Opinions about solder sleeves

[RV-Ogler]

Saw this kit on Amazon and thought it would be handy to have these in the shop for wiring. Anyone here uses these? Are the ones from Stein air better?
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B087R...b_b_prod_image

[rv8bldr]

I had the smaller kit of those. I went through ALL of the smallest (white) ones, about half of the red ones, and only one or two of the blue ones. I used the red ones mostly for making tails for the CANBUS connections at each G3X LRU. The whites worked great to make pig tails from the wire shielding to a 22ga wire which then had a ring terminal crimped on and then screwed to the Garmin connector on each LRU.

I'm currently building a Bearhawk and I *really* wish I knew about/had these way back when I built my RV-8 20 years ago.

That 330 piece kit should do ya....

[Mikeyb]

I started using solder sleeves working on NASA hardware a long time ago. I use them whenever I can. I can’t ever recall a failure unless I failed to overlap the wires initially. I use Raychem sleeves exclusively. Steinair and Aircraft Spruce sell them. They are designed with 63/37 solder and have an installation temperature indicator built in.
Mike

[Dan 57]

I can’t ever recall a failure unless I failed to overlap the wires initially.

+1 on that.
As always, try to buy quality, and the stuff sold on Amazon usually ain't (bought some, keep them exclusively for my RC models, but only for the foamies ).
Used the ones sold by ACS extensively on different avionics updates, very happy with those.

[Desert Rat]

I personally wouldn't use Amazon sourced stuff for anything mission critical. Some of it might be just fine, but seems like you wouldn't have any idea what the quality control standard was (if any).

If you're asking about solder selves in general then yeah, Raychem ones will last forever if they are installed properly. They are widely used in the certified world.

[PhatRV]

Originally Posted by RV-Ogler

Saw this kit on Amazon and thought it would be handy to have these in the shop for wiring. Anyone here uses these? Are the ones from Stein air better?
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B087R...b_b_prod_image

I am using the red one for the small wire gauge 18 and smaller (20 & 22)

I am also using the blue for the shield audio cable which is larger than the small wires within. I use the blue to connect the comm ground to the shielded part of the cable.

I also purchase something like this and I am using them to connect the few wires that I found ran short. Some people prefer the crimp type to join the wires but it is really bulky compare to the solder joint. It's easy to use because you will see the solder flowing at the right temperature and you are done. If you need additional protection for the joint, wrap another length of shrink sleeve. My crimped connection will fail before my solder sleeve connection (due to user's error mostly)

[rv8ch]

Opinion - I like them but they would be better if they came with that missing 3rd hand needed to hold each side, and then the heating element.

[jliltd]

Originally Posted by rv8ch

Opinion - I like them but they would be better if they came with that missing 3rd hand needed to hold each side, and then the heating element.

Here are some photos of fixtures that provide for a third hand.

[Richard Connell]

My favorite 3rd pair of hands are my wire strippers. They make a great wire fixture for soldering or heat shrink.
The best bit is they are always on hand if you are playing with wires.

[TASEsq]

Has anyone by chance compiled some part numbers for the Raychem solder sleeves in the common sizes we would use?

I have some from Stein, but they don’t say what they are etc. For those of us not in the US, it would be great to be able to get them from DigiKey etc.