Shrink Sleeves on Stainless Steel Pipe?

Question:  I have a stainless steel pipeline and I need something for a field joint coating.  Can I use Covalence Shrink Sleeves?

Can Heat Shrink Sleeves be used with Stainless Steel Pipe?

Answer:  Yes, our Covalence shrink sleeves (known from 1970-2010 as Raychem) have been used on stainless steel pipe in the past.  In our world, stainless steel pipe isn’t used nearly as often as carbon steel pipe; but we do see it from time to time.

We fully expect that the right shrink sleeve, properly installed on the stainless steel pipe will perform every bit as well as the data reported on the data sheet; reported as results of bonds to carbon steel. 

The two product choices I would most lean toward are WPCT and WPC100M.  Both utilize aggressive mastics that bond well to steel and all commonly used factory applied coatings.  If the pipeline (and the shrink sleeves) will not be buried; then WPC100M would be the product to choose.

To reiterate, this is something that has been done often.  Our experience with this product dates back to the late 1970’s.  In that time frame; we’ve sold a handful of jobs each year for stainless steel pipe.  We’ve never heard of a single issue or failure.