cold solder 'solder seal' wire splice joints

[GreenV8S]

Normally if I need to join two wires I make a soldered splice joint and seal it with heat shrink sleeving. I discovered these cold solder connectors the other day and I was surprised how well they worked:

Solder Seal Wire Connectors on Amazon

Essentially they're a clear heat shrink sleeve with solder paste and flux in. The idea is that you bare about 1/4" of each wire to be joined, push them into the sleeve so that the exposed strands interleave with each other, and run a cigarette lighter along the sleeve to shrink it down over the wires. At this point the wires aren't joined but they're mechanically held in place so that the rest of the work is very easy, even in a confined space. The joint is made by holding the lighter over the solder section until it melts and flows into the wires - took about 30 seconds for me, and you can see when it's happened because the sleeving is clear. I did find it a bit tricky to get the joint hot enough to melt the solder without burning the heatshrink the first few times. After the solder has cooled down again and set it takes another couple of seconds to melt the glue on both ends to completely seal the joint. Probably not as strong or durable as a conventional solder joint but it makes a nice compact joint relatively quickly and easily, much better than grovelling around upside down with a soldering iron while trying to hold all the wires in place.

I've no relationship with the supplier - just thought others might find them interesting.

[GreenV8S]

PositronicRay said:

Interesting, any benefit over a crimped joint?

Personally I prefer a solder connection over a crimp joint, and I think the best approach is a conventional soldered splice connection with adhesive heat shrink over it. But the solder seal connectors still do a pretty good job IMO and are massively more convenient if you don't have good access (or don't have soldering equipment to hand).

[GreenV8S]

Penelope Stopit said:

Are you not aware that crimp joints can be soldered if need be?

Naked flames are dangerous
If you dont have the correct tools for the job you shouldnt be doing the job

I've used a wide variety of connecting and jointing methods over the years and I'm well aware that it's possible to use soldering and crimping in combination. That doesn't mean that either of these are the perfect method separately or together - different methods work best in different situations. These cold solder connectors are a useful addition to my tool kit.

I'm perfectly capable of working out when it's safe to light a cigarette lighter, and I expect other grown-ups are too.

[GreenV8S]

Penelope Stopit said:

But you cant see if it is a good joint or a dry joint

The solder joint is visible through the clear heat shrink. You can see the wires have all been tinned and solder has filled the joint. In that respect it's not really any different to a soldered splice joint made with a conventional soldering iron.