Heat Shrink Products

GMWR and GHWR are Gala's co-extruded heat-shrink tubes: the medium-wall (GMWR) and heavy-wall (GHWR) versions share one size chart, from 12/3 up to 130/36, and differ only in wall thickness after recovery (1.5 to 3.0 mm for GMWR, 2.2 to 4.0 mm for GHWR). Co-extrusion gives a soft, flexible tube with a high shrink ratio that recovers quickly and evenly.

Up to size 50/16 the tube can be supplied with a hot-melt adhesive lining. On heating the outer wall shrinks while the adhesive melts and flows into gaps, so the finished cover is waterproof and bonded rather than just tight.

Uses fall into two groups. On cables, it seals terminations and joints against water and gives them mechanical protection, and it insulates underground and aerial connections in CATV networks, CCTV wiring and control-cable splices. On pipework, it gives corrosion protection, environmental sealing and mechanical protection to pipes and pipe connections. Gala states good resistance to chemicals, copper corrosion and UV.

Selecting a size: the first figure is the minimum supplied inside diameter, the second the maximum recovered inside diameter. Order as code, size, "A" for adhesive lining and length in mm, for example GMWR 12/3 A 1000. Standard colour is black; other colours can be made on request.

Manufactured by Gala in India. Datasheet and size selection on request.

GEHB is the thickest grade in Gala's busbar sleeve range. Where the heavy-wall GHB grade has a 3.2 to 3.8 mm wall after recovery, GEHB recovers to 6.2 mm, giving the most insulation and mechanical protection Gala offers on a busbar.

It is a cross-linked polyolefin tube supplied expanded in 1500 mm lengths. Heated on the bar, it shrinks into a close-fitting, continuous cover that protects against accidental flash-over and against corrosion by acid, alkali and salt, and that bends with angled bars without creasing.

Five sizes are offered, from GEHB 50/20 to GEHB 150/60. The first figure is the minimum inside diameter as supplied, the second the maximum inside diameter after recovery; ask Gala for the matching busbar range for your bar section.

Installation is the same as for the rest of the range: preheat the bar, slide the sleeve on and shrink it with a torch from one end, or shrink it in an air-circulating oven at 120 to 150 °C for 10 to 15 minutes (never less than 5). Trim the ends and drill holes after the bar has cooled.

Gala rates its busbar sleeves for systems up to 36 kV; contact Gala to discuss the application before ordering this grade.

Manufactured by Gala in India. Datasheet and size selection on request.

The heavy-wall grade of Gala's BUSSLEEVE range (GHB series) is meant for the higher end of medium-voltage switchgear, up to 36 kV. Its recovered wall of 3.2 to 3.8 mm gives a thicker insulating jacket than the medium-wall GMB grade, for panels and bus ducts at 33 kV and similar ratings.

Like the rest of the range, it is a cross-linked polyolefin tube supplied expanded. Heated on a copper or aluminium bar, it shrinks into a close, continuous cover that follows straight and bent bars without creasing. Insulated bars are protected against accidental flash-over and against corrosion by acid, alkali and salt, allow switchgear designers to work with reduced clearances, and solve insulation problems between closely spaced bars in bus ducts.

Thirteen sizes cover rectangular bars from 20 to 314 mm (width plus thickness) and round bars from 13 to 200 mm. Sizes up to GHB 65/25 come on 25 m reels, mid sizes on 20 m or 15 m reels, and the two largest in 1.5 m lengths. Pick the size whose W+B range contains the bar's width plus thickness.

Fitting is by torch or oven. With a torch, preheat the bar, slide the sleeve into place and shrink it from one end. In an air-circulating oven, 120 to 150 °C for an average of 10 to 15 minutes is typical, never under 5. Use a thin film of approved lubricant on bent bars. Trim ends and punch holes after cooling.

Gala holds a POWERGRID manufacturer approval covering insulation sleeves and tapes, valid to February 2028.

Manufactured by Gala in India. Datasheet and size selection on request.

A cut cable end lets water and moisture travel into the conductor and insulation, whether the cable is on a drum in the yard, waiting in a trench or left as a spare end after jointing. The Gala INSULCAP end cap closes that end permanently.

