Silverline PL55 Ratchet Crimping Tool

For the money this seems like a good value crimping tool ideal for the home/occasional user and is pretty solidly built, certainly better quality than I was expecting for the relatively cheap price and it has produced good, well crimped, connections for me.The main problem, and probably the cause of many of the critical reviews, is that there are no instructions on how to use it included with the tool which given the likely typical purchaser/user of a tool at this price (i.e. NOT an experienced professional expert crimper) seems like a shortcoming that could be easily and cheaply rectified by the manufacturer and result in greater purchaser satisfaction and fewer critical reviews.Check for yourself as I do not claim to be an expert user but from my use of the tool and what I have gathered after much searching on the internet is:1. This tool is for crimping Red, Blue and Yellow insulated connectors ONLY. If you want to crimp other connectors, shoe laces, fishing lines, etc this is probably not the right crimping tool for you. You need to ensure you use the correct colour connector specified to match the diameter of wire you are using so check the connector/wire specifications. Each colour of connector is matched to the corresponding coloured die size in the tool. Use a good quality connector.2. You have to insert the connectors into the tool the right way round for it to work correctly as one side of the die is narrower for the conductor crimp and the other side is slightly wider for the insulated wire sheath/cover crimp. The wire NEEDS to enter the connector from the side of the tool which has the coloured dots on it.3. If the crimping tool is not squeezing the wire tightly enough (Assuming you have matched wire size, connector colour, and die colour correctly and you are using good quality connectors) then you can adjust the tool to apply more or less pressure. This is more likely to be necessary if you are using wire at the thinnest end of the range specified for a particular connector colour so need to crimp it more tightly. If you look closely there is a small, sort of star shaped, wheel near the handle with a small screw holding it in place. On this wheel you will see an arrow with a + sign at one end and a -minus sign at the other. Remove the screw and move the wheel one notch in the direction indicated by the + plus sign to make it crimp more tightly (and the other way to reduce crimp pressure). Only move the wheel one notch at a time, replace the screw and test before adjusting further if necessary.4. From what I have gleaned from various other research/ tutorials it is recommended NOT to solder the wire before crimping as this can lead to stress cracking of the wire. I have also read that you should NOT twist the wire together before inserting into the connector as this can prevent proper deformation of the strands (and the form of a "Cold weld") which reduces the strength /effectiveness of the crimp.Hope this is of some help to other inexperienced crimpers. Silverline please add some simple instructions to the packaging, it would help novice users enormously.

perfect for diy. good quality

This is a well made, sturdy, almost chunky piece of kit. It works well, but does require quite a bit of an effort to complete the crimping procedure. The ratchet action works well once the crimp is completed, the last part of which is the bit that requires the effort. It works okay with the correct size connectors (in my case blue and red), but I used it for a job on the car, where some of the connections involved thinner wires and smaller connectors. For these I had to use my existing crimping pliers. I'm not sure if different sized crimping dies are available for this, but if they are it would help. Well worth the money.

Really sturdy. Unbelievable for the money. I don't normally buy budget tools but I just can't see a reason to buy more expensive than these now I've got them. Very sturdy. I suspect they are made in a more expensive brand's factory for Silverline. Anyway, I am very pleased with them and I expect you will be too.

Ok, so it’s not perfect, but at this price I can’t complain.The ratchet sometimes slightly slips a bit (maybe once in every 20 or so uses), but will catch again on the next attempt, so that’s fine.Of more concern is that as supplied it doesn’t crimp especially tightly and does need some adjustment to get a tighter crimp. This is not indicated or documented in any way, so many users may be unaware that this can and should be changed.After adjustment though, it does a good job.At this price point it’s hard to mark it down for the minor little issues it has. If you’re an electrician who’s crimping all day long, maybe buy something a bit more expensive with a better calibre, but if you’re an amateur or hobbyist or even a professional who just occasionally needs to do a bit of crimping, you could do a lot worse than this!

These seem okay, nice bit of weight to them, solid enough construction and mechanically they feel good. But, I find for narrow wires, they don't nip the crimp quite enough, resulting in it coming off with a gentle tug. For these, I need to manually nip the crimp a bit more manually with pliers, or a more basic crimp tool. For the price, these are great if your only using them occasionally.

It feels sturdy in the hand and seems better quality than you would expect for a tenner - time will tell!. I know others here have said it did not crimp enough however the one I received crimps perfectly without any adjustment. I am using quality plastic coated terminals and they will not pull off the wire when crimped. I tend to tin the wires prior to crimping for a better electrical connection. The instructions are non existent so if you are not familiar with this style of crimper you could be forgiven for putting the crimp in the crimper jaws the wrong way round and it will not crimp properly (should be crimping tool in right hand with the coloured dots on the die facing left, insert crimp so the end the wire goes in is facing the left and the wire in the the left hand making sure it stays in whilst squeezing the handles). It even comes with a lifetime guarantee once you register it.