I have an older power cord that needs a little attention. The heat-shrink tubing has pulled away from the outer sleeve, exposing the insulated wires. The only option I think I have, is to remove the plug, then replace the heat-shrink tubing, then reinstall the plug. Was wondering though, if it’s possible to slice the tubing, in order to avoid removing the plug, then heat weld the seam as I’m heat-shrinking the tubing. I’ve never worked with heat-shrink tubing before. Trying to avoid having to remove the plug
Would you mind posting a pic? That will be helpful to understand what you are up against.
If you experiment with a piece of standard heat shrink, you’ll see if you split it, it will not stay joined. However, there is heat shrink that has glue on the inside that “might” work. But, to be honest I don’t thing that will suffice either.
One of problems is, the heat-shrink on one of the two identical power cords, is too short, and now the outer sheathing has pulled out, and is unraveling.
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I think you can purchase 3:1 heat shrink that will fit over that connector and shrink down enough to be tight over the areas that are fraying.
My suggestion, buy some, and test it without putting it around anything. I am pretty sure it will shrink enough for your needs.
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Thanks, wasn’t aware that that ratio was available. I think that should do the trick.
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Hope you have a steadier hand than I do. My past attempts at slicing off heat shrink haven’t gone particularly well. It is tricky in my experience slicing off heat shrink while not cutting into what’s underneath it. Pics of your cord after you try this would be fun and informative.
Unless I am missing something in the photo, I wouldn’t remove the existing shrink. I’d cut a piece big enough to overlap the exiting shrink and cover the fraying area plus a bit extra, maybe 5mm or so extra, and call it good.
In the pic, I don’t see damage to the existing shrink.
However, if you are going to sell the cable and want it all neat and tidy, then I would gently score without going through the shrink from the connector down to the end over the cable. I would then at the connector end carefully cut a 5mm or so section all the way through, possibly with an exacto blade by slipping it underneath the edge and cutting upwards. Once that 5mm was cut through, I’d try a pair of needle nose to see if I could then peel the shrink away from the connector and the cable.
If the shrink is glued, this is more difficult, but in some cases doable.
Wasn’t planning on removing the existing heat-shrink, just going to go over it.
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Probably wasn’t clear. My plan was to slice the length of the new heat-shrink, because I didn’t want to remove the plug. If I can find 3-1 heat-shrink, I should be able to slip it over the plug, then shrink it tight.
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I sometimes use heat shrink that has adheasive built in to hold it tight. Not sure you need it on this but its another thing to think of. How old is the cable? Have you thought of calling the manufacturer. with the price of these things you might end up with a better option.
They’re Virtual Dynamics power cords, and the company has gone out of business. I called Rick, the owner of the company, who now designs cables for High Fidelity cables, and he said he’d still repair them if I paid for shipping both ways. Figured it would be easier and quicker to take care of it myself though.
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bummer
I almost forgot about this tape. It’s quite good and may also be a good solution. It comes in several widths and colors.
X-Treme Tape TPE-X36ZLB Silicone Rubber Self Fusing Tape, 1" x 36’, Triangular, Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HWROLIG/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_i_RMQ3Z3M4KFCJM7S8MW50
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Wow, this looks like a great product. I’ll be buying some regardless if I use it for my power cord.
I think the heat-shrink will look nicer because there won’t be over lapping seams, but I can think of numerous uses for this product.
Thanks!
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I only recently found this tape. I haven’t put it on anything permanent yet. But I did test it on a peice of PVC pipe just to see how it behaves. It’s surprisingly good. It has really good grip and lays down flat and tight.
I purchased black at first and then went back and bought blue and red as well. Now that spring is rolling in I am certain there’s a yard tool or two that are going to get an upgrade.
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