The cap is a closed-end moulding of cross-linked polyolefin, supplied expanded, with a hot-melt adhesive lining inside. When heated it shrinks onto the cable sheath and the adhesive melts into the irregularities of the jacket, forming a watertight seal. It suits XLPE, PVC, PILC and rubber-sheathed cables.

Fitting takes a few minutes: cut the cable end straight, remove any serving and armour, clean and degrease the sheath, push the cap over the end and shrink it with a propane (preferred) or butane torch, working from the closed end towards the cable until adhesive shows at the open end. The cap recovers above 125 °C. Let it cool before the cable is handled.

Sizes are chosen by cable outside diameter: each code covers a cable range, and most sizes come in a standard and a long version, plus A versions for a wider range. The smallest cap fits 2.5 mm cable and the largest takes cables up to 460 mm across, so one family covers control cables, LV and MV power cables and large multicore cables on export drums.

Related Gala caps are listed separately: end caps with a cable pulling eye, de-gassing caps with a relief valve, caps with a pressure valve, conductive caps, live end cap kits and tamper-proof printed caps. Gala is an ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 certified manufacturer.

Manufactured by Gala in India. Datasheet and size selection on request.

On an outdoor cable termination, rain forms a continuous film of water along the insulated core. Leakage current along that wet surface causes tracking and, in the worst case, flashover. A longer surface path, or one interrupted by a skirt, reduces that risk. Gala's INSULSHED rain shed adds that skirt without lengthening the core.

Each shed is a bell-shaped skirt with a short collar, moulded in non-tracking cross-linked polyolefin and coated inside with water-resistant mastic. The collar is shrunk onto the core of the termination at 125 °C; the skirt stands off the core and sheds water, increasing the surface creepage distance and breaking the continuous water film in the rainy season. Several sheds can be fitted along one core where more creepage is needed.

Sizes are chosen by core diameter: ten sizes from GRS 130-1 to GRS 130-6, with collars recovering to 15 to 50 mm and skirt diameters from 90 to 200 mm. The sheds suit indoor and outdoor terminations.

The material is tracking-resistant: Gala guarantees no tracking, erosion or flame failure at 3.25 kV for 20 minutes in the ASTM D2303 inclined-plane test. Other guaranteed values include 15 kV/mm minimum dielectric strength, 12 N/mm2 minimum tensile strength and a continuous temperature limit of -40 to +100 °C. Gala is an ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 certified manufacturer.

Manufactured by Gala in India. Datasheet and size selection on request.

Inside the cable box of a transformer, motor or switchgear panel, the cable lug, bolt and bushing terminal are often closer to each other and to earth than normal air clearance allows. In humid conditions, with dust, or when rodents get in, that gap can flash over, and surge impulses make it worse. Gala's ANGLEBOOT covers each bushing connection with a layer of insulation.

The boots are moulded from non-tracking cross-linked polyolefin and coated inside with water-resistant red mastic. The right-angle boot (GRB) fits where the cable core turns 90 degrees onto the bushing; the straight boot (GSB) fits where the core runs straight onto it.

To fit a right-angle boot: set the cable breakout and termination in their final position, slide the boots over the cores, bolt the lugs to the bushings, wrap mastic tape round the bushing nut, bolt and lug barrel, then position the boot over the bushing and shrink it with a propane or butane torch from the inside of the bend, top first and then downwards. The boots shrink above 125 °C; let them cool before applying strain.

Gala's guaranteed values include tracking resistance (no tracking, erosion or flame failure at 3.25 kV for 20 min, ASTM D2303), 15 kV/mm minimum dielectric strength, 12 N/mm2 minimum tensile strength and a continuous temperature limit of -40 to +100 °C. Gala is an ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 certified manufacturer.

Manufactured by Gala in India. Datasheet and size selection on request.

A three-core PILC belted cable has one belt of insulation and one screen around all three cores, and no screen on each individual core. When the cable is terminated or jointed, each core needs its own screen continued up from the crutch. Gala's INSULCORE semi-conductive breakout does both jobs: it seals the crutch and puts a semi-conductive layer around each core.

The breakout is moulded from cross-linked semi-conductive polyolefin, printed "CONDUCTIVE", and coated inside with water-resistant red mastic. It is supplied expanded with three fingers, slid over the crutch with one core through each finger and shrunk with a gas torch. The recovered breakout grips the cable sheath and the three cores, sealing the crutch against moisture and continuing the screen over each core.

