Cable ties getting brittle

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peter d

peter d

Senior Member
Location
New England
Does anyone have any idea how long cable ties are supposed to last?

I have noticed that many cable ties, especially the white nylon ones that have been installed for a while get very brittle and fall apart/break very easily.

Now, I am not saying that I think cable ties are an inferior method. The company I work for uses millions of them a year, and I doubt we are going to stop using them. ;) But they do worry me a little bit.
 
The black, UV resistant ones do not suffer from this embrittlement issue. The plasticisers do evaproate from all nylon in time, and heat speeds this process along. I use the black cable ties for everything. The old timers used waxed string and lacing tools. I taught myself how to do this some time back, as it is one of those "lost arts". Waxed string lasts forever, and I use this technique when I have the time on structured wiring installs, mostly for nostalgia and to pay respect to the old-timers.
 
Peter, If cosmetics is of little concern, use black tie-wraps as they do not deteriorate under UV as rapidly if not at all.
 
mdshunk said:
The black, UV resistant ones do not suffer from this embrittlement issue. The plasticisers do evaproate from all nylon in time, and heat speeds this process along. I use the black cable ties for everything. The old timers used waxed string and lacing tools. I taught myself how to do this some time back, as it is one of those "lost arts". Waxed string lasts forever, and I use this technique when I have the time on structured wiring installs, mostly for nostalgia and to pay respect to the old-timers.
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Hey, I can relate to this. Three of our hydroelectric plants went online in 1940. In 2006 we are rewiring the plants and this waxed string is a real bear to deal with. Like the wire tys much better but do agree use the black.
 
Whoops,, Hey Marc you are quick and I agree. I use to lace and the Gudebrod waxed twine was originally natural color. More outdoor applications were done with black for the same UV problem.
 
deadshorts said:
Hey, I can relate to this. Three of our hydroelectric plants went online in 1940. In 2006 we are rewiring the plants and this waxed string is a real bear to deal with. Like the wire tys much better but do agree use the black.
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I do, however, have a healthy respect for anyone with the patience to perform this "lost art".
 
If you're wraps are long enough you can bring the end around twice before sticking it in the ....er... holder thingy.
I had to demo a lot of reloc in a 350,000 sq. building once. It was all 6 years old. The sparky's before me used one of three methods to secure it.

1. "caddy" style MC clips 2. cable ties wrapped once 3. cable ties wrapped with a double wrap
The double wrap was the only one I had to remove individually. The rest I could yank off 30'-40' at a time.

By coincidence, after the first two days of that my apprentice somehow ended up on most of the double wrap rows. :rolleyes:
 
Dave58er said:
If you're wraps are long enough you can bring the end around twice before sticking it in the ....er... holder thingy.
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I call it the block. When I need to remove them, I grab the block with the tip of my Kleins and spin them.
 
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