I have been looking for some time for a suitable 12 volt power plug. Something less bulky than the cigarette lighter style plug but with good current handling.

I have used the two-pin flat connectors but quality plugs with 12 or 10 gauge wire can be expensive and hard to find locally. The big disadvantage is If you just want to connect a 12 volt air compressor or, as I did, a macerator pump to an existing power source you wind up not using half of the connector pair.

They also require splicing the plug’s pigtail to the project’s wiring. That’s okay but not particularly elegant.

I found out about Anderson Powerpoles connectors by accident when watching a YouTube video. After I ran a Google search, did a little reading and watched a few more videos, I decided to order some and give them a try.

My only use, so far, has been the connection of a macerator pump to a 12v power supply (read more about that here) and they were easy to install and connect and they work great.

I did not purchase the expensive “professional” crimper that many users recommend. Instead I decided to to try using the terminal crimper I already had. My crimper worked okay but it is not a pretty crimp.

Other users have had success with a less expensive crimper that seems like it works better than mine I so may purchase one before I try again. I guess if I was going to use the Powerpoles connectors a lot and money wasn’t an issue that pro crimper would be nice to have.

There are many videos about Anderson Powerpoles on YouTube, I think the ones below will give you a good idea of what they are and how they can be used.

2MIN – For 12 Volt devices: Anderson PowerPoles

Anderson PowerPoles: The 12-volt Connection of Choice

Review of Anderson Powerpole Connectors