Here is What to Look for While Choosing an Electrical Tape

In any electrical work, be it designing main circuit box or laying of cables in commercial or residential spaces, the role of electrical tape cannot be neglected. A good quality electrical tape offers electrical insulation at joints and cuts and mitigates the risk of exposing people to electrical shock, which can turn out to be dangerous and life-threatening.

The write-up mentions things that you need to consider while choosing an electrical tape.

Grade of the Tape

When it comes to electrical work, the grade of the tape determines the performance of the tape. When you look at the grade of an electrical tape, factors like thickness, dielectric strength, and backing construction fall under it. As far as backing construction is concerned, it can be monomeric and polymeric. Depending on the nature of the job, you can choose monomeric or polymeric tapes.

For instance, monomeric tapes are used for general-purpose jobs and tend to degrade over time, and thus are an economical choice over polymeric tapes which are more durable and used in heavy jobs.

Elongation of the Tape

Elongation of the tap refers to checking the tape’s ability to stretch before breaking. It shows the quality of the tape like its ability to maintain a hold over time. An electrical tape with higher elongation means denotes that the tape is strong.

Colour of the Tape

In general, electrical tapes are black in color. For instance, Pidilite Steel Grip Tape, a popular electrical tape also comes in black color. However, you can easily find tapes in different colors. Professionals usually use electrical tapes of a different color when they need to execute complex tasks like phasing where they color-code through tapes for their understanding. So, depending on your requirements, you can decide the color of the tape.

Code Compliance

Buying an electrical tape with a standards-compliance mark like ISI mark is always a good practice as it ensures about the quality of the product. It is a testament that the tape qualifies for industrial usage and is made to deliver the performance. For instance, Steel Grip Tape by Pidilite has the ISI mark on it.

So, these are a few things that you need to consider before buying an electrical tape.