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Review on πŸ’§ Waterproof Electrical Automotive Industrial Connectors - Kuject Connectors by Neil Biondo

Revainrating 4 out of 5

Use the heat gun and control the heat! And make sure the wire is clean!

A little background: I've been in the electrical and electronics industry for over 40 years and was an avionics technician for the US Navy, so I've worked on everything from basic car/truck/trailer wiring to Residential/Commercial Electrical and Electrical/Electronics in military aircraft, so I've dealt with wire sizes from 24 AWG to 500 MCM (about 1 inch diameter wires) which means I've done quite a few splices in my life have. Well, nothing will replace a straight, unspliced wire, but that's in an ideal world. Sooner or later you will have to repair the cable or connect pre-wired devices to existing cables. Soldering is one of the best ways to do this and adding heat shrink tubing to protect and insulate the connection was the best method, followed by mechanical splicing which is the next best method I learned from a youtube video and of course on Revain I searched for this I found so many different sellers and the ratings ranged from 1 to 5 stars so I thought I'd order a few and give it a try. I'm glad I did as they work great and plan on buying more. From what I see after using them and looking at the complaints feedback, there are a few things. #1 DO NOT USE A LIGHTER OR TORCH! If possible, use a heat gun. Keep in mind that they are mostly plastic with a small amount of low temperature solder inside. If you're using a lighter or flashlight, you have to be very careful how close you are to the joint and how long you concentrate that heat in one spot. I understand that not everyone has heat guns, and if you attach the wiring in a place where you don't have an outlet, this will happen. #2 Make sure you have a clean wire! By this I mean that when you strip the end of the wire it should be nice shiny copper that won't corrode (copper turns green when it corrodes and at worst turns black) and the reason for this is that the solder stripe is inside the heat shrinks has a flux. Be happy with that, but not so much that you etch away that corrosion to ensure good wire flow between the posts on the two wires you are splicing. Tips: Make sure you strip the end of the wire long enough that they overlap and stay in the soldering area. Make sure the copper is nice and clean (shiny). Heat one end first to hold one of the wires in place while holding the other end with your hand. Keep a heat source (preferably a heat gun) a reasonable distance from the connection. If it doesn't shrink, move it a little closer until it starts to shrink or melt the solder tape, if you see the heat shrink darken or burn, you're too close! Be sure to rotate the joint as you shrink and solder it. A common mistake when using this product or simply shrinking it is that the person only keeps it in one place and keeps the heat source in one place expecting it to heat everything up. and shrink. If you see the wire's insulation starting to melt again or start bubbling, the heat source is too close to the wire or you have been concentrating the heat in one spot for too long. In the attached picture you can see the smallest joint that connected two wires (18-20 AWG stranded copper, I don't remember), the joint is still transparent and the solder flows perfectly (note the wire on the right) . , the insulation bubbles up a little, and it's my fault that the heating is too long in one place, and also because of the small section of wire that can heat up very quickly). Overall, I'm a bit skeptical about the product because of the reviews, but I managed to do it anyway and I'm very satisfied with it! I only intended to use them on joints where they needed to be waterproof but after using them and seeing how well they work I will be using them on all joints from now on. I hope this helps others in deciding whether or not to buy and try these compounds.

Pros
  • Industrial & Scientific
Cons
  • Some bugs