Harbor freight electrical tape

[Braapdaddy]

33 thin 88 thick 45 all colors for cold weather

Steer clear of temflex 1800 it's the cheap stuff we use just for making up pull heads when pulling in conduit

 

[JHZR2]

I have not used it, but I learned long ago to only use 3M Scotch Super 33 tape. No other brand compares.

Agree. And it’s cheap enough I can’t fathom anyone purposely buying that from the Chinese war machine.

I was in a pinch once and got a set of adapters and cooked hose from HF. The Teflon tape that came with the set was so cheap and thin it wouldn’t unroll. Same from of concern with electric tape.

 

[D60]

Super 33 is best in hot climates, like where it is 80 to 90 degrees or higher. Super 88 is best for jobs in really cold sub-freezing environments. You don't want to use anything else especially if you don't to have to want to re-wrap the connections later on. The cheap HF and Scotch Tartan tape is ok for something very temporary, like taping wires to a fish tape to pull through a house or a car. Super 33 is the only electrical tape I have ever used that stands up to the Florida heat. The trick with any electrical tape is to stretch it as you wrap it.

I'm quoting from three years ago but wondering why the thicker 88 is better in sub-freezing? Seems counterintuitive because it's thicker?

I honestly don't know, just trying to understand.

 

[Elkins45]

Bou Scotch, and store it in the house instead of an unheated/uncooled area.

 

[Trav]

I like to use the 3M rubber tapes, they are not sticky and need to be stretched as you wrap but that releases the adhesive. Water and heat proof it needs to be cut off as it will never unwrap.

https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/c/tapes/electrical/rubber/

 

[Jimmy9190]

I'm quoting from three years ago but wondering why the thicker 88 is better in sub-freezing? Seems counterintuitive because it's thicker?

I honestly don't know, just trying to understand.

The best answer I ever heard for that is the 88 is thicker so it is less resistant to freezing and cracking in really cold weather. It is also supposed to be easier to peel off the roll in cold weather. I also think I heard somewhere that 88 is more sticky than 33 so that helps it do better in cold weather. I don't know about that, 33 is the stickiest tape I ever used. I am in Florida so never had a need for 88.

 

[demarpaint]

3M FTW.

 

[RooflessVW]

Just watched the project farm video, I'm surprised harbor freight tape performed as well as It did.

They could be on their tenth supplier since that video.

Heck, they could have 10 suppliers now and only every 10th roll in the store is any good.

Spend the money on a known quality.

 

[4WD]

Need to get some and toss all the others - some are older than dirt

 

[AutoMechanic]

I’ve never had a problem with the Harbor Freight electrical tape other than it’s hard to tear so that’s the only reason I get the Super 33+. It’s hard to spend that much on tape. At work they provide the cheapest tape they can find in bulk it’s usually Performance Tool brand and you get like 20 or 30 rolls in a bucket. That stuff does suck so I bring my own there.

 

[Exhaustgases]

I just know 3m clear packing tape would not stick to a card board box. 3M way over rated on some items, and more than likely made in the same plant off shore that the harbor freight stuff is made in. You know its a global economy.
I have had zero issues with the harbor freight electrical tape and worked better than some over priced US brand did.

 

[Exhaustgases]

Made In China. Nothing more to say...

Yeah like maybe your favorite 3M product is too.

 

[Propflux01]

Yeah like maybe your favorite 3M product is too.

Sorry to pop your bubble.....

 

[shurguywutt]

33 is best but I use HF/generic tape on things that are not mission critical.

 

[Opelman]

I hate poor quality electrical tape. Usually the o ly thing it sticks to is itself or the bottom of your shoe when you tear it off and chuck it on the floor in disgust. Get the good stuff 3M. 33, 88 or the self amalgamating 23 or 70.

 

[facility1]

really depends on what you are taping up,a kerney connection on a high voltage line or a axe handle, a bit of common sense goes a long way, for just around the house probably some harbor freight stuff may be ok,,on the job use a better tape (name brand) that is specifically rated to the task.

 

[zzyzzx]

The cheap electrical tape is great for closing up trash bags that don't have a draw string.

 

[nomas]

I ran into a Serviceman from my old company . It's tradition that retirees always scrounge something .

 

[crashz]

I'm far from a professional electrician, but my opinion of the HF tape could not be lower. It has failed me in every application from wire taping to band aid replacement. Its even lousy at wrapping wood handled tools.

HF stuff is funny. Some tools and material are great, and you would expect to be trash. Others are so bad it makes you avoid the store.

 

[nomas]

HF stuff is funny. Some tools and material are great, and you would expect to be trash. Others are so bad it makes you avoid the store.

Yep . I bought a reciprocating saw from HF . Cheapest one they had . I demo'd a wood bridge and a deck and couldn't make it quit . I went through a buttload of blades and it just wouldn't stop . My sister gave me a Craftsman saw that had belonged to her husband , so I gave the HF one to a friend that needed one . The Craftsman quit the next time I used it .