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Protect motor lead pigtail splices by using several types of premium electrical tapes
to provide electrical insulation, mechanical protection and an environmental seal.
To do this, 3M recommends that you use Scotch brand Varnished Cambric Tape 2510, Scotch
Linerless Rubber Splicing Tape 130C, and Scotch Premium Vinyl Electrical Tape Super 33 Plus.
Once you have applied the pigtail splice connector to the conductors, arrange the conductors
so that you can better wrap each side for an effective moisture seal.
The varnished cambric tape provides important puncture protection.
Applying it adhesive side out allows quick and easy re-entry to the connection if needed.
Before this step, an electrical insulating putty or mastic tape is often used to pad,
fill and round out the sharp edges of a mechanical connection.
It also provides a smoother taping surface and minimizes the sharp or pointed edges.
In this demonstration, we won’t show this optional step.
Start wrapping the Scotch brand Varnished Cambric Tape 2510 adhesive side out, one half
inch over the cable jacket.
Let the edge of the tape overlap the edge of the previous wrap of tape. Wrap it a few
inches up the conductors.
Wrap the tape at an angle to cover the inside of the Y formed by the two cables.
Once you’ve covered the splice an inch up each conductor, cut the tape with a sharp
knife, thumb down.
Next add some layers of rubber tape to provide electrical insulation and a good moisture
seal.
Start wrapping with Scotch brand Linerless Rubber Splicing Tape 130C.
Pull the rubber tape so that is stretches slightly.
The tape should be stretched to one third of its original width, almost to the point
of breaking.
Wrap to the end of the pigtail splice; wrapping diagonally to cover the splice end.
Pull the roll of tape tightly between your fingers and pass it carefully hand to hand
so that the tape is applied with moderate tension.
Once applied correctly, the tape layers fuse together.
Wrap so that the rubber tape covers half the width of the previous layer of rubber tape.
We call this method half-lapping.
Wrap the rubber tape diagonally as needed to cover the open area between the conductors
where they form a Y.
Continue wrapping back and forth until you have four layers of rubber tape.
To re-insulate a connection, the rule of thumb is to buildup the tape insulation to at least
one and one half times the existing cable insulation.
Start taping with Scotch brand Premium Vinyl Electrical Tape.
Pull the tape roll so that the vinyl tape roll goes on with tension; squeezing the rubber
tape below, half-lap the tape.
As you did with the rubber tape, you will need to wrap diagonally to cover the splice
end.
Wrap to the conductors, covering the rubber tape and taping at least one inch on to the
rubber jacketing.
Add layers of vinyl electrical tape to provide physical protection for the rubber tape, some
additional electrical insulation and to help reduce the chance of shifting caused by motor
vibration.
Also, wrap diagonally to cover the space between the conductors where they formed a Y.
You may need to build up layers to completely cover it.
Once you have applied a minimum of four half-lapped layers, let the tension out of the tape in
your hand.
Cut with a sharp blade and wrap the remaining end.
When applied correctly, these layers of tape will help protect the motor lead splice.
But if you need to remove the splice, just splice through the tape layers with a sharp
blade.
They should peel off easily since the layers will adhere to each other and not to the splice.