CLEAR HEAT-SHRINK TUBING

Heat-shrink tubing is designed to constrict around a connection when heat is applied to help keep water and corrosion at bay and provide strain relief. It’s typically opaque, so you can’t see what’s occurring inside. More than once, I have sliced open old tubing to find corrosion underneath. That’s why some DIYers now use 3M’s clear FP-301 heat-shrink tubing. FP-301 is made in a variety diameters and lengths, and shrinks to half of its original diameter when heated. The flame-retardant tubing is rated to temperatures ranging from minus 67 to 275 degrees F and up to 600 volts.

$36.22 for a 50-foot spool of 3/4-inch-diameter tubing —Jim Hendricks