PPC EX6XL Connectors

[dlh]

Will any standard compression tool work with these?

[BattleZone]

Yes. The "XL" at the end of the part number means "eXtended Length" compared to the original, shorter-than-standard original EX6 design. While the EX6 is an excellent connector, the original short version required a non-standard tool, which no one wanted to buy. PPC was forced to release the XL version to fit standard tools in order to get people to buy the connectors.

One caution: a few lower-end/economy compression tools can over-compress these and other connectors. With the EX6, the nylon center section of the body will crack (same with Digicons), and other brands will fail in other ways. The point being, if you ended up with one of these tools, you need to stop compressing the connector once it reaches its stopping point. If you continue to squeeze until the tool closes all the way, you'll break the connector.

You won't have this problem with most compression tools, but the cheap Home Depot/Lowes ones are popular, and recent batches of those were designed/spec'ed poorly.

[dlh]

Thanks. As always, your replies are informative, more than just helpful.

Yes. The "XL" at the end of the part number means "eXtended Length" compared to the original, shorter-than-standard original EX6 design. While the EX6 is an excellent connector, the original short version required a non-standard tool, which no one wanted to buy. PPC was forced to release the XL version to fit standard tools in order to get people to buy the connectors.