Mastic tapes are finding increasing social acceptance for offering excellent adhesion to seal the metals, rubbers, jackets in electrical installations, and synthetic cables. These provide UV resistance that improves the life of outdoor electrical installations. The use of Mastic tapes is not limited to electrical installations; Mastic tape is being used intensively as an alternative to traditional products used for vibration dampening, preventing air passage, moisture resistance, etc.
Types of Mastic Tapes:
As the demand for Mastic tape is increasing, the leading Mastic tape manufacturers are increasing thrust on expanding the variety to offer the best suitable option for the particular applications and conditions. What are the options to choose the Mastic tapes?
Rubber Mastic Tapes: These are suitable to insulate electrical cables. The high temperature resistance up to 130°C makes the suitable for the electrical installations in production units. Thick layer construction makes them an ideal choice of engineers to insulate irregular connections.
Stress Mastic Tapes: These self-amalgamating tapes are the best suitable for subsidizing the electrical stresses. These are an excellent choice for filling the gaps in MV power cable accessories. The low loss tangent and high permittivity make these insulating tapes the ideal choice for the processing units more prone to chemical gases and harsh environmental conditions.
Butyl Mastic Tapes: These tapes, available in different colors, are used to insulate the Cable Jointing Kits against moisture content present in the environment. Excellent resistance to water, moisture, extreme climate, temperature etc make the Butyl Mastic tape idea choice to make the cable connection kits long-lasting.
Top Ten Selection Parameters for Mastic Tapes: Although Mastic tapes are finding wide-scale acceptance in electrical engineering and different production/processing sectors, still the relatively new users of Mastic tapes are not confident of buying the right Mastic tape. The leading brands like Gala Thermo offer a range of Mastic tape with different characteristics. What should you consider before buying Mastic tape?
- Adhesive type – single side or both sides
- Temperature range
- The thickness for the particular use
- The way of availability – roll (spool), box, or small pack
- Material – commonly used material is ‘butyl rubber-based insulating compound’
- Coating for extra protection/insulation; vinyl (PVC) coasting is commonly used
- Strength and size (width)
- Resistance power against the major odd on the site
- RoHS 2011/65/EU compliance
- Elongation
Concluding Note:
Using Mastic tape in electrical installation to secure the cable ends, joints and accessories is imperative to deliver the best value for customer’s investment. You might be a little bit hesitant in using the Mastic tape at first; the leading brands provide comprehensive support to help you start using the Mastic tape. The little investment in Mastic tape awards you in multiple ways-
- Elegant looking electrical installation
- Ease of insulating the cables, joints, boxes, and irregular shaped surfaces
- Less maintenance cost
- Long-life
- Reduced faults even in harsh conditions
- Image development