Cold Weather Zip Ties ..??

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Maine Sail

Maine Sail

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Feb 6, 1998
11,701
Canadian Sailcraft 36T Casco Bay, ME
Ok getting I'm really frustrated. Four bags of zip ties, all by different manufacturers, and all reputable & these are not Dollar Store quality zip ties.. All of them snap and break in any temps below 20 F? I have searched high and low for a cold weather wire tie but can't seem to find one. It seems nylon 66 with cold & dry conditions prefer to snap rather than wrap?

Surely there are some electricians who work in cold temps and whom also use wire ties that don't go snap....:cussing: It's going to be a long winter if I have to heat up every zip tie....:eek:
 
palacegrand

palacegrand

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Jul 9, 2004
80
Yamaha 30 - Sidney
Maine Sail said:
Ok getting I'm really frustrated. Four bags of zip ties, all by different manufacturers, and all reputable & these are not Dollar Store quality zip ties.. All of them snap and break in any temps below 20 F? I have searched high and low for a cold weather wire tie but can't seem to find one. It seems nylon 66 with cold & dry conditions prefer to snap rather than wrap?

Surely there are some electricians who work in cold temps and whom also use wire ties that don't go snap....:cussing: It's going to be a long winter if I have to heat up every zip tie....:eek:
Click to expand
Maine,
If it's a question of them breaking during installation, keep the package inside your coat next to your body. That'll keep them warm enough to flex.

If it's a question of them breaking due to exposure, then ya got me. We use 1000's of them for our outdoors Cmas lighting display at The Butchart Gardens. Last year the cold temps (a couple of weeks of mid 20's?) posed no problems for the ties, though they were installed at more moderate temps (mid 40's)

Hope that helps.

Craig
 
T

Tom Metzger

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Oct 10, 2008
38
Ericson 34 Lk Champlain
Maine Sail - I just looked at the T & B materials page http://www.tnb.com/shared/docs/TR_Selection.pdf and they say all of their nylon ties are good for at least -40*. FWIW, I stuck one in my freezer, saw no effect, and couldn't break it installing it with pliers.

I would suspect that your installation tool is over stressing the ties. Why not try pulling them tight with a pair of pliers?

Another suggestion: ask a power or telephone company lineman how they install them.

And to illustrate my age: Lacing twine is cheap. ;)
 
Anonymous 121765

Anonymous 121765

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Jan 6, 2010
1,520
Tom,
Alot of electrical company & industrial people use black heavy duty tie wraps. Talk to one of these guys. Maybe he can show you the bag they came in & the manuf.'s name.

I was always told the black ties last longer under UV.
captnron
 
RAD

RAD

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Jun 3, 2004
2,330
Catalina 30 Bay Shore, N.Y.
Maine Sail,
As an electrician I use black ties from HD and there in the truck all the time and if its real cold and I need to use them I throw a handful on the floor under the heater vent and have never had an issue, are you using a gun to install them?
 
Maine Sail

Maine Sail

.
Feb 6, 1998
11,701
Canadian Sailcraft 36T Casco Bay, ME
RAD said:
Maine Sail,
As an electrician I use black ties from HD and there in the truck all the time and if its real cold and I need to use them I throw a handful on the floor under the heater vent and have never had an issue, are you using a gun to install them?
Click to expand

No gun, installing them by hand, but they sit on the boat in between trips there to work on the re-wire with low humidity and cold temps. The other day when I got there to work on it the cabin was 7 degrees F..

They are snapping in the middle, as I begin to tighten them, and also the locking tabs, on two of the brands, snap off every time you slide the end in and you start hearing the zip.... then crack and the little locking piece falls out of the end.....? One bag is from HD and I think they are GB brand Gardner Bender..

I'll try some other brands and will ask at the local electrical supply house what they suggest. I've done lost of winter wiring but have never had this much of an issue. By the time I find a winter worthy zip tie I will have spent nearly as much on those, as the tinned wire..;);)
 
RAD

RAD

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Jun 3, 2004
2,330
Catalina 30 Bay Shore, N.Y.
Leave them in a heated space till your ready,I think the longer you leave them in the cold the worse they can get and where you are its COLD, I remember in the early days of my career when wiring new homes in the bitter cold and the romex wire jacket would snap from the cold and plastic boxes were very brittle.
 
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