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Clear vs colored heat shrink

Steve Crewdog

Well Known Member
Patron
I had been matching heat shrink to the wire (red on red, black on black), but got caught short one weekend when the store was closed and used some clear I had laying around. Liked the novelty of seeing the joint and, I'll admit it, went of a bit of a kick of using it. Aside from making me do a doubletake sometimes about "Did I cover that wire?", it's a small pleasure to see the joints, but a hangar rat stopped by and said clear heat shrink is bad because it will deteriorate faster than colored.


Thoughts?

TIA
 
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I could maybe see the argument if the heat shrink was exposed to UV but since I’m presuming it will be neatly tucked behind a panel I’m going to say the hangar rat’s “wisdom” is worth what you paid for it.
 
I have been retired 7+years. During my 30+ years working, we used CLEAR heat shrink almost all the time because it allowed for some inspection of the joint.

Going from memory, heat shrink is all made from the same material. Please ask your friend how leaving a color additive out can make something deteriorate faster.
 
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Using both

I am using both clear and black and yellow. The black and clear are from a local electronics store. The black seems to be stiffer and i use it when i want some support to the wire. The clear is when I want to inspect the joint. The yellow is from my Dymo label maker. The yellow seems to shrink up more then 2x for some reason.
 
I like white. You can write on it with a fine tip sharpie. When you shrink it you now have a nice label on the wire.
 
Why cheap out

Guys and Gals,
For Less than $50 or so one can buy a dymo label maker and the heatshrink tubing from Amazon. Why cheap out. So much easier than hand written labels and are permanent.
 
Guys and Gals,
For Less than $50 or so one can buy a dymo label maker and the heatshrink tubing from Amazon. Why cheap out. So much easier than hand written labels and are permanent.

Can you give a link to such a label maker that prints o heatshrink? The ones I could find that will go down to a reasonable size (1/8") are all way more than $50. I would love to find a less expensive option!
 
Can you give a link to such a label maker that prints o heatshrink? The ones I could find that will go down to a reasonable size (1/8") are all way more than $50. I would love to find a less expensive option!

OK you got me. I bought the Dymo Labelmanager from target (cheaper than amazon at the time) and i am sure it was less than $50. Now I see target has it for $62. Oh well

EDIT: Staples.com has it for $48.99.
 
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I have a Dymo Rhino 4200 and it takes flat tape and shrink tubing up to 3/4" black or white.
Good tool to have on the bench. NO clue how much I paid. It just works well.
Easy to change tapes and easy to operate.
Like it Art
 

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OK you got me. I bought the Dymo Labelmanager from target (cheaper than amazon at the time) and i am sure it was less than $50. Now I see target has it for $62. Oh well

Not so much the cost, looking for something capable of printing on smaller heat shrink for individual wires. It seems to me 1/4" tape would be too big?
 
I use clear so I can slide a typed label underneath shrink wrap. It is easily done and convenient to read and ID wire
 
I have the K-Sun Bee3, and it works great, on tubing down to 1/8". I have no idea what I paid for it (like all things, if you buy decent equipment/tools, you'll never remember what they cost, down the line. "'Tis a false economy to invest in cheap goods." :)
 
Normally I would agree with you that it is false economy to invest in cheap goods but if it is a one time use it is not.
 
Guys and Gals,
For Less than $50 or so one can buy a dymo label maker and the heatshrink tubing from Amazon. Why cheap out. So much easier than hand written labels and are permanent.
Or just use your computer printer and cover with clear heat shrink, works great!
 
Not so much the cost, looking for something capable of printing on smaller heat shrink for individual wires. It seems to me 1/4" tape would be too big?
The 1/4" heat shrink tube works fine on 22 AWG wire. I started with clear heat shrink over paper for labels. Then switched to the Dymo. It may be more expensive, but is is so much faster especially if you are only labeling a few wires at a time.
 
