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Hydraulic crimper for battery cable

Updated: October 2026

You are in a camper van, a boat locker or a garage solar corner, holding a leisure battery and a length of thick red cable. A hydraulic crimper for battery cable is the hex tool that should close the lug on that DC run, if the die covers the conductor you will pull. The ten listings sit on the [hydraulic crimping pliers comparison](/hub/pliers/hydraulic-crimping-pliers). The buying order is the [hydraulic crimping tool buying guide](/hub/pliers/hydraulic-crimping-pliers/sub/hydraulic-crimping-pliers-buying-guide). Products Compared compared these amazon.co.uk listings on 16 October 2026, with no laboratory test. A purchase through our links can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You are in a camper van, a boat locker or a garage solar corner, holding a leisure battery and a length of thick red cable.

Our top picks

AMZCNC AMZCNC YKQ-70 hand hydraulic cable-lug crimper

Best overall

AMZCNC AMZCNC YKQ-70 hand hydraulic cable-lug crimper
9.2/10about £39.78
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Solsop Solsop hydraulic hex crimper 4–70 mm²

Preis-Tipp

Solsop Solsop hydraulic hex crimper 4–70 mm²
8.8/10about £36.54
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Lsoar Lsoar hydraulic cable crimper 4–70 mm²

Alternative

Lsoar Lsoar hydraulic cable crimper 4–70 mm²
7.6/10about £40.99
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On this page
  1. 1.What battery cable this tool family is for
  2. 2.Crimp, do not solder, and do not trust throw-in lugs
  3. 3.Which listings were used on vans and batteries
  4. 4.When 70 mm² is the end of the kit

What battery cable this tool family is for

These kits are aimed at DC lugs from about 16 mm² up to the 70 mm² copper line most of the cases print. Motorhome owners on MotorhomeFun describe a hex hydraulic tool as the point where hammer crimps stop being good enough, from roughly 16 mm² upward, because a hammer leaves loose strands. Below the floor we take from BS 7609, 10 mm² copper and 16 mm² aluminium, a small ratchet is the usual tool. Victron’s Wiring Unlimited gives a voltage-drop table at 0.259 V: about 105 A on 35 mm² and about 150 A on 50 mm², for a total cable run up to 5 m. Their rule of thumb for those short runs is amps divided by 3. That is a design aid, not BS 7671, and not a sizing service for your inverter. Lynch Marine’s 48 V examples use 25–50 mm².

Crimp, do not solder, and do not trust throw-in lugs

A hex die compresses the barrel onto the strands so the joint is mechanical. Solder on a battery lug can wick up the cable, make a stiff spot that cracks under vibration, and hide a barrel that was never full. Prove one joint before you build the run: conductor home, a regular hex, and a tug that does not slide. The sequence is on how to use a hydraulic crimping tool. The lugs in the box are the weak half of several kits. A Solsop review says the supplied crimps pulled off. A Lsoar review says the tool crushes thick battery terminals, so a heavy cast terminal and a thin stamped ring are not the same part. Buy lugs that name a conductor class and a stud size. A 50 mm ferrule that stayed loose after the Growlush YQK-70 dies had closed is the failure you are trying not to repeat.
AMZCNC AMZCNC YKQ-70 hand hydraulic cable-lug crimper

Testsieger

AMZCNC AMZCNC YKQ-70 hand hydraulic cable-lug crimper
9.2/10about £39.78
View offer

Which listings were used on vans and batteries

Reviewers in the stored snapshot used Solsop on motorhome solar, Lsoar on caravan motor movers, and TEENO and FLASHEVER on camper leisure batteries. AMZCNC, both Faankiton colourways and the Growlush YQK-70 also appear on DC cable jobs. That is use, not a ranking. AMZCNC’s title is 12 AWG to 2/0 AWG. A 16 October 2026 snippet also printed 4–70 mm², and that line is not in the stored specification block, so this page stays with the title unless you check the live listing. Aluminium often stops at 50 mm² on Solsop, Faankiton and the Growlush YQK-70 while copper goes to 70 mm². TEENO’s lower price does not remove the off-centre die reports, and FLASHEVER’s single five-star review, which mentions oil mist, is not a battery endorsement.

When 70 mm² is the end of the kit

A 70 mm² copper inverter lead is the top of this case, not a suggestion that the same pliers will do 95 mm² or 120 mm². Hanford Trailers list a 16-ton tool to 400 mm² at £188.03. Cablectrix prices for Cembre models up to 400 mm² sit near £881–£1,385 ex VAT. Do not crimp meter tails as a weekend battery job. Solar module leads that end in MC4 connectors need a different crimper. Gas and wet central heating are a different jaw. When the cable is part of a fixed installation, or when you cannot say what current the run must carry, the next call is an electrician.

Common questions

What size of tool do I need for a leisure battery?
A hex kit whose dies cover the copper you will pull, commonly from 16 mm² to 70 mm² on these listings. The exact size is the cable, not the battery brand. Victron’s table, as a design aid only, puts about 105 A on 35 mm² and about 150 A on 50 mm² for a run up to 5 m at 0.259 V drop.
Should I crimp or solder a battery terminal?
Crimp it. A hex compression is the joint these tools are built around, and a sound crimp should not pull off in the hand. Solder can stiffen the cable and hide a barrel that was never full. Use a lug that names the conductor, not the thinnest ring in the kit.
Will a 4–70 mm² kit do 70 mm² inverter cable?
Only if the copper line really includes 70 mm² and the die produces a hex the lug maker accepts. Several boxes stop aluminium at 50 mm². A Growlush YQK-70 review still found a 50 mm ferrule loose after the dies closed. Above 70 mm² copper, this kit is finished.
Are the lugs in the box good enough?
Often they are not. Solsop’s supplied crimps were reported to pull off, and Lsoar’s tool was reported to crush thick battery terminals. Buy lugs that state a conductor size and a stud, and match the die to them. Treat included terminals as spares you might try, not as the design of the joint.
Can I use this on solar MC4 leads?
No. These dies close cable lugs. An MC4 pin is a different contact and needs the crimper made for that pin. You can crimp a lug on the battery end of a suitably sized DC cable. A meter tail is an electrician’s joint, not a weekend battery lug.

Related pages

Best hydraulic crimping tool

Hydraulic crimping pliers

Hydraulic crimping tool buying guide: family first

How to use a hydraulic crimping tool, step by step

Pipe press tool or cable crimper: match the letter

Sources

Public UK sources checked for this comparison, plus the amazon.co.uk listing facts in the display file on 15 October 2026. Shelf prices and star lines are those UK figures. A later public snippet put the Solsop ASIN at £44.06, so the table price is the snapshot, not a promise.

  1. BSI, BS 7609:1992+A2:2009, code of practice for uninsulated connectors (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  2. IET Wiring Matters: will any old terminal block do? (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  3. ETS Cable Components: cable crimping and BS 7609 (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  4. E-Tech Components: crimping mistakes and good practice (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  5. HSE: fluid injection from hydraulic equipment (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  6. GOV.UK: General Product Safety Regulations 2005 (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  7. Z-Press: U, TH, V and M press-fit jaw profiles (retrieved 15 October 2026)