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!

was well built-robust

Closing the pliers for storage is bothersome; you have to guess the last click, or they will spring open. The other thing I would do differently is I would buy a set with a ratcheting option. I am using the pliers for pieces that are too big, but if they ratcheted to multiply the torque from my hands further, they would be better.

The orange handle crimper work flawlessly. I'd thought that with them being meant to do double-crimps that both ends would be done at the same time, but that's not the case, and a non-issue, it just means it won't destroy other crimps when doing a 2nd crimp.

I waited too long to buy a quality crimping tool like this one. I always used a crimp tool that came with 100 connectors... always struggled to get solid connections... wasted a bunch of connectors. Now it is so easy. Ratcheting power makes it easy on the hands and gives a sure grip on the connector. Money well spent.

nice

Product was not new, packaging was already cut open when received, a few minor scratches on product. I waited two weeks for delivery since I live at military base overseas so I decided not to return it.

Nice tool, with color coded crippling capabilities.