How to use heat shrink tubing
Updated: October 2026
The piece is already cut, the joint is not made yet, and the heat gun, the lighter or the hair dryer is the tool you actually own. This page is how to use heat shrink tubing in that order: the sleeve goes on the wire first, the joint is made, then the heat moves. The rows are on the [heat shrink tubing comparison](/hub/electrical-equipment/heat-shrink-tubing). We did not time a shrink in a lab. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.
The piece is already cut, the joint is not made yet, and the heat gun, the lighter or the hair dryer is the tool you actually own.
The piece is already cut, the joint is not made yet, and the heat gun, the lighter or the hair dryer is the tool you actually own. This page is how to use heat shrink tubing in that order: the sleeve goes on the wire first, the joint is made, then the heat moves. The rows are on the heat shrink tubing comparison. We did not time a shrink in a lab. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Piece length | Ratio listed | Adhesive listed | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  ELECTRAPICK Electrapick 560-piece kit | 45 mm | 2:1 | Not stated | 9.1 | about £6.64 | View offer |
 EVENTRONIC Eventronic 600-piece kit | 45 mm | Up to 50 percent | Specification says self-adhesive | 4.0 | about £8.49 | View offer | |
| Best value |  Zuchini Zuchini 164-piece kit | Not listed | 2:1 | Not stated | 8.8 | about £3.49 | View offer |
Before any heat
Slide the sleeve onto the wire before you solder or crimp. Once the connector is wider than the expanded tube, the piece cannot pass it, and cutting the tube open to wrap it defeats the point of a continuous sleeve. If you forget, you are into a larger diameter or a new joint, not a hotter gun.
Cut long enough for the joint plus an overlap onto the undamaged insulation at each end, then allow the tube to shorten. A 45 mm Electrapick or Eventronic piece can finish nearer 40 mm. If the expanded diameter will not pass the connector with a little spare, stop and change size. More heat will not make a too-small tube climb over a crimp.
How to apply the heat
UK application guides that name a method, including Cableties Online, start the heat in the middle and work outward so you are not trapping air at the centre, and they tell you not to linger until the plastic chars. Keep the nozzle off the tube. Overlap onto the insulation is part of the cover, not a spare offcut.
One temperature is not universal. HellermannTyton’s thin-wall application PDF specifies a hot-air gun at 230–250 °C measured 25 mm from the nozzle, or an oven at up to 180 °C, for their thin wall. That setting is theirs. Do not copy it onto an unbranded kit that prints no temperature. Eventronic’s own bullet, for that listing only, says shrinkage up to 50 percent at 90–120 °C. If your listing is silent, you do not have a number to set. You have a visual check: the tube should tighten onto the joint and then you stop. If it wrinkles, splits, or goes shiny and dark, more heat is the wrong next move. Ventilate, and keep the work off a surface that will scorch.
Hair dryer and lighter
UK reviews in this set do not all use a heat gun. Eventronic’s mixed review pool includes people for whom a hair dryer worked and at least one for whom it did not. A hair dryer is cooler and broader than a gun. It may recover a thin single wall and fail on a thicker adhesive piece. Most of these listings do not state a shrink temperature at all.
A lighter is a flame on a small piece. Keep it moving. A dwell that chars the outside can leave the inside under-shrunk. Daryunk has a UK review on 30 August 2026 that says pieces stayed loose and some caught fire and melted. That is a stop, not a cue to hold the flame closer. If a piece has already melted onto the copper, cut it off and start again with another piece. Where the listing states an adhesive lining, look for a small bead at the ends, then stop. No bead on a pack that never claimed adhesive is normal.
When this page stops
Stop if the tube splits, stays loose after an even pass, or chars. A split usually means the recovered size was never going to grip, or a strand pierced the wall. Huakayo’s UK reviews and the Boloest review already describe less shrink than 5:1 and 4:1. Reheating a disputed ratio will not create the missing shrink. Change diameter or change pack.
Stop, and do not treat this sequence as the repair, when the joint is in fixed wiring, in a wall, or on a burnt mains flex. A hair dryer, a lighter, or a second sleeve does not make that joint acceptable.
Common questions
Do I put the tube on before I solder?
Yes. Park it on the wire, clear of the iron, make the joint, let the joint cool, then slide the tube back and heat it. Zatyorg reviewers describe the same order for a butt connector. If the connector is already on and it is wider than the expanded tube, the piece will not pass.
Will a hair dryer shrink every kit in this set?
No. In the Eventronic review pool a hair dryer worked for some people and failed for one. Thicker adhesive pieces are a harder ask, and most listings here do not print a temperature. A dryer is a try on thin single wall, not a setting you can copy from Hellermann’s 230–250 °C thin-wall note.
Can I use a lighter without burning the sleeve?
Some UK reviews on Electrapick and Zuchini use a lighter on model and lamp leads, with the flame kept moving. A dwell chars the wall. Daryunk has a UK report of pieces that caught and melted. If the plastic darkens or catches, stop, cut the piece off, and do not use that method on a mains flex.
How do I know adhesive has flowed?
Only on a listing that states a lining. Look for the inner layer softening and a small bead at the ends, then stop so the bead sets. Packs that do not state adhesive will not show that bead. Eventronic’s material lines disagree, so a missing bead there does not tell you the heat was wrong.
When do I stop and call someone?
Stop if the tube has melted onto the copper, if the joint is in house wiring, or if the flex is burnt. This page does not turn a lighter into a 230 V repair. A competent person is the next step for fixed wiring.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources from the research digest, last checked on 21 October 2026. Shelf prices and star lines are the amazon.co.uk figures in the display file.
- BS EN 60684-3-212:2006, flexible insulating sleeving (retrieved 21 October 2026)
- BS EN IEC 60684-3-247:2019, dual-wall polyolefin sleeving (retrieved 21 October 2026)
- BS EN 60684-3-214, thick and medium wall polyolefin sleeving (retrieved 21 October 2026)
- Professional Electrician: enclosing electrical connections (retrieved 21 October 2026)
- GTSE: adhesive-lined versus standard heat shrink tubing (retrieved 21 October 2026)
- GTSE: a quick guide to heatshrink tubing (retrieved 21 October 2026)
- HellermannTyton UK insulation catalogue, 80:20 rule (retrieved 21 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: Approved Document P (retrieved 21 October 2026)