2004 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 11112 |
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I'd keep it simple and cheap and go for #1 using the heat shrink style bullet connectors and a little dielectric grease when you plug them together
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8122pbrainard
Grand Poobah Joined: September-14-2006 Location: Three Lakes Wi. Status: Offline Points: 41045 |
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Wilhelm, I'd go with the Deutsch. These from Mcmaster already have the wires connected. The heavier ones have 12 gauge and are rated for 25 amps. Do the pumps pull more than 25? Maybe it's the length of wire and they are factoring in a voltage drop hence the 10 gauge? Extra wire could be connected to the pigtails using adhesive lined heat shrink butt connectors.
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KENO
Grand Poobah Joined: June-06-2004 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 11112 |
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Let's see, you have 4 ballast pumps and if you use what Pete linked for Deutsch connectors (2 pole, 12 gauge wiring) at 66 American bucks per connector..........well, I'll let you do the math
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Gary S
Grand Poobah Joined: November-30-2006 Location: Illinois Status: Offline Points: 14096 |
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+ shipping and import fee's Anyone here in the states ebay has them as well and not very expensive. I have replaced a few on the GT40 harness that I'm building.
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Wilhelm Hertzog
Senior Member Joined: June-14-2014 Location: Cape Town Status: Offline Points: 334 |
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No, they only pull 12 amps, and yes, I'm pretty sure it is due to the voltage drop from the wire length that the 10 gauge wire is required. |
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1982 Ski Nautique PCM351W RR II Velvet Drive 10-17-003 1:1 II PerfectPass Stargazer
Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light. |
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Wilhelm Hertzog
Senior Member Joined: June-14-2014 Location: Cape Town Status: Offline Points: 334 |
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Hmm, that does become pricey. I may have come across a reasonably priced alternative (even including shipping and import duties) on Amazon though: link |
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1982 Ski Nautique PCM351W RR II Velvet Drive 10-17-003 1:1 II PerfectPass Stargazer
Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light. |
||
KENO
Grand Poobah Joined: June-06-2004 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 11112 |
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Your link is for a pair of crimping pliers but if you're happy with what you found for Deutsch connectors .......go for it
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Wilhelm Hertzog
Senior Member Joined: June-14-2014 Location: Cape Town Status: Offline Points: 334 |
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But the description says 'For Deutsch 12 Gage Closed Barrel' - which is what I'm looking for. |
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1982 Ski Nautique PCM351W RR II Velvet Drive 10-17-003 1:1 II PerfectPass Stargazer
Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light. |
||
Wilhelm Hertzog
Senior Member Joined: June-14-2014 Location: Cape Town Status: Offline Points: 334 |
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To wrap up this thread: I went with the cheap and simple option of fully insulated spade connectors and dielectric grease. The Deutsch connectors eventually just seemed like too much cost and effort.
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1982 Ski Nautique PCM351W RR II Velvet Drive 10-17-003 1:1 II PerfectPass Stargazer
Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light. |
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