Silicone rescue tape -- "a reel of fanbelt"
Self-fusing silicone "rescue" tape sounds like some powerfully useful stuff -- permanently bonds to itself in one minute, creating a 700psi-rated, acid/solvent/oil-resistant seal. As the Red Ferret sez, "just think of it as a reel of spare fanbelt."
Ever tried it? Post to the comments!
RESCUE TAPE Self-Fusing Silicone Tape ~ BLACK (via Red Ferret)
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I'm pretty sure they use this stuff on airplanes, an ex-marine gf of mine gave me a roll once. Although that roll has a green stripe down the middle, a visual indicator to allow you to know if you've wound your tape with enough overlap.
Freaking cool stuff.
I've used it, and it's awesome. Press it against itself and it basically fuses. I have no idea how it comes off the reel...
I bought a case of the stuff thinking it was the most manly gift I could give my guy friends for Christmas. Kept two rolls for myself. It sat on my shelf so long I started to feel like maybe I'd just bought the hype and didn't actually live a life that deserved RESCUE TAPE.
Then my backyard pool malfunctioned. I had to move a lot of high pressure water very quickly using only the stuff I had in my shed. Had it not been for RESCUE TAPE to tape all the hoses together I'd have been sunk.
So it's like that. It's way over-manufactured for everyday uses. But when you need it there's absolutely nothing like it and it'll save your butt.
There is a layer of removable plastic that keeps the tape from fusing as a whole roll. This stuff is incredibly useful, but if it's the stuff I've used, it's pretty stinky. And sticky. I've used it as impromptu electrical tape and also to patch a very leaky PVC plumbing pipe. Worked like a charm in both cases.
The stuff is invaluable for vapour-proofing (waterproofing) electrical connections: think high-voltage radio transmitter cables at the antennas on top of radio towers. I used to go through miles of the stuff back in the 80's.
It would make awful fanbelt material though.
In the navy airwing we called this "Strawberry Tape". Originally is was red, and smells like the small, red fruit. There is a line down the center that you used to overlap the edges during a wrap to make it "stick". Great for oil/hydraulic soaked airplane innards where normal electrical tape wouldn't work.
The tape is stretchy, not sticky, and when you stretch it over itself it will grip the layer below, retract, and bond the layers together. After that, it was near imposable to separate the tape. It's why there is layer of plastic between the tape layers on the roll.
Even better: You can use it to fix leaking pipes while they're leaking since it doesn't rely on an adhesive. That's especially handy for patching condensation drains and things that don't have a shutoff.
Also very handy for weatherproofing stuff outdoors. We install wireless Internet out in rural areas using radio based last mile, and we use the snot out of this stuff to keep the weather out of the antenna connectors.
I first used it in the Air Force working on B-52 avionics. We would seal the static ports and pitot tubes and pressurize the system to simulate/test altitude and airspeed and ensure we had no leaks in the system.
I have heard of this stuff, but not as rescue tape:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bondage_tape
In the Air Force this stuff used to be called F4 tape. F4's were incredibly tough airframes and it wasn't uncommon for holes from gunfire or AA in aircraft hoses and struts to be sealed using the stuff, hence the name.
This was the second most coolest evar tool in the military right after det cord.
I have this and used it to fix a semi-broken showerhead. It became broken again two minutes into the shower; this tape couldn't stand up to a little water pressure.
I've used this many times to fix pinhole leaks in the higher pressure side of my yard's drip irrigation system. It IS Awesome. Stretching it makes it bond to itself very well. Saw this in a tool review on European Car years ago...
@9 - not the same stuff, not the same stuff at all. Bondage tape is vinyl, more akin to thoe removable window decals. This stuff is a thick sticky band of silicone that would be, in my estimate, about 8.3 times more difficult to remove from a bound victim than bondage tape, and would be very stretchy but tough in a wonderfully frustrating way.
I mean, thats what I've heard.
I love how the roll of tape is so badass it won't even focus properly for normal cameras.
I was in the Air Force, and yes, it was called F4 tape, but I question if that had anything do do with the F4. Hydraulic pressure would easily outrun the ability of this product. And yes, it was stinky, and even better you could wrap it around itself to make a ball which was a like a drunken super ball.
@14 - i'm pretty sure that it's focused fine and the part that looks out of focus is the strip of plastic that keeps it from fusing to itself while on the roll, as the center is pretty well in focus and in parts you can make out the separation between the layers
I build wireless networks, and we use this to weatherproof the antenna connectors. We call it mastic tape, and 3M sells it as Scotch 2228.
http://www.shop3m.com/80610322945.html?WT.mc_ev=clickthrough&WT.mc_id=shop3m-AtoZ-Scotch-Rubber-Mastic-Tape
To weatherproof the connector, first you put a layer of regular old UV-resistant electrical tape (Scotch 88) down, whose only purpose is to allow you to later remove the mastic tape if you need to take the connector apart. The 88 tape sticks reasonably to the wire and connector, but not as crazily as the 2228 will. The you wrap the whole thing with 2228, overlapping as you go, making sure to wrap the 2228 farther out than the layer of 88, so that the 2228 forms a weatherproof seel against the jacket of the cable. The you put another layer of 88 over the whole thing, because 2228 is not very UV resistant and will eventually dry out and crack.
