How to shrink heat shrink tubing?

Not likely. A hair dryer hot enough to fully shrink tubing would probably burn your scalp.

Maybe HS has has changed recently or perhaps blow dryers are wimpier now being designed for people too stupid to hold it at a reasonable distance. I only use the stuff occasionally and haven't in about 7 years. Previously, I never had any trouble using a blow dryer.

I use the soldering iron barrel, not the tip.

I just use the clean part of the tip where it has a broad tapper to the main body. An iron has to be in contact not wafted around in the vicinity, just rub it up and down the sleeve while rotating the wire

1/2 turn each way. An 11w 1mm tip iron will do nicely on heat shrink for joints in single core auto wire. 1/2" is going to need something a bit more powerful, 80w 1/4"?

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The old BIC will work fine if you got the touch. There is also a BIC gun, actually one of those slim lighters.

There is a cheap tool out there. Its like a big soldering iron. Blows maybe 300 watts with a small footprint. The Ungar I have been using for 25 years has steadily gon up in price, over $100. Rediculous. Something like shown on this page, as well as all the rest.

I paid $20 for mine at a local hardware store. I still had money for a beer.

greg

I use a pistol-style hair dryer _plus_ a 'cup' formed from several layers of aluminum foil. Create the cup using the barrel of the blow dryer as the form -- making it with 2 slots running down opposite sides. Lay the splice/whatever on the bottom of the cups with the wire(s) entering through the slot(s). Use by placing the blow dryer just part way into the cup -- allowing the "blow" to flow out of the cup. (Use a blow dryer with a bimetal overheat reset -- not an overheat fuse.)

WFM

Jonesy

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Over here in the northeast, we have cold weather, and cheap vinyl cords get almost as stiff as metal tubing. Cords used outdoors, or left in a car can be annoying. We keep cords in a freezer (along with batteries) to preserve the juice that's still left in them for the next use.

Low voltage accessory cords with excessive/oversize plastic insulation are one aggravation, but thin stiff cords (even test leads) are what I was referring to. Hard plastics don't belong on these types of cables, although the formula may be cheaper to produce. A new set of test leads that came with an older model of Tektronix TekMeter LCD scopemeter consisting of 4 leads, 3 were soft, but the red one was semi-rigid.

Vintage cables are often stiffer after 20-30 years, and I suppose that's to be expected, but new cables should be relatively soft.

-- Cheers, WB .............

Perhaps the plasticizer would have unacceptably altered the color.

Other way is a hot air re-work station. Mine can be set at a low enough temp. But it's an expensive way to do it.

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I have used mine, but the small area is only good for small shrink. i also melt hot melt glue sometimes, and melt hot melt inside the shrink. The edges need touched up at times. The Ungar heat gun is about 350 watts and produces a 600 degree temp at the tip. I have shrunk 2-3 inch shrink, no problem.

greg

That may be the case, William. Do you know of a product that will soften the vinyl or PVC on low voltage wire/cables?

-- WB .........

I received their weekly e-mail right after I posted. It is on sale for $7.99 with the coupon below:

Here is the user manual:

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$7.99 for a set of four nozzles & five tools for their heat guns

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I don't have problems shrinking the tubing with a disposable lighter, most of the time. If the tubing is far enough away from the tubing, it usually won't leave any soot marks on it, but the soot marks can generally be wiped away on light colored tubing with lacquer thinner/acetone.

A hot air tool for surface mount solder reflow is an effective method (but not cheap), especially for multi-pin connectors where the heat can be directed to a very limited area by the small tip (the reverse of a desoldering iron, esentially).

For larger tubing, the smooth area of a stainless steel soldering iron works (slowly) by lightly rubbing the hot barrel around on the tubing.

Other than using shrink tubing, there is a product referred to as Liquid Tape, which can be applied with a brush or other utensil.

-- WB .........

For cable assemblies, I've found that nothing beats a Sunbeam toaster. Turns itself off, too. You don't have to put it down into the slot, just hold it over the top.

The trick with lighters is to keep the shrink about 1 1/2 to 2 inches above the top of the flame.

Mark Zenier snipped-for-privacy@eskimo.com Googleproofaddress(account:mzenier provider:eskimo domain:com)

I always use a kitchen match, a wood match about 3 inches long. A couple boxes of them are very cheap.

It usually comes out perfect. Sometimes I need to use more than one match to make it tight.

Once in a while I burn the tubing a little, but it's never seemed to weaken it. I'm sure I only turn the surface black.

I hold the wires horizontal and move the match back and forth, with the tubing within the flame, the match 1/2 to 3/4 inch below the tubing. It shrinks quickly.

I guess this is just soot from the match, based on a couple other posts. Need I clean it off?

I've finished reading the thread and it's amazing to me the problems some have. I didn't want to use a hair dryer because I didnt' want to heat more than the tubing and I don't like the noise.

Maybe you all don't have kitchen matches so you've never tried them?

Isn't there an interlock in the toaster that checks if there's a slab of toast inside before it will turn on? I'm not sure I want to insert a slice of bread for every shrink tube joint.

I always manage to char the shrink tube joint when I do it that way. It's not the heat that's causing the blackening. It's that the burning ligher fluid is too low in temperature for complete combustion and therefore dumps plenty of soot on the shrink tube. You can demonstrate it for yourself by burning a lighter under a plate of glass. The distance doesn't matter. You'll always get plenty of soot.

If you must use a flame, use a propane torch. Instead of 2 inches, about 1-2 ft is about right. Don't hold onto the wire as you're likely to burn yourself. Work very quickly and be prepared to react if the wire or workbench catches fire.

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Jeff Liebermann wrote On 2010-05-12 21:38:

My favorite method for shrinking shrink tubing is either ye olde lighter at 1 to 2 " distance, or the part of your soldering iron the tip fits into. Keep the heat source in motion, and no longer than is necessary for good shrinkage.

Also, have spare bits and pieces to practice on, it can take a bit to get the hang of a new soldering iron or station. I don't recommend the lighter trick for anything else than small jobs, prototypes or repairs.

Just my $.02 worth.

/Teo.

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