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question about heatshrink tubing

post #1 of 8
7/17/11 at 11:28pm
Thread Starter 

does it keep shrinking and shrinking until it gets tight around the cable or is there a limit for each size?

just wondering if i need to be specific in diameter size for my recable job.

 

also, a normal hairdryer is fine for the shrinking right?

 

the only stuff on ebay are like 20mm diameter and i need around 7?mm for ath m50 cable.

 

thanks

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post #2 of 8
7/17/11 at 11:33pm

heatshink will typically be rated as 2:1 or 3:1 shrink ratio.  it won't shrink indefinitely, but rather to 1/2 or 1/3 its original diameter, depending

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post #3 of 8
7/17/11 at 11:39pm

^Yep, it won't indefinitely. The smaller it shrinks, the thicker it becomes. And no, a hair dryer is not hot enough (at least in my experience) you will need a heat gun.

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post #4 of 8
7/17/11 at 11:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by necorn View Post
also, a normal hairdryer is fine for the shrinking right?

No, hairdryers aren't hot enough. Well there might be some freakishly hot ones that can do it, but the required temps to shrink heatshrink aren't going to be great for hair.

 

I use a jet/turbo lighter for heatshrink most of the time, you just need to carefully apply an even heat. Mini blowtorch works good too. Don't use a normal lighter they're terrible. A proper heatgun is the best though blink.gif.

 

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post #5 of 8
7/18/11 at 12:34am

If you're on a economy budget you could use a hair dryer. The trick is to partially obstruct the inflow of air however beware of restricting the flow too much as the heating coils will likely burn out or worse - create a fire. The best and safest solution is to use the proper equipment. When in a pinch the heat from a soldering iron can get the job done as well.

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post #6 of 8
7/18/11 at 4:17am
If you are in the states, harbor freight sells a more than workable heat gun for about $9USD. They put it on sale every so often or you can use one of their infamous coupons. It works great and if only used for heat shrink, it will probably last a lifetime.

Works good for other stuff as well.
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post #7 of 8
7/18/11 at 5:21am
Thread Starter 

ok thanks, ill keep all that in mind haha

im in australia, and everything here is expensive, so i try to buy stuff on ebay, partially why i havent actually got much stuff yet.

 

i havent actually got my hands on any heatshrink tubing YET, which is why im asking so many questions; if i did then id probably try it myself lol.

 

after i thought about it i realised i i didnt really need it for my job...or do i?

 

i was under the impression that after soldering wires onto jack/plug/whatever, you had to protect the connections with hot glue/epoxy/heatshrink.

so i figured heatshrink would have been the cheapest and easiest alternative, as i have neither hot glue/gun or epoxy which is pretty **** expensive here.

 

err.. so do i need to heatshrink over the soldered connections or is it ok to just slip on the headphone plug cover after i'm done soldering?

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post #8 of 8
7/18/11 at 4:54pm
You do not need heat shrink if the connections are covered by the plug cover. Just make sure you do not force the cover on and accidentally short two connections together. It should come on and off smoothly.

In general, covering the connection is a nice finishing touch that protects the connection from accidental shorting and provides a degree of strain relief. If the connections are not exposed, either by being encased in an amp (ala jacks) or covered by a plug cover, you should be just fine. Just make sure your plug provides some form of of strain relief.

Too bad about not being close to a harbor freight. They have a great selection of heat shrink as well. wink.gif
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