Alternate uses for heat shrink tubing

dmeadow · Dec 26, 2011

I'm fascinated by this stuff. After being brought up using electrical tape to insulate connectors, it is much neater and longer lasting.

My question is, what other uses have you found for it? For example, I've used it recently on a ceiling fan pull chain to keep it from hitting the housing and making an annoying "tink" sound all night. I've also used it to cover bolt threads to neaten up an engine bay in one of my car projects.

purplezr2 · Dec 26, 2011

I have used large diameter stuff to repair plastic Air Pump house on VW/Audi Vehicles when in a pinch.

bad_idea · Dec 26, 2011

electrical isolation on a 'U' bolt clamping a section of firemain piping to prevent galvanic corrosion on one of the U.S. Navy's ships.

jkm4874ford · Dec 26, 2011

I have taken small ball bearing or shot and made a sinker for fishing. It is a weedless type system.

lotsoftools · Dec 26, 2011

I used it to make a wire harness for my truck. A 1/2" piece every 12" or so to hold 4 wires together.
I also used some on wrench handle to give it some cushion. It worked alright, but it didn't last all that long.

KCarGuy · Dec 26, 2011

I have used it on the Handles of Pliers.
And on One Half of Angle Brackets that hold Glass shelves.

b-body-bob · Dec 26, 2011

It's OK for the ends of twisted cables like on bikes to keep them from fraying.

theoldwizard1 · Dec 26, 2011

I have found out that there are 2 basic kind of heat shrink. Irradiated and non-irradiated. The irradiated stuff is usually sold in pre-cut lengths. The tube is open. The non-irradiated stuff is sold as continuous length, but the tube is folded closed.

Some one smarter than me will have to explain the different uses.

There is also irradiated "marine" shrink tubing. It has an inner layer that melts on to the wire/insulation. It is supposed to be water proof. Next to impossible to get off.

tatra · Dec 26, 2011

not my idea but one is to apply on the end of sprayfoam nozzles to get into tight spots............

ForceFed70 · Dec 26, 2011

I've used it to hold the thumb warmer circuit on my ATV's throttle lever.

Lots of great uses for this stuff. I use shrink tubing instead of electrical tape whenever possible.

jamesc · Dec 26, 2011

I used some on a pair of big channel locks where the handle grip had torn, it doesn't look the greatest but it keeps the grip from tearing the rest of the way off.

PeteMoore · Dec 26, 2011

I used some of my RayChem shrink tube to insulate a 1/2" spanner and a 3/8" spanner for doing battery terminals

It's a bit dearer than most shrink tubing but it's also has an adhesive when heated, very very hard wearing

kbs2244 · Dec 26, 2011

I set a broken little finger on a camping trip.
Used a cut up pice of plastic bottle as a splint.
For some reason I didn't have any black tape and couldn't get the duct tape roll between the fingers.
Just waved it back and forth over the fire.
The Doc liked it when we got back in 2 days, but said he would have to re-do it in white.
(I had used red.)

DanCo · Dec 26, 2011

I label wires with them, you can buy on a roll with the perforated edges. Run them through a dot matrix printer.

Provincial · Dec 26, 2011

I had a hole in a 1/2" galvanized water pipe that was half-buried under a cramped crawl space. The system was going to be abandoned in about six months, and digging up the rest of the pipe to get to the next connection was a major job. I cut out the damaged section and installed a piece of 1" low-pressure hose from NAPA. In order to get the pipe OD large enough for the hose to clamp I used two layers of heat shrink. I used two worm screw hose clamps on each end. So far so good!

JohnMcD348 · Dec 26, 2011

I've used it to repair vacuum leaks on my Bronco's A/C handler when I replaced some of the lines in there.

Where is a good place to buy it in bulk? The only place local I can really find any quality stuff is in the prepackaged Radio Shack bags. I'd like to buy a few different sizes of the stuff to keep on hand.

Ifixvws · Dec 26, 2011

purplezr2 said:
I have used large diameter stuff to repair plastic Air Pump house on VW/Audi Vehicles when in a pinch.

When I saw this thread I logged in to type up the same thing. I own a VW shop in Minneapolis and the damn hoses are always coming into the shop broken or worse... Electrical taped.

The stuff I use, when melted has a glue that melts into the hoses to keep them from slipping out.

