Canadian Tire has heat shrink with adhesive in it, but I don't know if the wall is as thick as whay Mistercrash described.

When it comes to making any solder connection, the proper method is to ensure a reliable physical connection, then solder the connection to seal it against corrosion, etc. Solder is VERY soft.. it used to be 63% lead and 37% tin - both soft metals.

rawfuls - one of the reasons the heatshrink he is using works so well is because of the adhesive - it is likely sticking to the metal suface. Regular heat shrink will likely slip if indeed these suckers hold as toghtly as they can.

With respect to the connectors that are heating up - that's a HUGE sign of a poor connection.. I am working on a spreadsheet right now that will convert between Watts and temperature.. Anyways, if they are hot, it's bad...