TICONN Crimper 03C

The pair of crimping pliers I purchased is the 03C crimper by Ticonn. The construction is very solid and it feels heavy in the hand and is very well built. The ratchet mechanism works positively, the jaws crimp the electrical connector and wire positively and makes a very strong connection. The soft surface of the handles feels very nice and is comfortable. Definitely a well made product and I highly recommend it. Now for the details why some reviews are negative. It is not inherently obvious from just looking at the information on Amazon's website as some may be using the crimper for the wrong type of electrical connectors. The photos Ticonn showed on the listing gives a hint on the types of jaws for each crimper but it is not obvious until you get it and actually test it to find out what works and what doesn't as none of this is spelled out ! ! ! For reference, scroll down the Amazon listing to the product details section with the photos of the two different variants of this crimper. Look closely at the photos provided by Ticonn. The 03C crimper is the one I purchased. The jaw opening dimension, the actual opening that crimps the electrical connectors, are different between the front and rear jaws. This jaw style does NOT work for electrical butt connectors but is intended for a single crimp style electrical connector such as a spade connector. Because the openings between the front and rear jaws are different, if you tried to use it on heat shrink butt connectors, one side will not be crimped completely and the wire will be loose. Use this 03C crimper only on electrical connectors that require only one single crimp. The 02C crimper shown with the Orange handle is the same type crimper but with different jaw dies. On this crimper, which I did not buy but can see from the on line photos, the jaw size openings between the front and rear jaws are the same. Thus, this crimper can crimp heat shrink butt connectors which requires a double crimp. I already have an ARES crimper that has this style of jaws and it does double crimp on butt connectors beautifully. So if you need to crimp butt connectors, buy the 02C crimper. The listing on Amazon isn't very clear as the product details only states the AWG wire size differences that the two different crimpers handle but failed to state that they are intended for the different types of electrical connectors - single crimp spade connectors vs. double crimp butt connectors. Ticonn does state in the listing that both crimpers can handle both styles of connectors but I'd say if you are crimping a lot of connectors, it is better to buy the correct crimper so your work flow is much easier and faster. In the enclosed two photos, the first photo shows two butt connectors. The top butt connector was crimped with the 03C Ticonn crimper and as can be seen, the left crimp has a rectangular dimple and the right crimp is not really there. The wires pulled out of this crimp easily on both sides. The bottom butt connector with the two wires attached was crimped with the ARES crimper, the same gripping jaw style as the Ticonn 02C crimper. The connection is very strong and not easily pulled apart. The second photo shows the spade connector with a single crimp using the 03C crimper. As can be seen, the barrel of the connector has a solid crimp forming a very strong crimp connection to the wire. The tail end of the connector has a crimp mark but basically has no deformation and with a heat gun can be shrunk around the wire to form a waterproof connection. This is a very good tool if you use it for the designed purposes. Otherwise, if you use it on the incorrect style of electrical connectors, your results will be very disappointing. It is a shame the manufacturer didn't have more details on their product page to spell this out for the customers. I'm sure more than a few have been frustrated with the results they got!

I Never Leave A Review, this time I had to due to all the negative reviews. I received the 30C crimping tool this morning and immediately opened and began using it. I have had multiple crimping tools and for the price I have never had a better one. As another writer pointed out this tool is for single crimp heat shrink type of connectors size AWG 10-22. If you need a double crimp get a different tool they make one the 20C, if you need a different size get a different tool. If you have cable you need crimping buy a tool for crimping connectors on cable, etc etc etc. These are some of the best crimpers I've ever owned and I've spent a lot of money on various crimping tools. The crimp is tight and solid when done correctly. The ease of crimping the connectors was very easy at least for the 187 crimps I did today. If your whining about these crimpers especially for the price, you just like to whine or you got a bad pair, simple fix on the latter return them and get a new tool, can't help you with the whining one, sorry. The only complaint I have is there from China and I try to buy American made.

Works really well with the connections by the same name

When I received the crimper I thought it was defective because every time I tried to crimp a quick disconnect connector, the wire would easily slide out. After a quick google search I realized that the tool just needed to be tightened a bit in order to work. There is a little gear near the base of the grips with a + and - on it, if you remove the screw and carefully push the gear towards the +, the crimper will tighten and make a much more secure crimp. After tightening, it seems to be a very good crimper.

This crimping tool makes strong crimps with minimal resistance. Holds connectors until you’re ready to crimp. I tried to pull wires out after crimp was made but I couldn’t pull it apart. Insulation came off but wire stayed tight. Well built and I’m really glad I purchased them. Good tools are hard to come by nowadays! Get yourself a pair.

Needed a set of wire cutters crimpers for the boat (I'm always forgetting that) and I always need it. On a boat stuff finds it's way loose over time, and ends need replacing (at least on a 20+ year old boat). I almost always replace with the crimp/heat shrink connections so that they will hopefully last another 20 years on the boat, and the fact that this crimper has jaws you can change out (for bare crimps, shrink, vinyl, pins, etc.) makes it even better. We'll see how it holds up to rust, etc on the boat (salt water) but I can't fault that of the equipment. Paint looks smooth and even and should help protect from rust. Most of my reviews are higher rated because I base what I purchase off of what I need, price, and quality, and not that I purchased the wrong item, or didn't read. I didn't have to reach out to the seller or the vendor, but I would not hesitate to purchase this product again, from either.

First off, the wire strippers are so-so. A cheap set of name brand ones would perform noticeably better. The reason I purchased this set was for the many different dies that came with the crimper. While the dies are nice, the crimper has left a lot to be desired. The racheting mechanism is poor at best. The gear portion gains thickness by stacking and riveting together 3 pieces of stamped steel. The locking level only hits one of the pieces in the stack and binds up from time to time. Also, and most annoyingly, a screwdrivers is required to change out the dies. This is not obvious from the photos. I bought a cheap one to put in with this set, which is almost useless without one. Higher end crimpers allow you to change out the dies tool free.

Great crimping tool for spade connectors. Like the ratcheting feature - helps hold the connector while fitting the wire.