CAOS · Dec 26, 2011

We use it on chain vice grips, to prevent contamination on stainless pipe at work.

ibedayank · Dec 27, 2011

PeteMoore said:
I used some of my RayChem shrink tube to insulate a 1/2" spanner and a 3/8" spanner for doing battery terminals

It's a bit dearer than most shrink tubing but it's also has an adhesive when heated, very very hard wearing

and I was tought to ALWAYS hook up the negitive termainal last that way you never get sparks...

ibedayank · Dec 27, 2011

JohnMcD348 said:
I've used it to repair vacuum leaks on my Bronco's A/C handler when I replaced some of the lines in there.

Where is a good place to buy it in bulk? The only place local I can really find any quality stuff is in the prepackaged Radio Shack bags. I'd like to buy a few different sizes of the stuff to keep on hand.

www.delcity.com

Steevo · Dec 27, 2011

I have a few screwdrivers that I use for electrical stuff, that I insulated the shafts by heat-shrinking them.

SM Racing · Dec 27, 2011

You can use it to replace the plastic tips on your shoe laces. I would probably use the adhesive lined stuff though to help it hang on better.

35mastr · Dec 27, 2011

I have all sizes of the stuff. Even wrapped my gas tank straps in my 35 Chevy when I put the new tank in.

pault28 · Dec 27, 2011

I use them on the ends of my dukes so my work bag/pockets/legs don't get poked or punctured. I use the large stuff and do multiple layers and sizes and this is the end result...

Sorry for the not so great cell phone pics.

tarbellb · Dec 29, 2011

ive used it at the ends of steel cable for protection. keeps frayed wire at bay.

A29 · Dec 29, 2011

Used some to hide a repair on a Model A headlight bar.

Steevo · Dec 29, 2011

tarbellb said:
ive used it at the ends of steel cable for protection. keeps frayed wire at bay.

Ditto on this one. I slid a piece over a cable and shrunk it before cutting the cable with a die grinder wheel. This leaves both cut ends fray-free.

I have also fixed a broken pencil (eraser end broke off when stepped on) with heat shrink tubing.

Had a flag that wobbled in the holder on the front of the house. The rattling drove me nuts in the wind, so I sleeved the base of the pole with heat shrink tubing for a better fit.

AmickRacing · Dec 29, 2011

On the race car I use a chain to limit the travel in the rear suspension (droop). I put some heavy duty heat shrink around the chain to keep the links lined up and keep it from tangling, worked pretty good too!

It also works good on pipes or tubing that pass's through a sharp edge that could wear a groove or hole in the tubing. Granted this isn't a super strong way around that problem, it it usually helps quite a bit.

vert1940 · Dec 31, 2011

fixed my glasses with it

plinker · Dec 31, 2011

I have used it on a pair of needle nose vise grips for hose pinch off duty.

I also cut some big shrink tube into legnths and put it on my 10" Channellocks jaws for no mar jaws the other day.

DYNA BILL · Dec 31, 2011

I've always just used it for soldered wire connections. Never thought of an alternate use.

DYNA BILL · Dec 31, 2011

vert1940 said:
fixed my glasses with it

Oh, wait a minute! I did do that once! :thumbup:

jhelrey · Dec 31, 2011

Ifixvws said:
When I saw this thread I logged in to type up the same thing. I own a VW shop in Minneapolis and the damn hoses are always coming into the shop broken or worse... Electrical taped.

The stuff I use, when melted has a glue that melts into the hoses to keep them from slipping out.

Those damn elbows are 19.99 at my cost... or $25.00 for anyone else out the door. I don't blame them for trying.

Todd.Brock · Jan 1, 2012

My god.... Am I the only person who has only used it to cover a soldered wire connection?? I feel like I am missing out on an entire world of uses....it's like duct tape. Wd-40 did a commercial like this a few years ago....too bad none of them were actually helpful, or wait am I the only one who thinks Wd is worthless other than for cleaning tools?

scooterseats · Jan 2, 2012

Harbor Freight sells Heat Shrink tubing in bulk sets as well as in individual sizes. I use it when building motorcycle wire harnesses and it works very well.

BeetleJuice · Jan 6, 2012

I use it to cover fishing line where it meets a steel leader for catfishing. Lines dont snap that way =)

forklift man · Jan 7, 2012

while at work I broke my safty glasses .my side peace came off. so I cut 1" of heat shrink and heated on . held for more than a year

rburke65 · Jan 8, 2012

I have used a 3" piece to repair a sweeper hose that had worn and split. Still using it 4 years later. Repair, Recycle, and Reuse......or Use it up and Use it out!

PT Doc · Jan 8, 2012

Can cover worm gear clamp if using it on something that you don't want to mar.

rt dak · Jan 8, 2012

Fixed the hard plastic vacuum hose for my cruise control with it after I snapped it in half. Years later and still works.

Alternate uses for heat shrink tubing

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