Vee_Que;59936 wroteHoly crap, Brad and Familyman, don't you guys have lives to live instead of writing stories about A/C gas that people who are qualified at it, WILL NOT TOUCH? How about there's a real reason in day to day practice? But hey, just put up another two text walls and let me know why it's wrong. Out of curiosity, what are you qualifications as mechanics or electricians?
LOL. Haven't been back here 'til now. I don't see the need for one of 'those' contests. I just shared what a qualified aircon guy told me. (He employs other guys besides himself, is tucked away in an obscure industrial estate out of town, and there's a few other businesses within the town that are better situated. Yet he still has a 3-6 week waiting list. So he must be doing something right.)
There's no need to take information as a personal insult. Chill. (Pun intended.) :-)
Also, no issues using electrical tape over a solder, if you choose too. The glue on the nitto brand tape is more than strong enough to not come off unless you're a numpty.
I just shared info I know I would have appreciated people sharing with me. Because here's a guy restoring a car. Imagine if he lost it to a fire because of a small piece of electrical tape came free. Maybe I should qualify this by saying, my reasoning was, there was mention of a stereo. And twice in my life I've had the experience of a dash light up (on fire) because someone had used electrical tape.
Heatshrink is thick, can't unravel or move (once shrunk onto the soldered section with heat), and doesn't come unwound from dirt or heat. So I find it easy (easier I think, because you don't have to wind it around cables and sharp bits of metal, nicking your hands in tight spaces). I usually use two layers actually - one longer than the first to really seal it - just in case there's a sharp bit of solder that pokes through the first bit. Sorry, I should have mentioned that before.
Who knows, maybe the kms of unravelled tape I've seen over the years was because people put it on with dirty hands (from fiddling inside their dirty dash) - or near heater vents, which weakened the adhesive... I've fitted stereos for myself and friends over the years, been upside down under, and pulled more dashes apart, than I care to remember... and I can't recall one, where someone used tape, where it wasn't either starting to unravel, about to fall off, or completely missing. You can always tell there was some there. Because leaves a greasy sticky mess, that gets on other stuff under the dash, on you, your tools, and then contaminates other things like carpet and upholstery.
This - plus the fires - has helped me develop a real aversion of the stuff.
I've never actually seen a 'good' brand of (aftermarket) electrical tape that doesn't come off - in time I mean. Most people will use what they have on hand. And usually that is what they bought cheap. So thank you for that brand info. Different views are good - they make people think.
