No experienced tradie, chippie, or auto installer would allow themselves to run out of tape. For sparkies though, a safe, non-conductive insulated tape is as important as a power analyzer or a good pair of wire strippers.

Whether it’s terminating bare wires, temporary splicing jobs, or just leaving clearly identified wires behind for the next installer, electrical insulated tape allows people to work safely around, and with bare conductive wires and cables. Sparkies understand, however, that the key to insulated tape’s effectiveness resides just as much with how it’s used, as how it’s formulated to be used. Crucially, they know that in spite of these tapes’ non-conductive properties, they’re only meant to provide temporary insulating solutions until permanent ones can be installed. Leaking electricity can be catastrophic; that’s why whenever an insulated tape is used, you only want to use the highest quality tape available.

Modern Electrical Tapes Let You Enjoy Unmatched Protection

From the classic polyvinyl chloride (PVC) isolated tapes that are standard kit in every tradie’s toolbox to the heavy-duty fibreglass cloth tapes used to protect electrical wiring under the toughest environmental conditions, premium grade electrical tape is a standout among specialized adhesive-backed materials. These insulated tapes offer the critical layer of protection that’s needed to prevent costly short circuits, destructive arcs, and potentially lethal human exposure to electric conductors from occurring, and they’re universally recognized for a range of qualities that include:

• Specially formulated, non-conductive liner / adhesive combinations that are typically rated for currents up to 600 volts, and for use with all types of metal backings;
• Exceptional conformity, allowing them to be safely used on oversized, or oddly-shaped connections, junctions, and splices; and,
• Superior heat, UV, and even chemical resistance that allows them to be effective for both indoor and outdoor use.

Crucially, with their broad range of thicknesses, and elongation and elasticity capacities, today’s electrical insulation tapes are better at stopping electricity from escaping than ever. And with safety and standardization also playing a more integral role in electrical works than even, modern electrical tapes are also better at identifying how and where they’re being used than ever.

Colour-coded Tapes Keeps Your Cabling Consistent

Make no mistake: with electrical tapes typically seeing more use on commercial, industrial, and residential installations than ever, there’s no room for confusion over what types of wires or cables they’re isolating, or how they’re being used to isolate them. Unexpectedly coming across a bundle of unidentified, or poorly isolated cables on a job site or during a renovation can be fatal; that’s why Australian Standards (AS) are unambiguously clear about both the use of coloured tapes to denote voltage quantities and phases, as well as how insulated tapes should, and shouldn’t be used.

AS3000 prescribes national guidelines on electrical isolation tape colours, and there’s a full array of high-quality insulated tapes available online from Australian retailers with the following hues and characteristics:

• Black. Black tape is the most widely used colour across the board for all types of low and medium-voltage cables and neutral applications, as well as with other colour-specific phasing tapes.
• White. White tape is also a low voltage / neutral application tape, and is often used interchangeably as an alternative to black tape.
• Red. Red tape is used to indicate low voltage/phase A conductors.
• Yellow. Yellow tape is used to indicate low voltage/phase B conductors.
• Blue. Blue tape is used to indicate low voltage/phase C conductors.

Invariably, as different regions around world use different colours to denote their own current characteristics, it’s important to be sure that the colours being used are consistent with the applicable standards. This also applies to how the various types of electrical tape for sale are applied; that’s because unsafe or incorrect application of isolation tape can effectively be more dangerous than not using tape at all.

Modern Tapes Make Safe Applications Easier

While no one can dispute the importance of using insulated tape when working with electrical installations, it’s easy to forget that even with their durable, long-lasting qualities, they’re still only designed to provide temporary insulating relief. They lack the dielectric strength of plastic, rubber, and fluoropolymer wire sheathing, as well as the rigid stability of wire caps, terminations, and junction boxes, which is why the guidance outlined in AS1621 is so crucial when outlining how electrical tapes should be applied.

If you’re a licensed electrician, you already know that there’s a core of basic wrapping and insulating procedures that need to be followed when applying electrical tapes; and high-quality tapes make it easier to adhere to those procedures, which include:

• Always stretch the tape at least 75% beyond its unstretched width when applying it;
• Ensuring that each consecutive wrap is overlapped by half when it’s applied;
• Doubling up on the tape, ensuring that each wrapping layer is completely overlapped;
• Ensuring that there aren’t any air pockets trapped between the layers; and,
• Make sure to always cut the end of the tape instead of breaking it.

You also want to keep in mind that even with their superior moisture and heat resistance properties, even the highest quality insulators aren’t fully waterproof or fire resistant. Ideally, you never want to expose a conductor to water, or allow it to reach a temperature where its sheathing could melt or burn. These conductors need to be replaced as quickly as possible, but you want to use premium-grade insulation tapes to make sure that they’re properly sealed and secured until you’re able to.

The Final Word

At the end of the day, no matter if it’s needed during a regular installation, or an emergency repair, insulated tape is the fast, efficient medium that allows live conductors to be safely, and thoroughly isolated. And although they’re not designed to be used in permanent installs, they have all the qualities needed to provide the kind of tough, temporary protection that you can count on.

If electricity is your business, having a wide selection of premium-grade electrical tape at your disposal is one of the smartest consumables decisions you can make. You never when, or what kind you might need; but fortunately, you can order any kind online from right here in Australia.