3M Cold Shrink Insulator

Two sizes cover the range: the 8424-8P handles 1 to 1/0 AWG, and the 8426-9P handles 2/0 AWG through 250 kcmil (70 to 125 mm2). Pick by the finished diameter of what you are covering, including the lug barrel or connector, not just the bare conductor size.

1 kV, so it is a low voltage product for primary insulation of solid dielectric insulated wire and cable splices rated to 1000 volts. It is not a medium voltage splice body and should not be used on 5 kV or 15 kV shielded cable.

No. The 8424/8426 cold shrink insulators are specified for non-shielded power cable with a single conductor. Shielded cable needs a splice body or termination kit built with a shield and ground continuity path.

No heat and no tools. Cold shrink means the EPDM tube is factory pre-stretched on a removable core; you position it and pull the core spiral out, and the rubber contracts onto the cable. That makes it usable in an occupied space, a vault, or anywhere an open flame is not allowed.

It only insulates and seals. You still make the mechanical and electrical joint with a connector first, for example a compression splice like the Burndy YS6C Hylink long barrel copper splice, then cover that joint with the cold shrink tube sized to the finished barrel.

No - they do different jobs in the same splice. The Burndy YS6C Hylink is a long barrel copper compression splice, meaning it is the metallic connector that joins the two conductors and has to be crimped with a compression tool. The 3M 8426-9P is a cold shrink EPDM rubber insulator that goes over the completed connection to provide primary insulation on solid dielectric wire and cable rated to 1000 volts, and it installs by pulling a core with no tools. On a typical low-voltage splice you would use a compression connector to make the joint and a cold shrink insulator to cover it, not one in place of the other.

Service range is -40 to 90 degC (-40 to 194 degF), which covers unheated outdoor and rooftop work as well as hot equipment rooms. The EPDM rubber contains no chlorides or sulfur, so it will not contribute those to the conductor or connector.

Three common uses beyond insulating a splice: sealing terminal lug barrels, sealing conduit couplings, and sealing conduit-to-cable breakouts. Same tube, same no-tool install.

Yes, conductor material is listed as aluminum for single conductor non-shielded power cable. Because the tube seals over the joint rather than contacting the metal electrically, the connector you choose is what governs aluminum-to-copper compatibility.

That size is 3M 8426-9P, MPN 7010397012. The smaller 1 to 1/0 AWG size is 8424-8P, MPN 7010397011.

They ship 10 per case in black, made in the United States. Shelf life is listed as 1800 days, so date-rotate stock in an MRO crib rather than letting cases sit indefinitely. They are RoHS 2011/65/EU compliant without exemption.

The 3M cold shrink insulator carries a published operating range of -40 to 90 degrees C (-40 to 194 degrees F) and is made of EPDM rubber containing no chlorides or sulfur, which is the material property that matters when a rubber cover is cycling through winter temperatures. The Burndy YS6C Hylink is a copper compression barrel in the Hylink series - a metallic connector, so temperature behavior is a different question for it than for an elastomeric sleeve. If the concern is the insulating cover surviving cold, that is the specification the 3M part publishes.