Heat Shrink & Heat Gun reccomendations?

[taybrynn]

(1) Can anyone recommend some heat shrink sizes that would work best for use with Smart String splicing?

I have found what appears to be good prices at CSI, but I don't what sizes to order:

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(2) Can you recommend a good heat gun for use with heat shrink?

You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login ... this one is only $13, but the reviews are mixed.

(3) Do you prefer a heat gun or a butane torch ?

Thx,
Scott

[chrisatpsu]

the 2.5mm heat shrink should work for you, but it depends on how you do your splice.   however, if you just wanna cover where it solders to the board, 2.5mm, or 1.5mm should be fine on 20gauge wire.

My father in law always told me about Harbor Freight...  if you use the tool every day, don't get it there. But if you use it ocassionally, then it should be fine.
when i think of heat gun, the brand Ideal seems to come to mind, but they might be a bit pricey.

heat gun vs butane torch, might get you a heated debate on the realms of Mac vs PC, or IE vs firefox. I dont trust myself with something i could burn myself easily on, So i'd go with the heat gun, yeah, i can still burn myself, but at least the house stays safe  : )

EDIT:  i have thought about the $13 heat gun from Harbor Freight, I ended up getting a Drill Press instead for now.

[Night Owl]

I've been using my wife's embossing tool.  Since it is shrink tubing, you don't need the really high heat.  The big heat guns are made to do stuff like blister paint and soften adhesive from floor tiles.  Before I knew any better, I would use matches or lighters.  I've used the butane torches, but the heat gun was the easiest.  You have to be really careful with the torch, easy to overheat and start melting/burning things (yeah, done that quite a few times)  The embossing tool is nice because it is small and easy to handle.

[MrChristmas2000]

This is my prefered source for heat shrink.

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Circuit specialist seem to be very proud of their spools.

[Corey872]

Maybe some of those links show - I haven't checked them all - but if you search around, you can find heat shrink tube with a layer of hot melt adhesive inside.  That should make a more weather-tight seal for the wires.  If there is interest, I will see if I can find a link for the stuff I have.

As far as the tube, a heat gun is the 'ideal' way to do it, but I've never felt like forking over the $$$ for a gun to just shrink tube.  A few gentle passes with a propane / butane torch works fine, too.  Plus, the torch can multi-task for other things!

Here is a pictorial I did years ago on joining / heat shrinking splices.  It is kind of rough, but you get the idea:

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[Dennis Cherry]

Both selections look good.  The 3mm or 2.5mm will work fine on 20-22 Ga. wire, the 3mm is my preference.'

I use what is called a "Embossing Gun" it is smaller lighter in weight and fits my small work bench better.  Price varies from 8-20 dollars.

Just do a search for EMBOSSING GUN.

[taybrynn]

Thanks all, greatly appreciated.

Those embossing guns look very handy!

[Pete]

I get my heat shrink from MPJA - they seem to have the best prices.  I use the double wall (with adhesive) shrink for splices that will be exposed to weather.

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Pete

[OkieJay]

I have this harbor freight model.  You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login

I have not used it a bunch. but it has been good so far.
Jay

[LondoB5]

Before I had a heat gun, I just used a lighter with heat shrink tubing. While it's not ideal, it does work out in the field. I always had to borrow a lighter from someone I worked with, though.

If you need to make quick repairs a torch might be a good idea (I used a mini kitchen torch for making creme brulee once), although I'm guessing that there is plenty of power in all of our yards around the time when small repairs might be necessary, so a heat gun will probably be sufficient ;-)

[tbone321]

I have used a lighter for 40+ years and never had an issue doing it.  The tubing shrinks well and it's a lot easier to use than a torch or a heat gun.