In the Powerpole camp, Make has a good idea for more reliable connections
“If the strands of stranded wire are all parallel inside the contact, they can slide out no matter how well you crimp it. You can pull the contact off with finger strength. If instead you coil the strands into a spiral, there’s an irregular surface for the crimped contact to hold on to.”
I don’t think using pliers for crimping is a good idea but the ratcheting TRIcrimp (~ $40) looks like a good idea as does the stranded wire suggestion. There are a number of other good ideas in the article, too.
Powerpole connectors have a lot of benefits for medium power needs – say 1 to 50 amps – in that you can color code the fittings as well as to develop different connection standards for various needs to reduce errors. The ARES standards for amateur radio 12v power systems provide a good starting point. The housings are like legos and can be connected together in different ways for different purposes.
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