I have a Dymo Rhino 4200 and it takes flat tape and shrink tubing up to 3/4" black or white.
Good tool to have on the bench. NO clue how much I paid. It just works well.
Easy to change tapes and easy to operate.
Like it Art

I have the K-Sun Bee3, and it works great, on tubing down to 1/8". I have no idea what I paid for it (like all things, if you buy decent equipment/tools, you'll never remember what they cost, down the line. "'Tis a false economy to invest in cheap goods." :)


Guys, WADR you should look at replacing that with the Dynamo unit, I had been using one of the K-Sun units and got used to the high tape price, I was stunned how much cheaper the Dynamo tubing is. (maybe it was where I was buying the tubing.)



How does that work? Do you just flatten and feed heat shrink tube in instead of the label tape?

Check out my build page: http://seareybuild.blogspot.com/2020/08/bits-and-pieces.html

20200812_192807.jpg


The generic heat shrink tubing is cheaper and works just as well as the Dynamo brand tubing.
 
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Just me

Here is what i am using. The heatshrink is 1/4” flattened. It will shrink onto 22awg wire. I use the 3/8"size for 26 awg twisted shielded pair and larger, the 1/4” is too small for that. Amazon description claims the shrink tubing shrinks 3:1 or more. I never measured it but it does shrink up well.

I also use black lettering on yellow. The yellow helps me find where the wire is marked.
 

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"The heatshrink is 1/4” flattened. It will shrink onto 22awg wire. I use the 3/16”’size for 26 awg twisted shielded pair and larger, the 1/4” is too small for that."

Umm, isn't 3/16" smaller than 1/4" ? Or is one measured flat, and the other one measured as a tube?

And which model Dymo printer are you using?

Thanks,
 
fixed

I fixed it, it was 3/8" size.

Model is DYMO LabelManager PnP Label Printer - 2-1/2w x 5-1/2d x 5-3/8h as on Target.com website.
At staples.com, it is $48.99; so i did beat the $50 barrier. :)
 
Second on the Dymo/Brady label maker. We use it all the time. Well worth the investment. One trick I leaned from an A/P is to use clear heat shrink over the label. (Not at joint/connection). Takes a little more time and few pennies but well, well worth it in the long run, particularly if/when you go to sell. fwiw
20210222_112416.jpg
 
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You Were Lucky!

I had been matching heat shrink to the wire (red on red, black on black), but got caught short one weekend when the store was closed and used some clear I had laying around. Liked the novelty of seeing the joint and, I'll admit it, went of a bit of a kick of using it. Aside from making me do a doubletake sometimes about "Did I cover that wire?", it's a small pleasure to see the joints, but a hangar rat stopped by and said clear heat shrink is bad because it will deteriorate faster than colored.


Thoughts?

TIA

... I had some hangar rats stop by and they ate a bunch of wire insulation, and
then had the heat-shrink for desert! W.T.H. --:confused:
 
FWIW I use a cheap Dymo P-touch label maker for the label then slide clear shrink wrap over it. Looks great and makes future maintenance or repair significantly easier.

49 -  - Wiring harness labels.jpg
 
Back on topic, it only makes sense that equivalent materials with more pigment are less susceptible to ultraviolet breakdown (as a rule). This is the same reason sunlight-rated tie wraps are black while those for indoor or under cover use are white or translucent. And also why PVC pipe used for underground or in wall use is white, while that use for electrical conduit has gray pigment so it is UV-rated. So I would disagree with the responses saying there is no difference in plastic heat shrink life expectancy when exposed to light.

Despite all that we rarely see exposed wires or splices in aircraft so I wouldn't let the clear or color issue be a concern.
 
... I had some hangar rats stop by and they ate a bunch of wire insulation, and
then had the heat-shrink for desert! W.T.H. --:confused:

Best kind of hangar rats are the ones who's first words are "Need a hand?"
Worst kind are the ones who's first words are "How come you're out of beer?"

;)
 
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