Bentley Harris Expando® HR Plus®
High Temperature Flame Retardant Braided Sleeving

What is Halar® braided sleeving?

Expandable braided sleeving is very similar to those "Chinese Finger Cuffs" that we've all gotten our fingers stuck in.. When you push the end back, the sleeving expands to go over wires easily, and then when you let go, the sleeving comes back to its original diameter (or the diameter of your wire harness or bundle, whichever is larger).

Ethylene-Chlorotrifluoroethylene (E-CTFE) is sold under the tradename Halar. It is a highly chemical resistant material with excellent thermal stability, high moisture resistance, and very low outgassing. Because of its low smoke generation during a fire, it has been found suitable for plenum applications. Halar has also been approved by NASA for use in the space program due to its low outgassing.

Halar Braided Sleeving is used in aerospace, military, fiber optic, and construction applications because of its high fire retradancy, low smoke generation, and low outgassing properties. Halar is a very cost effective alternative to Teflon because of these properties, and its high temperature resistance.

How can I get a fray resistant braided sleeve?

There are are few different types of fray resistant braided sleeves on the market. Bentley Harris Expando HR Plus has a resin applied to the braid causing the individual filaments to stick to each other. Because of the outgassing produced by this resin, Expando sleeves with the Plus treatment are not approved for use by NASA.

A few tips on using Expando sleeving:

1) Since this braid has a treatment on it, this will allow for easy installation without end-fray. Cover the ends with heat shrink tubing (our Kynar Heat Shrink Tubing is a great solution since it's temperature rating is similar to that of Halar, and it's sold in 4 foot pieces).

2) You may want to put a cable tie on the end to stop the sleeve from slipping. In this case, we recommend our Halar Cable Ties.

3) When using this product in conjuction with solvents or in high vacuum applications, where the treatment may come off and contaminate your system, it is recommended that you do not use Expando HR Plus. It is highly recommended that you use Expando HR or our private label Halar sleeving, and purchase a hot knife from us for $99 (or use your own). A hot knife is a great way to get a true non-fray end on your braided sleeving. Just simply turn it on, and run the sleeve down the blade, and the sleeve is cut very easily. Just make sure you're in a well ventilated area. For a picture of our bench mount hot knife cutter, click here

$99

Look at the pictures below. The 1/2" sleeve (on the left) was cut clean with a sharp pair of scissors prior to being put on a 3/4" highlighter. It is clear that there is some end fray. This can easily be covered with heat shrink tubing to give a clean end. The braided sleeve on the right was cut with a hot knife. This end would be fine without any heat shrink tubing.

Sleeving in these pictures is actually our PET Flame Retardant sleeving, as denoted by the contrasting color tracers

Features of Halar Braided Sleeving:

• Made from 0.011" (11 mil) Halar® (E-CTFE) Ethylene-Chlorotrifluoroethylene copolymer monofilament
• Identified by a single contrasting tracer that wraps around the sleeve in a spiral fashion.
• Chemically inert, thermally stable
• High Dielectric strength
• Superior chemical, gas and moisture resistance
• Continuous temperature rating 150°C
• Plenum rated material UL2024 (formerly UL910) and NFPA262
• RoHS Compliant
• UL VW-1 Fire Retardant.
• Abrasion and cut resistant
• Low out-gassing, suitable for plenum applications
• Limiting Oxygen index (LOI): 64%
• Excellent cut through and abrasion resistance
• Continuous use temperature of -70°C to 150°C (-103°F to 302°F)
• Melt temperature of 240°C (464°F)
• Expands up to three times its resting diameter
• Registered in the NASA database for low outgassing

Additional Features of Expando HR Plus Plenum Braided Sleeving:

• Expando HR Plus contains a patented fray resistant treatment.
• Self Extinguising - please click here to see the definition of LOI, and how it relates to the burning of materials
• FAR Part 25 flame rated