GM All, the only heat shrink/glue failure mode I have seen is separation of
the glue from the inside of the shrink material. It does get hot inside my
metal barn in the summer so no surprise!
The larger the shrink diameter, the thicker the material after shrinking.
As the material gets thicker, the more difficulty for removal later. Using
a heat gun greatly reduces the effort needed to cut and remove the old
shrink material.
After all is said and done, my personal favorite technique is using the
shrink over the rear part of the connector and a couple inches of the coax
for reinforcement only, leaving the connector shell clear to rotate for easy
disconnect and testing. Then after mating connectors, cover with 3M rubber
tape over both pieces of heat shrink and the exposed connector parts. That
is followed by a couple of layers of vinyl tape for UV protection.
This provides a hermetic seal, is easy to open for testing and covers the
possibility that the heat shrink has a small leak. Kind of a belt,
suspenders and Velcro solution to a sometimes vexing problem. The condition of
the
glue inside the shrink tubing is immaterial and in fact, doesn't even need
to be the glue type.
73,
Gerald K5GW
In a message dated 8/9/2013 5:51:44 A.M. Central Daylight Time,
k1ttt@arrl.net writes:
If it is stored in a not too hot place it will probably last much longer
than that on a shelf. I think the problem is if you store it too warm it
seems to start shrinking very slowly so it may not meet the original size
spec, but it should still melt and shrink to the end size. I was given a
box of it that was 'expired' probably 10 years ago and it still seals up
just fine.
Just remember, it is fairly easy to put on, but almost impossible to take
off... and it does require significant heat to properly melt and shrink,
the
cigarette lighter you use for plain little shrink tube won't do it, think
more like propane torch or professional heat gun.
David Robbins K1TTT
e-mail: mailto:k1ttt@arrl.net
web: http://wiki.k1ttt.net
AR-Cluster node: 145.69MHz or telnet://k1ttt.net
-----Original Message-----
From: K8RI [mailto:K8RI-on-TowerTalk@tm.net]
Sent: Friday, August 09, 2013 07:57
To: towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] shrink w/adhesive
On 8/9/2013 1:00 AM, Ron W8RJL wrote:
> I've been water proofing coax connectors for years the old school way
> (with no problems). I'm ready to try the new shrink tube with adhesive
> which seems l
ike a good way to go. I just measured a PL-259 shell diameter at about
0.7 inches. I see the shrink rate is about 3:1 so I assume 1" diameter
should work for a PL-259 with RG-213. I also noticed on eBay some
manufacturers state that the shelf life is only about a year or less so it
might be wise to buy just
what you need as opposed to stocking up. I've seen references to 3M and
Molex brands. Any comments/recommendations appreciated. If this topic has
already been beat to death you can reply direct 73, Ron W8RJL email (w8rjl
at
arrl.net)
I've had no trouble using the two sizes of 3m carried by the local
electrical supply. I've been using it for some years and not noticed any
shelf life problems. Some has to be close to 5 years old, or older.
http://www.rogerhalstead.com/ham_files/connectors.htm
73,
Roger (K8RI)
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