No matter what you do in your shop, there’s a good chance you’ve spent a lot of time over the years dealing with electrical issues. Reliable electricity is extremely important across many situations, with problems leading to long delays, added costs or even safety hazards.
The most common problems with electrical products are a result of these five failures:
- Corrosion
- Wire pull-out (poor or improper mechanical connections)
- Broken terminals
- Moisture and other weather-related contaminants (salt, calcium chloride, etc.)
- Vibration and abrasion
When you encounter an electrical failure, going down this list frequently will help you locate the problem, allowing you to fix it quickly if you have the proper products on hand.
We’ve also compiled this list of item-specific problem areas, followed by the quality Kimball Midwest product to help you avoid them:
Conventional Heat Shrink Terminals
- Manufactured with poor quality tubing that splits or cracks when crimped. This failure leads to premature corrosion and failed connections.
- These inferior connectors also tend to require high heat temperatures to achieve the proper shrink ratio, often leading to burning the tubing.
Recommended Replacement: Pro-Tech™ Heat Shrink Terminals
Conventional PVC Primary Wire
- Only provides minimal abrasion and high temperature resistance, often leading to premature corrosion, breakage and short circuiting.
Recommended Replacement: Kimball Midwest’s wire options
Poor Quality Cable Ties
- Breakage from brittle ties.
- Locking tabs fail, leading to tie slippage and loosening of bundled components.
- Cold weather contributing to brittle breakage.
Recommended Replacement: Kimball Midwest’s cable ties
Conventional Wire Strippers and Crimpers
- Strippers can often cut beyond the wire jacket, cutting into the wire strands.
- Conventional terminal crimpers often tear or break the terminal from over crimping. Under crimping can lead to wire pullout.
Recommended Replacement: Kimball Midwest’s strippers and crimpers
Conventional Heat Shrink Tubing
- Provides only minimal protection from moisture and contaminants without adequate impregnated sealant.
Recommended Replacement: Kimball Midwest’s heat shrink tubing
If you need assistance identifying the quality electrical products needed in your shop, your Kimball Midwest sales representative would be happy to help. If you don’t have one, we can help you