Solderless wire connectors?

[tlogan]

Anyone know where I can find 4 wire solderless connectors to fit a Holiday Coro string of dumb RGB bullets? So far, after much searching, I am only able to find 1 and 2 wire connectors. Apparently, I have a pesky squirrel that not only takes standard AC LEDS off a tree and my deck, but late last year bit the last 8 or 10 bullets off of one string of my dumb mega tree. I would prefer to not have to solder (a man's got to know his limitations!). I'm looking for something similar to these but to connect wires on both sides. I found these  to connect two LOR strips together by attaching an LOR pigtail to the end of one string. So far, they work great, although I have not had them outside. These are sized for wire on one side and the strip on the other. If I have to, I suppose I can split the wires and use two, 2 wire connectors, but one can hope.

  

[gsmith37064]

45 minutes ago, tlogan said:

Anyone know where I can find 4 wire solderless connectors to fit a Holiday Coro string of dumb RGB bullets? So far, after much searching, I am only able to find 1 and 2 wire connectors. Apparently, I have a pesky squirrel that not only takes standard AC LEDS off a tree and my deck, but late last year bit the last 8 or 10 bullets off of one string of my dumb mega tree. I would prefer to not have to solder (a man's got to know his limitations!). I'm looking for something similar to these but to connect wires on both sides. I found these  to connect two LOR strips together by attaching an LOR pigtail to the end of one string. So far, they work great, although I have not had them outside. These are sized for wire on one side and the strip on the other. If I have to, I suppose I can split the wires and use two, 2 wire connectors, but one can hope.

  

Use these for your bullet nodes: https://www.holidaycoro.com/Solder-Shrink-Tubing-p/177.htm

Just take a heat gun to them and it melts the solder and seals up nicely. Some people have had success with a hairdryer, but i did not. So I picked up a cheap heat gun from Ebay for $10.

[tlogan]

Thanks! DANG! I looked at Holiday Coro, too. Guess I didn't pay attention to these since I was looking for the other style.

[k6ccc]

Standard recommendation - DONT USE THEM!

MANY reports on various forums that they do not last worth a darn.  Problems with bad connections mostly.

No this is not that specific product, but the solderless strip connectors in general.

Learn to solder.

 

[k6ccc]

My recommendation to avoid was for the solderless strip connecters talked about in the first post. 

The heat gun soldered connecters gsmith linked are not great, but they do work.  They provide almost no mechanical support for the connection, so if there is wiggling or vibration, the connection will eventually fail.  Good for a quick field repair to get something working until a proper repair can be made.  And yes, I have used those.

 

 

[TheDucks]

IMHO do not use press fit anything for connections outdoors. When I started, I got a whole assortment of dumb RGB ribbon connections to use on my windows. Boy did the air turn blue. And that was just the initial fitting. Every time I went passed the porch (double) windows, 1 strip or another had issues.

I use gel filled B-connections. They are a bit ugly, but survive

[gsmith37064]

49 minutes ago, k6ccc said:

Standard recommendation - DONT USE THEM!

MANY reports on various forums that they do not last worth a darn.  Problems with bad connections mostly.

No this is not that specific product, but the solderless strip connectors in general.

Learn to solder.

 

I find this statement to be false. I have been using them for the past 5 years without any issue and will continue to do so.

Now the solderless strip connectors suck ass. Water gets into them and your strips will always pop apart.

[k6ccc]

3 minutes ago, gsmith37064 said:

I find this statement to be false. I have been using them for the past 5 years without any issue and will continue to do so.

Now the solderless strip connectors suck ass. Water gets into them and your strips will always pop apart.

The solderless strip connectors is what I was recommending that people avoid - as it would appear you agree with.

 

[gsmith37064]

1 hour ago, k6ccc said:

The solderless strip connectors is what I was recommending that people avoid - as it would appear you agree with.

 

It looks like the OP may be using both bullet nodes and strips.

If possible, I would recommend to get away from the strips if you need more than 17ft. Granted the strips look better at night but the bullet nodes are so easy to repair. Strips are not.

But the solder tubes i linked up above, work like a champ. Going strong on 5 years with them and no issues.

[tlogan]

25 minutes ago, gsmith37064 said:

It looks like the OP may be using both bullet nodes and strips.

If possible, I would recommend to get away from the strips if you need more than 17ft. Granted the strips look better at night but the bullet nodes are so easy to repair. Strips are not.

But the solder tubes i linked up above, work like a champ. Going strong on 5 years with them and no issues.

I do use both. The strips are for my arches. I wanted to free up a UID on a Pixie II. Previously, had a strip on each UID. So I used the press in clip to attach a pigtail to the end of one. The one I got (pictured in the original post) were the only ones I could find that specifically called out that they are weatherproof and sized to the same specs as the LOR strips. So far, all testing looks great. Use outside may change things, but everything will be inside the tubes. I'll put some sealant over it and hope for the best. The now freed up UID will be a 100 bullet firestick and star (50 each), which conveniently come with connectors on both ends).

The bullets I want to repair are from my RGB Dumb mega tree. More than anything, I want to know how to fix in an emergency. As I said, it was late in the season when I noticed the problem last year, so I let it go (OK, I ALMOST broke out in song, did you?). If it doesn't work out, I DO have a spare, but I do want to get a little practice repairing any of these that may fail. As we all know, these bullets are little pricier than a Walmart string of LEDs.

Thanks for the tips. I did order a bunch (like, 100!) of those solder tubes and they are already shipped. (I was going to only buy 50 but shipping doubled the cost. So I bought 100 so that shipping was only 1/3 the total cost. I guess it's just me that thinks like that!) 

[TheDucks]

51 minutes ago, tlogan said:

Thanks for the tips. I did order a bunch (like, 100!) of those solder tubes and they are already shipped. (I was going to only buy 50 but shipping doubled the cost. So I bought 100 so that shipping was only 1/3 the total cost. I guess it's just me that thinks like that!) 

You did good. Remember replacing a DUMB RGB node uses 8

Be careful, a pixie2 has limited power (LOR ships low power strings, which allows them to do 2@ of 100 on a pixie2 )

[ebrown1972]

8 hours ago, tlogan said:

Anyone know where I can find 4 wire solderless connectors to fit a Holiday Coro string of dumb RGB bullets? So far, after much searching, I am only able to find 1 and 2 wire connectors. Apparently, I have a pesky squirrel that not only takes standard AC LEDS off a tree and my deck, but late last year bit the last 8 or 10 bullets off of one string of my dumb mega tree. I would prefer to not have to solder (a man's got to know his limitations!). I'm looking for something similar to these but to connect wires on both sides. I found these  to connect two LOR strips together by attaching an LOR pigtail to the end of one string. So far, they work great, although I have not had them outside. These are sized for wire on one side and the strip on the other. If I have to, I suppose I can split the wires and use two, 2 wire connectors, but one can hope.

  

For me I like to use these https://www.amazon.com/Heat-Shrink-Butt-Crimp-Connectors/dp/B076WV2TFJ?th=1

They are quicl and easy and I have never had any issues with them.

[k6ccc]

5 minutes ago, ebrown1972 said:

For me I like to use these https://www.amazon.com/Heat-Shrink-Butt-Crimp-Connectors/dp/B076WV2TFJ?th=1

They are quicl and easy and I have never had any issues with them.

I like these a lot better because there is a mechanical crimp, whereas the HC ones earlier in this thread are solely dependent on a solder blob melting and holding the wire together.