Heavy Wall Adhesive Lined Heat Shrink vs Dual Wall Heat Shrink

Almost everything in the world comes in different types and sizes. Bigger doesn't always mean better. Sometimes it just means different. Choosing the right kind of heat shrink isn't going to win you any awards, but using the wrong type and size could have tragic results.

Here's an extreme close-up of two different kinds of adhesive lined heat shrink to give you some direction. That way, whether your next job is big or small, you'll already know what it takes for the show to go on.

Purposeful Products: Why Do I Need it?

General purpose heat shrink is also called "single wall" because the outer layer is its only barrier. If you're looking for a product that packs more of a punch, it's time to get the adhesives involved.

Any heat shrink with an inner layer of pre-applied hot melt adhesive is called "dual wall". This multilayer construction offers customers the next level of sealing and protecting potential. This "second wall" has truly revolutionized the heat shrink industry making it (and every industry it's a part of) stronger, faster, cheaper, and better.

Keep reading to discover how big a role hot melt adhesives play in dual wall heat shrink.

The Required Ingredient: Hot Melt Adhesives

Hot melt adhesives are a type of hot glue made from an intricate balance of: polymers for strength and flexibility, resin for adhesion properties, and wax for viscosity and setting speed.

Although solid and stable when stored at room temperature, they have a low softening point and a rapid cool-to-cure process, making them an easily manufactured and user-friendly complement to heat shrink tubes.

In their liquid state, hot melt adhesives flow like molten lava penetrating surfaces and seeping into cavities. As it solidifies it rapidly builds up its internal strength and structural integrity to ensure connections are strong, snug, safe, and stay that way.

Here are a few more lovable, laudable features of hot melt adhesives

They are:

Eco-friendly
Non-toxic
Fume and odor-free

Their production:

Is clean and energy-efficient
Uses no water or solvents
Includes minimal regulatory requirements

They provide:

Excellent thermal resistance
Waterproofing
Weatherproofing
Fast, reliable bonding between almost any 2 substrates
Bonds that don't weaken with humidity

Hot melt adhesives are strong, reliable, and consistent. Their manufacturing process is cheap, convenient, and fast. It is this melty, magnificent material that gives dual wall heat shrink its higher purpose and marquee name.

Why Dual Wall?

On the outside, standard dual wall tubing looks and acts like a normal shell of heat shrink. It typically has outer walls made of polyolefin, a high-performance thermoplastic. Hidden and waiting for you on the inside wall is the thick, quick, and sure-to-stick hot melt adhesive.

This special second layer of adhesive lining gives dual wall heat shrink its superior strength and impenetrable sealing powers. Covering diameters up to 2 inches the added security from adhesive lined heat shrink also insulates, reduces strain, increases mechanical strength, optimizes electrical flow, and makes waterproof seals so all your connections always stay tight and work right.

Why Heavy Wall?

It's made from the exact same materials, but heavy wall heat shrink was truly designed for bigger, badder purposes. Outer polyolefin walls are heavier and denser. Inner adhesive walls are thicker with a more concentrated coating of hot melt adhesive. Heavy wall tubing delivers the same rugged, reliable performance as dual wall heat shrink, it just does it with a bit more theatricality.

It boasts an impressive list of manufacturing standards and compliance requirements that it meets including being UL 486D rated for direct burial.

For sealing cords, wires, cables, circuits, conduits, and pretty much any other cylindrical surfaces up to 7 inches that you need, this is the "supersize me" option of dual wall heat shrink.

Protection Provided: What Does it Do?

If you're specifically looking for dual wall heat shrink, you're already set up to get more protection and more strength, no matter which product you pick. The most important function for any dual wall heat shrink is to initiate and maintain seamless, waterproof, airtight seals every time, all the time.

Here are a few more tasks you can expect from your adhesive lined heat shrink:

Balancing electrical conductivity
Heat management and insulation
Maintaining chemical purity
Leak prevention
Eliminating movement/wiggle
Load distribution
Strain relief and mechanical support
Component preservation

All that depends on just one bond. Luckily the extra protection in adhesive lined heat shrink tubing is built in. So no matter how little you use, you'll always get results worth bragging about.

Dual Wall Protection

Standard-use dual wall heat shrink has proven durability and ultra performance in harsh environments. It was manufactured to address waterproofing and is a simple solution to keep your connections clean and dry.

When you're ready to make unbreakable bonds with a lifetime of security and connectivity all it takes is a little heat. Apply evenly using a heat gun or butane torch for a couple of minutes as the inner wall reaches its activation point. Affix your substrates and in just minutes, the adhesive layer solidifies into a rock-hard shield.

Preserve cables. Fortify connections. Stiffen terminations. Stabilize junctions. Entrench conduits. With dual wall heat shrink safe, functioning connections aren't just a plan; they're a guarantee.

Heavy Wall Protection

Heavy wall heat shrink is the best protection for the worst environments. It's virtually indestructible.

Enhance mechanical and structural integrity. Create permanent and aggressive waterproofing. Reinforce environmental seals. Maintain maintenance-free, failsafe functioning. Heavy wall heat shrink knows how good it is.

The sheer physicality of the tubing alone provides better protection. Extra thick outer walls can handle a beating. Extra dense inner walls seal up everything tight. It's stronger, harder, and lasts longer than any alternative sealant or fastener.

Popular Places: Where Does it Go?

Adhesive lined heat shrink should be your go-to product for any projects you have that live outside or near water. Dual wall heat shrinks are hardworking and heavy-duty. They are notoriously convenient and deliver ridiculously reliable results across the board. For these reasons, they are a very popular choice among customers with higher-than-normal expectations and larger-than-life-applications.

On Location with Dual Wall

The standard type of dual heat shrink is a well-known friend to the marine industry. Its compact design and pre-cut availability make it a fast fix when you're on (or near) the water. It helps with everything from DIY boat repair to making your own fishing lures. It also floats! It's available in 7 colors making it a great choice for identifying, reinforcing, and corrosion-proofing battery lugs and cables.

Regular dual wall heat shrink is a frequent choice for quick repairs around the house and garage. Automotive, motorcycle, and adventure vehicle enthusiasts depend on dual walls to hold strong against gas, oil, weather, road salt, dirt, and extreme vibrations. From crafters to audiophiles and well-laid plans to the seat of your pants, dual wall heat shrink can help you fix, fasten, fortify, or facilitate whatever floats your boat.

On Location with Heavy Wall

From the electrical conduits controlling the structures of our mass transportation to the rapid movement of information on a wire that enables our telecommunications to the harvesting and delivery of our utilities and powering the buildings that run our education, government, healthcare, and of course, our homes, none of it would be possible without heavy wall heat shrink.

It's not just for wet environments, it's built for the ones that are fully submerged under water, concrete, or dirt. It goes where our nation, our machines, our buildings, and our infrastructure need it and it stays put. Where connections are required to function continuously and the cost of disruptions or mechanical failure isn't just a monetary number, it's a death count.

Heavy wall heat shrink is the star of the show no matter where it goes.

And The Winner Is…

Adhesive lined heat shrink tubes are precision-cut pieces of technology and craftsmanship. They were born and bred for brute force and pure performance. The beautiful partnership between heat shrink tubing and hot melt adhesive makes both kinds of adhesive lined heat shrink impressive contenders.

Whether you choose dual wall heat shrink or heavy wall heat shrink for your next job, we can promise you two things right now.