Towertalk
[Top] [All Lists]

[TowerTalk] Tape and wxproofing

To: <towertalk@contesting.com>
Subject: [TowerTalk] Tape and wxproofing
From: K7LXC@aol.com (K7LXC@aol.com)
Date: Mon, 9 Jul 2001 11:56:11 EDT
In a message dated 7/9/01 3:32:19 AM Pacific Daylight Time, ww5l@gte.net 
writes:

> As an an added assurance for
>  weatherproofing something that absolutely, positively has to stay dry is 
to 
> use
>  Scotchkote (I think I spelled it correctly).  Its a gooey black or dark 
> green molasses
>  like substance in pint cans made by 3M that will seal out moisture as long 
> as the entire
>  length of tape is painted with it and then a slight overlap.  A ham friend 
> who also used
>  to work for a professional tower & mobile radio installer recommended it 
to 
> me years
>  ago.  He said he had used it on underwater cable installations with no 
> moisture seepage.

    That's what ScotchKote is designed to do - that is, it's for buried 
connections. I've been on dozens and dozens of commercial sites and the 
problem is that ScotchKote is degraded by UV; it dries out and flakes off. 
Some installers use clear acrylic spray paint which lasts longer. 

    These days I prefer to use Liquid Electrical Tape. It's UV resistant, 
also has a built-in brush, comes in different colors, and you can get it at 
Home Depot. And it just peels off when you need to remove it.

>  I just took down a tribander whose connections had been coated with it in 
> 1992 and they
>  were totally dry.  Had to replace the cable because of a lightning hit.  
> Scotchkote can
>  be a bit pricey around $15-$20 a pint can, but the stuff lasts forever, 
I'm 
> still using
>  the can I bought in 1992. Just make sure you tighten the lid, which also 
has 
> a small brush to paint the fitting.

    The trick to being able to open a can of ScotchKote after it's been used 
for awhile is to put some Vaseline jelly or some other sort of grease on the 
threads - then it'll open easily until it's empty. 

Cheers,    Steve    K7LXC
Tower Tech 

List Sponsor: Are you thinking about installing a tower this summer? Call us
for information on our fabulous Trylon Titan self-supporting towers - up to
96-feet for less than $2000! at 888-833-3104 <A 
HREF="http://www.ChampionRadio.com";>
www.ChampionRadio.com</A>

-----
FAQ on WWW:               http://www.contesting.com/FAQ/towertalk
Submissions:              towertalk@contesting.com
Administrative requests:  towertalk-REQUEST@contesting.com
Problems:                 owner-towertalk@contesting.com


<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>