[Rhodes22-list] Harbor Freight connectors - caution

[Scott Andrews]

Thanks Peter, I have some Pep Boys looking connections I was wondering about too.
Scott

Sent from my iPhone

> On Feb 1, 2021, at 5:01 PM, Peter Nyberg <peter at sunnybeeches.com> wrote:
> 
> I’ll take this one step further and suggest using quality connectors that are specifically labeled as being marine grade.  These would have tinned copper tubing.  I prefer connectors that have heat shrink with adhesive.
> 
> And, of course you should be using these with marine grade wire (also tinned copper). 
> 
> The headaches you save may be your own.
> 
> Peter Nyberg
> Coventry, CT
> s/v Silverheels (1988/2016)
> 
>> On Feb 1, 2021, at 2:51 PM, PBR <pbryanriley at gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>> I thought I would drop a note of caution about using harbor  freight
>> materials.  I have had a couple of electrical failures of butt joints using
>> their connectors.
>> 
>> When I lived in Denver I drove past a HF store everyday so I picked up a
>> lot of cheap stuff there.
>> 
>> 1) After wiring a new hitch wire harness to my utility trailer using HF but
>> joint connectors I wrapped the joints with electrical tape to seal it.
>> About a year later the lights weren't working properly and I narrowed the
>> failure down to an open circuit in that area under my tape.  Upon removal
>> of the tape the wires were just falling off, breaking at 90 angle to then
>> ends of  the connector body.  Visible was a lot of corrosion white and
>> green material.  I don't think there was any significant water intrusion
>> and it's pretty dry in Denver.  I chalked it up to some sort of galvanic
>> corrosion between the seemingly aluminum connectors and the copper.
>> 
>> 2) Meanwhile I had used the HF stuff in other areas too.  LIke my R22 bilge
>> pump.  I recently returned to check on my Rhodes after about a 2 month
>> absence to find that storms in Kitty Hawk had shredded part of my tarp,
>> clogged the drains with tree parts of all nature, and filled the laz with
>> water which found its way into the bilge.  Water up to the floor boards -
>> why wasn't my automatic bilge pump working?  Traced it to a butt connector
>> down at the pump being basically open circuit.  This time I had
>> waterproofed the joints with liquid electrical tape or something like it
>> and all that was good.  On the outside everything looked water tight and
>> this joint was in an area where it never saw stress or chafing.  After
>> cutting into it, I again found white and green signs of corrosion.
>> 
>> Lesson learned.
>> 1) don't buy harbor freight (but the only non-chinese made connectors I
>> have found are Taiwanese, please advise if you have a north american source)
>> 2) I will make sure any butt joints have full copper to copper contact in
>> the middle (but that may not help much).
>