I would think this would work for...all crimped ends...:Handshake I put...heat shrink...on all my connections...
A big factor that nobody has touched upon is the quality of the connector its self, most of the ones you buy in kits are not worth putting on in the first place, they are made cheaply and do not hold because the metal they are made of is cheap and the insulation is a joke. You can buy different crimp connectors that have a heat shrink cover on them already, you can also get them with a non corrosive paste to ward off oxidation or add some paste yourself. As far as soldering wires I have always used a soldering paste on the wires and tinned them first and have never had a problem with a cold joint, of course using the right tool to solder with is very important as well as using a good crimping tool. Although I have no training in the field of butt connector applications or proper ways to do it I have been a industrial electrician better than 30 years and in the electronic field before that and have done hundreds of connections including in wet applications before and it doesnt take a rocket scientist to do it.
I'm not a rocket scientist, but I did witness a space shuttle solid rocket booster test one night in Idaho. The test was 75 miles away in Utah.
After pulling apart many poorly sealed splices done by others(and admittedly, probably more than a few done by my own hands too) through the years.. I always do the same. From what I've seen so far, it's usually a toss up between loose joints and oxidation(often from "dry" and/or improperly sealed joints). Even the more expensive splices done by a pro will eventually rot out and degrade over time if not greased/sealed correctly. So, while I certainly do agree that the proper tool can help to increase linear tensile strength of connections and keep them from stretching/becoming loose(which can also cause intermittent current flow issues).. it's amazing how long a wadded up ball of wire simply hand twisted together with a dab of dielectric grease and covered with excess electrical tape.. or heat shrink.. will last without any issue. As I see it.. it just needs to be tight, sufficiently greased to prevent oxidization(as Yellow75 already addressed above), and also sealed decently from the elements. For an unstressed splice.. the rest is just overkill(not a bad thing for any run/safety critical components of course) and used to make things look tidy and professional. Personally.. For anything that may need to be serviced/removed again.. I like using removable weather tight connectors(like the OEM's) or posi-locks(I love those things for interior work) with dielectric grease whenever possible.. but they aren't cheap. Even then though.. simply because I like the idea of overkill so much.. I'll still use heat shrink over those already top-notch connections for an ultimate seal in wet environments. For something that has been damaged or will never be serviced.. I'll do what an old electrician friend showed me years ago.. which is to interleave the slightly frayed ends together until they mesh against one another.. squeeze and twist with a pliers to tightly entwine them and then permanently solder it. Seal it with excessively overlapped heat shrink and forget about it. IMHO, each job has it's own set of accessibility/performance requirements and overall lifespan criteria to determine when and how many corners can be cut. The more time and money you spend on it.. the better it becomes for any intended application requirement.
