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Cable Jacket Repair
Cable jacket damage is a fairly common issue at the construction site. Your cable might be compromised even before deployment. For example, you may drag a cable across a concrete floor and snag it on a piece of rebar. When the cable jacket is damaged, the electrical system may become compromised from moisture and contaminants. Even the smallest scratches can be dangerous as they can be deeper than they appear and increase when bending the cable.
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Make field repair of cable jackets an easy task!
- 3M Electrical tapes are the robust and convenient solution to repair cable jacket damages in the field.
- Tape fits all cable sizes—no need to keep the big range of materials on stock—just a couple of rolls in your toolbox.
- Repair with tapes doesn’t need fire or heating. It’s convenient for work in confined spaces, and in most cases, it’s a durable and economically efficient solution. 3M electrical tapes can be used for both temporary and permanent repair.
Recommendations to use 3M Tapes solutions for cable jacket repair
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The selection of tapes and methods of repair depends on the nature of the damage. The tapes may be used to repair scratched or slightly damaged cable jackets, or more substantial repairs where a section of the cable jacket is missing.
The tapes repair is possible if the conductor or inner parts of the cable construction are not damaged, otherwise, the cable needs to be spliced or replaced.
3M Tapes solution for Cable Jacket Repair:
- For PVC and Rubber cables, low and medium voltage
- For single- or multi-conductor cables
- For damages which don’t penetrate to conductor depth
Methods of repair depend on the nature of the damage.
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Level 1Minor damages. Surface damages like scratches and grooves from sharp edges.
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Level 2More substantial damages with cable cores intact. Cuts and breakouts of the cable jacket.
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Level 3 - Here the new cable splice is requiredSevere damages with damages cable cores. Punctures and deep damages affecting the inner layers of the cable. Further detection of the cable is necessary.
3M Electrical tapes for cable jacket repair
The main component of the cable jacket repair solutions is Rubber Mastic tapes. These flexible tapes go on smoothly and bond instantly to make electrical repairs in the field an easy task. A mastic adhesive securely adheres to most power cable jacket materials without loosening or separating, delivering a reliable seal that will maintain the integrity of the cable jacket for the long term.
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Electrical insulation putties can be applied to the deep holes to seal and shape the surface and exclude water ingress.
3M™ Scotchfil™ Electrical Insulation Putty is a noncorrosive electrical grade compound in a tape form, easy to mold by hand. It is a great solution to smooth uneven surfaces and eliminate voids until good overall padding is provided.
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Scotch Cable Jacket Repair Tape 2234 is designed specifically to repair damages on the cable jackets. The outer layer of this tape is composed of vulcanized CSM rubber to provide outstanding resistance to abrasion, chemicals, tearing, and cut-through. The inner layer is composed of flame-retardant mastic that acts as a moisture barrier and provides excellent adhesion to a variety of cable jacket materials.
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Premium Vinyl tapes add mechanical protection and radial pressure to the repaired area. Scotch® Super 33 ™ Vinyl Electrical Tape is a premium grade, 0.178mm thick, all-weather vinyl-insulating tape. It’s UL Listed and marked per UL Standard 510 as “Flame Retardant, Cold and Sunlight Resistant.” This premium vinyl tape can be applied in cold environments down to -180C and is rated to operate in temperatures from 105° C to -40°C.
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Conformable self-fusing rubber insulating and sealing tape with an EPR backing coated with mastic adhesive.
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Cable Jacket Repair for Minor Damage
- Clean the cable surface with a solvent and sandpaper. 3M recommended products: 3M™ Cable Preparation kit CC-3 or 3M™ Scotch® 1626 Degreasing and Cleaning Spray
- Half-lap Scotch® Cable Jacket Repair Tape 2234 over the damaged jacket area
- Overwrap each end with Scotch® Super 33+™ Vinyl Tape. This tape will add radial pressure to ensure the best adhesion and sealing.
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Cable Jacket Repair for Substantial Damage
When you deal with more significant damage where a portion of the cable jacket is torn, first check if the inner layers of the cable are untouched.
Then, seal the hole to avoid moisture getting inside the repair place, and bolster up the damaged area to restore the mechanical properties.
The next steps of the repair are similar to the Level one repair of scratches.
- Clean the cable surface with a solvent and sandpaper. 3M recommended products 3M™ Cable Preparation kit CC-3 or 3M™ Scotch® 1626 Degreasing and Cleaning Spray
- Remove the torn edges of the cable jacket
- Fill out and seal the holes with 3M™ Scotchfil™ Electrical Insulation Putty
- Overwrap the whole repair length with Scotch® Cable Jacket Repair Tape 2234
- Wrap Scotch® Super 33+™ Vinyl Tape at the ends
Alternative solutions for minor damage repairs
Besides Scotch® Cable Jacket Repair Tape 2234, 3M provides alternative tapes solutions for Cable Jacket repairs with different characteristics. See the table below with the different options.
Alternative solutions for substantial damage repairs
Similar to the repair of minor damages, there are alternative solutions to Scotch 2234 tape for substantial damage repairs.
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3M™ Scotchfil™ Electrical Insulation Putty is a noncorrosive electrical grade compound in a tape form, easy to mold by hand down to 00 C. It’s a great solution for smoothing uneven surfaces and eliminating voids until good overall padding is provided. 3M™ Scotchfil™ Putty is UL Recognized as a splice insulation for electrical conductors at temperatures up to 80°C when overwrapped with Scotch® Super 33+™.
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Scotch Cable Jacket Repair Tape 2234 is designed specifically to repair damages on the cable jackets. The outer layer of this tape is composed of vulcanized CSM rubber to provide outstanding resistance to abrasion, chemicals, tearing, and cut-through. The inner layer is composed of flame-retardant mastic that acts as a moisture barrier and provides excellent adhesion to a variety of cable jacket materials.
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Professional grade PVC insulating tape. It is has excellent resistance to: abrasion, moisture, and corrosion and can be used in varying weather conditions.
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Scotch® Rubber Splicing Tape 23 is a highly conformable, self-fusing EPR (Ethylene Propylene Rubber) based, high voltage splicing tape. It is a non-vulcanizing, shelf-stable tape with high electrical properties. Scotch® Tape 23 can be used as an insulation for low-voltage application as well as an insulation for splices up to 69,000 volts.
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Conformable self-fusing rubber insulating and sealing tape with an EPR backing coated with mastic adhesive.
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3M™ Cable Preparation Kit CC-3 cleans and prepares most standard polymeric cables for splicing or terminating. Our kit comes in a pouch containing 3 saturated cable cleaning pads.
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Scotch™ 1626 is a dissolving cleaner for fats, oils, adhesive-residues, resins and tar. It is residue-free, non-corroding and with high portion of cleaning substances.
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The Scotch® 22 is designed to perform continuously in ambient temperatures up to 80°C. The tape is conformable, and suitable for cold weather applications down to –10°C. It has excellent resistance to abrasion, moisture, alkalis, acids, corrosion and varying weather conditions (including ultraviolet exposure). Suitable for all heavy-duty applications, including bus bar insulations, harnessing, cable sheath repair and sealing connectors.
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Scotch® Heavy Duty Mining Tape 31 has a tough, abrasion-resistant backing for jacket repair on mining cables. Due to the extremely abrasive environment, the original jacket on the cable gets damaged often and needs to be repaired. The tape is flexible, and the self-healing property of the mastic helps keep out moisture
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Do you have any questions about our products or solutions? Contact us if you need product, technical or application advice or want to collaborate with a 3M technical specialist.
