WPC100M Shrink Sleeve Widths

 

In What Widths is WPC100M Available?

Example of some partial rolls.  From left to right:  17", 24" and 11"

     WPC100M is a wrap around shrink sleeve manufactured by Seal for Life and sold through their Covalence brand (formerly Raychem).  WPC100M uses a butyl mastic sealant to prevent corrosion on field joints of pipelines that will operate at elevated temperatures.  When the shrink sleeve will be in contact with soil, WPC100M is rated for use at 176F.  If the WPC100M shrink sleeve is not directly exposed to soil (concrete coated pipe; insulated line; etc) then the sleeve is rated for use at 212F.  

Historically, WPC100M founds its primary home protecting offshore pipelines.  There are many onshore applications for it as well. 

     So, how do you know what the optimal sleeve width is for your specific project?  That is a fairly simple answer.  The sleeve needs to be wide enough to coat the bare steel of the field joint and overlap onto the adjacent factory applied coating (both sides) by at least 3" per side.  So if you have 4" of bare steel cutback at your field joint, and you then need 3" of overlap on one side of the weld and 3" of overlap on the other side of the weld; you would need a sleeve that is AT LEAST 10" wide (closest standard is 11"). 

     Notice the 'at least'.  There are many cases where a company realizes they could use an 11" wide shrink sleeve, but they choose to use a 17" or 24" wide sleeve instead to increase the area of their seal.  

     So what widths are stocked on a regular basis at JSI?  At any given moment, I may have ~20,000 feet of the following various sizes:

• WPC100M 11x100 (11" wide)
• WPC100M 17x100 (17" wide)
• WPC100M 24x100 (24" wide)
• WPC100M 34x100 (34" wide)

WPC100M Shrink Sleeve Widths

Shrink Sleeve Rolls

Heat Shrink Sleeve Roll Stock

     Heat shrinkable sleeves can be available in a number of different configurations.  Far and away, most often we sell shrink sleeves that are manufactured for specific pipe sizes.  This insures that the shrink sleeve is made with the proper cut length, width, overlap and the correct closure attached to the sleeve end in order to make life much simpler in the field. 

     At the same time though, there are rare occasions where a customer would prefer to purchase bulk rolls of material.  This way they can save a little bit of money; have the laborers in the field do the cutting and they have a great deal of flexibility if they are working with multiple pipe sizes.  In cases like that, it is possible that roll stock could be worth consideration.

     When considering purchasing roll stock, it is important to be aware that when you purchase rolls of material, you must also purchase closure patches separately.  The closure patch holds the sleeve in the form of a tube during the shrink process.  Without a closure patch, the shrink sleeve will tend to slip completely off the pipe and the installation is also likely to look terrible - with many wrinkles and folds in it.  Not good.

     Most of the time, rolls are purchased in 100 foot lengths.  This can also pose potential issues.  Let's say that you are working with 36" OD pipe.  The most commonly used cut length for a 36" OD pipe is 121" (even though the circumference of a 36" line is 113" - the sleeve must overlap onto itself to form the proper seal).  A 100 foot roll will naturally be 1200 inches long.  1200 divided by 121 = 9.9.  Out of this roll, you will get 9 shrink sleeves designed for a 36" pipe - and you will be left with a tailing that is ~108" long.  That tailing will basically be unusable for you as it is not larger enough to properly wrap around a 36" pipe.  You may have saved a little money by buying bulk rolls --- but if you are essentially wasting 9 feet of every 100 feet -- that is a 9% waste factor!!  That is going to add up quickly.

     We stock sleeves and ship them out daily though.  That 9 foot tailing is going to be useful to us as we can turn it into 12 sleeves for a 2" pipe (as one example).  So the reduced waste factor can actually mean you can spend less by letting us do your work and you purchase precut shrink sleeves.  Make sense?  So what are the products that are sometimes sold by the rolls?  See below:

• WPCT 11x100-RL (11" wide / 100 ft long)
• WPCT 17x100-RL (17" wide / 100 ft long)
• HTLP60 11x100-RL
• HTLP60 17x100-RL
• HTLP60 24x100-RL
• HTLP60 34x100-RL
• WPC100M 11x100-RL
• WPC100M 17x100-RL
• WPC100M 24x100-RL
• WPC100M 34x100-RL
• WPC120 11x100-RL
• WPC120 17x100-RL
• WPC120 24x100-RL

Also important to be aware of the closure nomenclatures since you will need those as well.  Closures are:  WPCPIV.  They are available in multiple sizes.  The first number is the closure "length" - and the second is the closure width (closure width must correspond to sleeve width).

WPCPIV 4x11
WPCPIV 4x17
WPCPIV 4x24
WPCPIV 4x34

It can also be available in 3", 6" and even 8 or 10" lengths.  Closure length is determined by pipe size.  Generally the larger the pipe OD - the larger you will want the closure to be.