Electrical Insulation Tape

[maverickone]

Wanted a bit of tape for a job yesterday and knew there were a few part used rolls in the shed, however it was a real pain trying to get a piece off the roll.

It appears to have gone really hard and brittle and I even had trouble trying to get my nail under the edge to peel a bit off. When I did it just kept breaking off.

Is this an age thing where it has a sell by date, or is it due to being stored in a cold environment?

Thanks

 

[mattylad]

yes.

Now throw it away and buy some more, this time buy good quality tape and not the cheap stuff that does that under the conditions you mentioned.

 

[JohnD]

I wonder if it was exposed to light.

I keep some in my (black, plastic) toolbox that's never gone hard, but tape used outdoors degrades. It's only PVC.

 

[Taylortwocities]

That stuff doesn't actually "insulate" anything much. And, as you have found, after a few years it loses its sticky and falls off.
It's only used by bodgers and plumbers. Don't buy any more, do the job properly.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

That stuff doesn't actually "insulate" anything much.

I remember people here getting really bent out of shape when I pointed out that nowhere in BS 7671 does it qualify as "insulation".

 

[Notch7]

That stuff doesn't actually "insulate" anything much. And, as you have found, after a few years it loses its sticky and falls off.
It's only used by bodgers and plumbers. Don't buy any more, do the job properly.

Isnt it used to wrap around choccy blocks before plastering over

 

[JohnW2]

I remember people here getting really bent out of shape when I pointed out that nowhere in BS 7671 does it qualify as "insulation".

Undoubtedly true, but does it anywhere in BS7671 explicitly say that any other sort of PVC covering of a conductor qualifies as "insulation".

 

[plugwash]

That stuff doesn't actually "insulate" anything much.

Sure it does. Plastics are very good insulators and it really doesn't take much of them to block mains voltages.

Insulation thicknesses on cables for mains voltages are driven far more by mechanical considerations than electrical ones.

 

[Taylortwocities]

It May have insulating properties when installed, but falls far short of requirements in the realms of durability. Electrical installations can live for 50 years, sticky tape won’t last that long. I’d have to hunt the regs, but I’d expect there’s something that covers suitability of materials.

 

[mattylad]

That would be because BS7671 is not the defining standard for whether or not insulating tape actually insulates.

Are we having round 2 of that same conversation now?

 

[JohnW2]

That would be because BS7671 is not the defining standard for whether or not insulating tape actually insulates.

Exactly - which, in case this was not clear to everyone, was precisely the sentiment behind my (essentially rhetorical) question ...

Undoubtedly true, but does it anywhere in BS7671 explicitly say that any other sort of PVC covering of a conductor qualifies as "insulation".

Kind Regards, John

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Are we having round 2 of that same conversation now?

If we are then I'll repeat my request for someone to put forward a specific use case for insulation so that we can see if BS 7671 says that sticky tape complies.

Then we can all have a nice quiet time enjoying round 2 of nobody actually doing that.

 

[JohnW2]

... my request for someone to put forward a specific use case for insulation so that we can see if BS 7671 says that sticky tape complies.

As I've said, I think that request is only meaningful if made in conjunction with a request "for someone to put forward a specific use case for insulation so that we can see if BS 7671 says that any particular material complies".
If BS7671 never indicates that a specific material does comply for any '"specific use case", then the fact that it doesn't indicate whether "sticky tape" complies does not really mean anything - other than that, as has been said, BS7671 is not the Standard which defines acceptable insulating materials.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Well the context of my position is, and has always been, whether BS 7671 allows the use of sticky tape for insulating things.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Is this an age thing where it has a sell by date, or is it due to being stored in a cold environment?

IMO it could easily be the latter.

Certainly easily enough for it to be worth taking the rolls indoors, waiting until they've warmed up, and seeing if they're any good.