Our high-quality heat shrink tubing is designed to protect and insulate your wire connections with a tight, permanent seal. Browse our standard heat shrink tubing below, or request custom heat shrink sleeves.
What is a Heat Shrink Tube?
Heat shrink tubing is used in a wide range of electrical setups functioning as an insulator for electrical components from external factors including moisture, dust, abrasions, and sharp objects. Coming into contact with any of these could damage the integrity of the wires and electrical components, ultimately resulting in shorts and failures. Heat shrink sleeving is therefore essential to keeping wiring in good working order and prolonging the longevity of electrical projects.
Heat shrink sleeving can also be used as an organizational tool. By bundling loose wires, connectors, joints, terminals, and splices together you can create more manageable groupings, and even employ a color-coding method for easy identification.
How to Use Heat Shrink Tubing
A heat shrink sleeve is a thermoplastic tube that shrinks when heated to a certain degree. When placed around gathered wires or electrical components, heat shrink tubing will collapse inwards and mold itself to the equipment’s contours creating a protective seal for the wiring inside.
To use a heat shrink tube, you must first determine whether your components will fit inside the tube. If the goal is to shrink the sleeve, you want to ensure your components will be snug within the tubing post-shrinkage, but not too tight to cause damage. Make sure to leave enough length on your heat shrink sleeve to account for shrinkage lengthwise; up to 5-7% of the overall length, to keep most of the electrical components insulated. By choosing custom heat shrink sleeves, you can ensure it’s the exact right size for your project.
Before beginning to heat your heat shrink tubing, make sure you’re wearing proper safety equipment and be sure to review the packaging to see how much heat you need to create shrinkage. The easiest way to heat a heat shrink tube is using a heating gun. Apply the heat evenly over the length and diameter of the heat shrink sleeve so it shrinks uniformly and without air bubbles. Once your heat shrink tube is conformed to your equipment, allow it to cool before applying any physical pressure.
Where Can I Buy Heat Shrink Tubes?
At Remington Industries, we offer high-quality heat shrink sleeves to accommodate any project, for DIY home projects and industry applications. Thanks to our expertise and top-notch customer service, we have risen to become leaders in the wires and raw-materials industry. We encourage you to continue browsing our pre-sized heat shrink sleeves, request custom heat shrink sleeves, or contact us to work with one of our experts. We’re based here in Johnsburg, Illinois, if you’d like to give us a call.
