Electrical Tape Tricks

Now that you've learned the importance of having more colors of tape than you thought necessary, it's time to learn some a few like tricks.

• Stop the Stickiness
• You know that stickiness I'm talking about. The fresh out-of-the-pack feeling from the glue on the side of the roll. It gets everywhere and it is a minor inconvenience at least, a pain in the ass at most. Did you know you can stop this easily? Just find a dusty place and slide the edges in the dust. The dust will stick to the glue instead of you. Makes handling it a bit easier since it won't always be sticking to your hands or gloves.
• Make a Mini Roll
• Do you have a tight spot with a part that needs to be wrapped in tape? You try and rip a length of it, only for it to stick to itself as you try and work it around the part. No more. All you need is a small screw or bolt. Take the bolt and 'wrap a roll' of tape around the bolt for a few turns. You now have a very compact roll that can squeeze into tight spaces without the tape sticking to itself whilst wrapping.
• Make a Buddy Flap
• So you have to unwrap something that has been taped up but can't find to end to peel it off? It wouldn't have happened if you added a buddy flap. Where you're near the end of taping something up that you may need to untape later, fold the last half inch over itself. With the tape stuck to itself, it creates a small flap that allows you to both easily identify and remove when the time comes.
• Make Mini Kits
• With all your extra rolls, you're sure to have extra containers. While small, they are perfect for keeping a handful of your most commonly used screws and nuts. I like to keep one each with 6-32, 8-32, 10-32, 1/4-20 screws and nuts along with a drill/tap bit combo for each respective size. By having these 4 containers, I'm able to complete most unexpected fastener-related electrical jobs. Making little kits for common jobs can keep you organized and complete jobs quickly.
• Wrapping Copper Water Pipes
• Not for stopping active leaks, but for preventing future leaks. When copper water lines come into direct contact with differing metals, it starts a chemical reaction that slowly corrodes the pipe. During an install, you're supposed to use copper fittings to secure the pipe or wrap it in pipe tape. If you have some pipe tape, use that instead. In the meantime, a few wraps of electrical tape will prevent direct contact and help prevent unexpected leaks from occurring. This is especially important to look for after a new install in the building. It's an often overlooked yet critical step to ensuring a long-lasting water system.

Some of these you may know, hopefully you learned something. These are the tricks I use most frequently. As with my other posts, I update my content daily. So this list may expand in the future.