KX Riders

General => In General... => Topic started by: sandblaster on January 26, 2013, 03:32:11 PM

Title: Electrical Tape Review.
Post by: sandblaster on January 26, 2013, 03:32:11 PM
Since it disappeared I thought I would re-post.
Why would anyone do an electrical tape review?
Well, go down to your local hardware store and see how many different ones there are and see what all they are suppose to be good for.
Then try to decide what you want to put on your bike.
So, a few simple tests should help determine what you need.

http://www.oem-cycle.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=238 (http://www.oem-cycle.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=238)

I'm still not done with all the tests but were starting to see some good and bad results  :lol:
Title: Re: Electrical Tape Review.
Post by: Motorrad on January 26, 2013, 05:18:54 PM
when I was running my company... I would only use the stuff that has the "UL" listing on the inside of the roll (buy in bulk)..   has "UL" printed over and over and over inside the roll...   could pull on that stuff so hard it would bust the pull string in the conduit before the tape would let go.
Title: Re: Electrical Tape Review.
Post by: sandblaster on January 26, 2013, 05:26:47 PM
If anyone want's send me some tape to test I'll be happy to add it to the list.
If you have none to send, get me the name and model and I'll see if I can find it locally.
Title: Re: Electrical Tape Review.
Post by: Motorrad on January 26, 2013, 05:28:27 PM
If anyone want's send me some tape to test I'll be happy to add it to the list.
If you have none to send, get me the name and model and I'll see if I can find it locally.

we bought it in bulk from our supplyer.    not sure which brand it was.

I bet I still have some around here  (from 6 years ago)... yes we bought that much at a time.
Title: Re: Electrical Tape Review.
Post by: alward25 on January 26, 2013, 05:30:29 PM
i have some aviation grade self vulcanizing i will send a roll for fun:)
Title: Re: Electrical Tape Review.
Post by: sandblaster on January 27, 2013, 01:30:51 PM
That should prove interesting  :-D
Title: Re: Electrical Tape Review.
Post by: sandblaster on January 28, 2013, 10:08:25 AM
Elasticity tests are done:

http://www.oem-cycle.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=238&p=604#p604 (http://www.oem-cycle.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=238&p=604#p604)
Title: Re: Electrical Tape Review.
Post by: Foxx4Beaver on January 28, 2013, 10:15:47 AM
Elasticity tests are done:

http://www.oem-cycle.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=238&p=604#p604 (http://www.oem-cycle.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=238&p=604#p604)

awe...mine did'nt do too good in that test  :cry:
Title: Re: Electrical Tape Review.
Post by: sandblaster on January 28, 2013, 10:44:07 AM
Yeah but what does it cost for the tape?
That will no doubt be a big factor for many buyers.
I'll see if I can get some pricing on it.
Title: Re: Electrical Tape Review.
Post by: sandblaster on January 28, 2013, 10:46:50 AM
Found it for as cheap as 1.25 per roll and remember, it's a General Use electrical tape.
It does not have any special advertised properties and yet in most of the tests it holds it's own pretty good.
Title: Re: Electrical Tape Review.
Post by: Foxx4Beaver on January 28, 2013, 10:47:28 AM
yeah,I have no idea what it costs since I get it for free from work,and they get it by bulk...I'm sure it's within $.50-$1.00 of the others per roll.
Title: Re: Electrical Tape Review.
Post by: Foxx4Beaver on January 28, 2013, 10:53:06 AM
Found it for as cheap as 1.25 per roll and remember, it's a General Use electrical tape.
It does not have any special advertised properties and yet in most of the tests it holds it's own pretty good.

