joeman11

My Feedback: (6)

i got some shrink wrap to put over some wire and i used a blow dryer to shrink the shrink wrap, well, the shrink wrap didn't exactly shrink far enough, is there a special shrink wrap tool to use or does it just need to get more heat, kind of stupid question, but i never used the stuff before

smokingcrater

blow dryers usually won't get hot enough. use a monokote seam sealer or even just a cigarette lighter. (takes a little practice with the flame)

cstevenpeterson

My Feedback: (21)

Provided you used the correct diameter to start with (not too large), a cigarette lighter should do the trick. I use one for this all the time and aside from a hot thumb, it works good. You can be aggressive with applying the heat, but you can burn the tubing if you are not careful. Just take note, even though heat shrink tubing will shrink quite a lot, it will only shrink so much and then that's it, so start with the smallest size that will fit over the application before heating. There are special heat guns for this, but you won't need one.

Steve

joeman11

My Feedback: (6)

thanks, ill try the cigarette lighter because i dont have a monocote sealer, thanks a lot!

dr_wogz

My Feedback: (3)

Shrink tubing typically shrinks about 50%, so, it'll only shrink soo far.

Alpha (a shrink tube manuyfacturer) lists their 'FIT-221' series tubing as:
2:1 shrink rate, at 121°C (250°F)
Ul recognized, and CSA certified, MIL-I-23053/5A

The lighter can be dangerous, and not really all that great: you're heating one little area very hot. You can burn a hole in it. You want to heat the stuff all at once, so it all shrinks at the same rate..

Try holding it over the toaster, or a stove burner / element..
And rotate / twirl it, so the heat is evenly distributed top and bottom.

NJ Georgee

My Feedback: (3)

some times I just hold a soldering iron under one side close then flip and do the outher side