Its defining property is low volume resistivity: Gala guarantees a maximum of 1 x 10^7 ohm-cm, so the material conducts rather than insulates. Other guaranteed values are 12 N/mm2 minimum tensile strength, 300 % minimum elongation and a continuous temperature limit of -40 to +100 °C.

Seven sizes cover cable sheaths that recover to 20 to 56 mm and cores that recover to 8 to 29 mm. The breakout is used in PILC cable terminations and joints, typically as part of a termination or jointing kit. Gala is an ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 certified manufacturer.

Manufactured by Gala in India. Datasheet and size selection on request.

On a three-core outdoor termination each core needs extra surface creepage distance in wet weather. Single-core sheds do this one core at a time. Gala's tri-core rain shed does it with one part: a flat, rounded-triangle skirt carrying three short collars, so a single shed sits across all three cores where they leave the crutch.

The shed is moulded from non-tracking cross-linked polyolefin and coated inside with water-resistant mastic. Each core passes through its own collar and the collars are heat-shrunk onto the cores (shrink temperature 125 °C). The skirt then stands across the three cores, increasing the surface creepage path and breaking the continuous film of water that forms along wet cores, without any increase in tail length. It suits indoor and outdoor terminations.

Three sizes are made, all with a 152 mm skirt; collars recover to 16 mm (GRST-1) or 22 mm (GRST-2 and GRST-3). Gala's guaranteed values include tracking resistance (no tracking, erosion or flame failure at 3.25 kV for 20 minutes, ASTM D2303), 15 kV/mm minimum dielectric strength, 12 N/mm2 minimum tensile strength and a continuous temperature limit of -40 to +100 °C. Gala is an ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 certified manufacturer.

Manufactured by Gala in India. Datasheet and size selection on request.

A slip-on tube can only go on over a free cable end. INSULSLEEVE, Gala code GWS, gets round that: it is a flat cross-linked polyolefin sheet with a hot-melt adhesive inner face and two raised edges. It is wrapped around the cable, pipe or joint where it lies, the edges are locked together by sliding a stainless-steel channel over them, and the sleeve is then heat-shrunk into place. The cable does not have to be cut, disconnected or taken out of service.

On heating the sleeve recovers tightly and the adhesive melts and bonds to the substrate, forming a sealed, protective jacket. A temperature-indicating paint on the sleeve changes colour when shrinking is complete, giving the installer a simple visual check.

Main uses are repairing damaged cable sheaths, protecting cable joints, and corrosion protection and sealing of oil, water and gas pipes and fittings.

Installation: roughen and clean the jacket, remove the release film from the adhesive, wrap the sleeve, fit the steel channel over the raised edges, then shrink with a propane torch from the centre outwards and check the indicator spots. Seven sizes cover cable or pipe diameters from about 10 mm to 200 mm, in lengths up to 1500 mm, with a 2.7 mm recovered wall.

Manufactured by Gala in India. Datasheet and size selection on request.

INSULTUBE Red, Gala code GRT, is a red cross-linked polyolefin heat-shrink tube made to insulate the connector area of medium-voltage power cable joints. In a heat-shrink joint it is shrunk over the jointed conductors and stress-control layer to build up the insulation, before the outer layers go on. The red colour makes the insulating layer easy to identify during jointing and inspection.

The tube comes in three wall grades on the same diameters, so the jointer can build the insulation thickness the joint needs: standard GRT with a 2.6 to 3.2 mm recovered wall, heavy-wall GRT(HW) at 3.0 to 4.0 mm, and extra-heavy-wall GRT(EHW) at 6.2 mm. Sizes run from 30/8 to 130/36 (EHW from 50/16); the first figure is the minimum supplied inside diameter, the second the maximum recovered inside diameter.

The material shrinks at 125 °C and is rated for continuous use from -40 °C to +110 °C. Gala's datasheet guarantees a tensile strength of at least 12 N/mm2 and elongation of at least 300 percent. Custom dimensions, wall thicknesses, lengths and colours can be made on request.

GRT is mostly bought by cable jointers and by makers of heat-shrink joint kits who assemble their own components.

Manufactured by Gala in India. Datasheet and size selection on request.