I saw that it did really well in several of the tests...it's always worked great for all the reasons I've used it...and if I'm not mistaken,that roll I sent you was dated from 08 too...so it's not "that" fresh.
Title: Re: Electrical Tape Review.
Post by: Polar-Bus on January 29, 2013, 11:36:32 PM
I'm a hillbilly hack. I don't bother with quality electrical tape, I just re-use old crappy duct tape.  :-D

seriously, some good info,  thanks for posting  !
Title: Re: Electrical Tape Review.
Post by: Foxx4Beaver on January 30, 2013, 09:08:40 AM
I'm a hillbilly hack. I don't bother with quality electrical tape, I just re-use old crappy duct tape.  :-D

seriously, some good info,  thanks for posting  !

that's funny....I know guys that do re-use tape...the scary part is...they're electricians,with PLENTY of new tape in their vans...just too cheap and lazy to use it. :mrgreen:
Title: Re: Electrical Tape Review.
Post by: sandblaster on April 27, 2013, 03:33:01 PM
After a few weeks of direct weather there is no noticeable difference.
No unraveling or peeling..... Yet....
Title: Re: Electrical Tape Review.
Post by: sandblaster on June 06, 2013, 08:36:38 AM
Another month rolls on and still no unraveling, peeling, or blistering.
This may take longer then I thought.
By the time this is done they probably won't make half this tape any more  :-D
Title: Re: Electrical Tape Review.
Post by: Foxx4Beaver on June 06, 2013, 08:44:25 AM
d**n...I actually forgot you were doing this test,it's been so long.
Title: Re: Electrical Tape Review.
Post by: sandblaster on September 18, 2013, 08:56:45 AM
8 months and still going :-)

http://www.oem-cycle.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=238&p=2116#p2116 (http://www.oem-cycle.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=238&p=2116#p2116)
Title: Re: Electrical Tape Review.
Post by: sandblaster on January 16, 2014, 10:01:53 AM
Can't believe it but it's been a whole year since I started this review!
Here's the latest pics of the wires and tape.

(http://www.oem-cycle.com/forum/download/file.php?id=1516)+

As you can see, all the brands are holding up very well.
In fact, it seems that the single most important thing about which tape you decide on is how you apply it.
If the surface is clean and you don't stretch the tape to break it off but rather cut it, the raw edges do not unravel.

So, which will I use?
Most likely I will use American tape.
American tape hold up well and applies easier in most cases.
True the Chinese tape is very strong and is holding up great but, if each of us were to increase our spending on US products by 64 dollars a year we would generate an average of 200,000 new jobs.
Think it over and you decide..
No, this test is not over  :-o
Title: Re: Electrical Tape Review.
Post by: Foxx4Beaver on May 31, 2014, 10:40:04 AM
                                                     (https://sp1.yimg.com/ib/th?id=HN.607989119552390473&pid=15.1)

                                                                       any new updates?
Title: Re: Electrical Tape Review.
Post by: dirk_411 on August 31, 2014, 12:12:57 AM
Again. Interesting thread. We use exclusively 3M products at work. We have electrical tape, semi conductive, shielding tape, self amalgamating(spelling?)
Tape. All have different uses in high voltage and/or low voltage applications. If applied properly stuff can last decades. I have some electrical tape here stats are,
3M vinyl electrical tape 37, flame retardant, cold resistant. 19mmx20.1x0.215, made in USA. We can use it on electrical connections up to 600 volts.   We use it as a mechanical barrier tape a lot on underground splice and connector kits. Anyways. I use lots of 3M products. The self amalgamating tape(SAP) is handy to have. It's got us home after we had a radiator hose fail
Title: Re: Electrical Tape Review.
Post by: sandblaster on September 02, 2014, 11:32:23 AM
So here's my thoughts at this time.
Even sitting out in direct weather, all the take is holding up very well.
Strength? I hate to admit it but the cheap Chinese stuff was the strongest.
It is also the hardest to apply.
For applying I like the 3M the best.
For adhesive strength 3M.
Heat resistance 3M.
Regardless of the outcome, I like working with the 3M products the best.
But. this is not over with....
I'll let the stuff sit outside until one of them starts coming loose and I don't care how many years it takes  :lol: