Sta-Kon RB2213ML NYL LKG FORK, 18-14, No6, LEFT REEL

The RB2213ML is sized for 18-14 AWG stranded or solid copper wire. The blue nylon insulation is the standard color code for that gauge band, so on a panel where you already use red for 22-16 and yellow for 12-10, the blue barrel tells an inspector at a glance which conductors it is on.

It is a No. 6 stud terminal, so it slips over a #6 screw or stud. If your terminal block or breaker uses #8 or #10 screws, the fork slot is too narrow and you need the next size up.

The RB2213ML is a left-hand reel terminal, meaning it is strip-mounted for feeding into an automatic or semi-automatic crimping machine. If you are crimping by hand with a standard Sta-Kon hand tool, you want the loose-piece version of the same terminal instead, not the reeled one.

The tongue on a locking fork has a tab that catches under the screw head, so the terminal cannot vibrate off the stud once the screw is torqued down. You still get the advantage of a fork, which is that you can slide it on or off without pulling the screw all the way out, unlike a ring terminal. On equipment that sees vibration, that locking tang is the reason to pick this over an open spade.

Use a locking fork like the RB2213ML where you want to service or swap conductors without backing screws all the way out of a terminal strip, which is most control and panel work. Use a ring terminal where a code or spec requires a fully captive connection, since a ring cannot come off the stud at all. The locking tang on this fork closes much of that gap by resisting pull-off under vibration.

It does. The RB2213ML is wound left, and the feed direction has to match the applicator and press you are running. A right-wound reel will not feed correctly into a machine set up for left feed, so match the hand of the reel to the machine before you order a case of them.

Sta-Kon RB2213ML. That single number covers the 18-14 AWG wire range, the No. 6 stud, the blue nylon insulation, and the left-hand reel packaging, so quoting it alone gets you the same part you ran last time.

Nylon. Nylon sleeves hold up better to abrasion and to heat during crimping than vinyl, and they do not split as readily when the barrel is compressed. If your spec calls out vinyl-insulated terminals specifically, this is not that part.

Made in the United States, which matters if you are filling an order with domestic sourcing language on it, such as government or institutional MRO work.