I used that stuff when I was in the Air Force more than thirty years ago. We called it 'F-4 tape' (for the aircraft we used it on) or just 'rubber tape'.
It makes great rubber balls. A full roll results in a ball the size of a small baseball and it bounces across a hanger like no-one's business!
I just learned about "gaffer" tape a couple of weeks ago, now this. Of course, I need some- for... ah, I'll think of something.
Here's another version: Tommy tape. a little cheaper
http://www.amazon.com/Tommy-Tape-162258-Silicone-Repair/dp/B000HE6R10/ref=pd_bxgy_hi_img_b
Anyone who has used this will tell you that it is absolutely no use as a fanbelt!
Some version of such tape was sold in Sweden ten years back in infomercials and on fairs. Some ecstatically enthusiastic guy would fix broken pipes, leaking hoses, glue a coin to a mug to use as handle... All to the amazed ooh:s and aah:s of the audience. If it works - I want some.
I'm glad someone chimed in about the fan belt thing as I work at an auto parts store, and we have sold this forever and a half, while I've not been parts for long I do have a box of this that has a recieved date of 1977, 3 years after the store was built, why no one has sold this box while we sell the new plastic sealed ones a lot I don't know. But I did have a jack ass come in and try to repair a nearly broken belt with this, and he needless to say didn't make it 4 feet.
It's great stuff, this is what a lot of OEM's use for wire wrap, if you want a professional wiring job for a car this stuff is top notch. I always like to hide what I have done to my car and use this to run wires over the stock looms.
also made by tyco
http://catalog.tycoelectronics.com/TE/bin/TE.Connect?C=1&PN=605262-1&M=BYPN&LG=1&I=13#features
@21 - But it will adequately fix a leaking fanbelt.
Perfect for binding in a bagpipe bag. Not a common use, though...
My wife's old employer used to make this stuff for 3m. its basically pure silicone rubber that has been rolled and mixed with thinning agents and then calendared down to the proper thickness and put on the roll with the Mylar separator. Its great stuff.
Is this the same as self-amalgamating tape? That is fantastic stuff. But I'd agree with #21, it would be of no use as a fanbelt- it's slightly weaker than a rubber band of the same thickness.
Whatever happened to using a pair of tights as a replacement fanbelt?
That's indeed some incredibly useful stuff. I suggest the diagnosis severe lack of imagination for anyone who tries it and then doesn't make sure to keep a roll at hand.
For fanbelts... It could possibly work if you coil a few layers up and then twist it into a rope-like shape after activating it.
@23 ....leaking fanbelts and other car parts from an alternative universe
As stated, that's F4 tape. Used it on the flightline in the AF myself. Still got some at home. It's crazy useful.
I don't know how well it works, but according to Amazon, if you like Levi's 505's and Blasphemy by Douglas Preston, you'll probably want some.
@23 - "a leaking fanbelt."
I don't understand. Is this another BDSM reference?
Might do for a fanbelt for the majority vehicles from up to early 80's era of engine technology along with ladies stockings, bandages from the first aid-kit and other such bushmechanic repair tips one hears for fanbelts. Engines of those days commonly made of cast iron and tolerant to slight over heating unlike today's alloy heads and fine tolerance machines. Hardly any modern vehicle use simple 'fan' belts. Usually there is no mechanical driven fan and the 'fan belt' is a serpentine affair which takes drive from the crank pulley to rotate powersteering pump, water coolant pump, aircon pump and alternator and slack is often taken up by a dedicated tensioner pulley rather than an adjustable bracket on the alternator. In essence 'makeshift' belts are unlikely to work very long (seconds) if at all and could result in a irreparable engine due to over heating damage. There is also an increased risk to health
if someone has their head in the engine bay observing and the makeshift belt fails.
That said, I bet the tape is great for makeshift condom making in the battlefield.
@#24: Serpentine belts. Most (all?) cars these days, you break a belt and you're not going ANYWHERE.
So, it's less bondage tape and more kidnap and restrain permanantly tape
*tents fingers and chuckles*
I bought mine from Duluth Trading. It's red, but has no scent to it. I have had great success with emergency applications. (Longest lasting, and hardly an emergency: the Jtrap under my cabin kitchen sink split in a winter freeze. I used this as a repair "just until I got the parts in town." Two years later...
Fanbelt? I think not. Pretty stretchy stuff. But wrap this stuff around itself a few times, and it's an impenetrable red keloid mass that you won't get off without a knife.
Love it.
@9, 13 is correct, they are NOT the same. I pity the fool that confuses them!
http://www.kk.org/cooltools/archives/001240.php
I've got a pinhole leak at my junction that has some of this around it.
Also, my son's Doctor Octopus has a tentacle reattached with the stuff. I got some clear kind from a local hardware store.
Well, now I know what to get my Dad for Father's Day. Too bad I've still got no ideas for my Mom.
Has anyone used this to repair, for example, a fuel line? I'm doing a rally from London to Mongolia this year and it sounds like this stuff could be pretty useful.
@#30
why would you get your mom something for fathers day?
*snickers*
My father in law, who's a sailor, uses it on his boat and swears by it. We recently refurbished a bathroom and we used it to secure a drain, effectively making a silicone cowl over the bracket holding a gasket closed.
Amazing stuff. Also $18 Australian a tiny roll.
Here's a cheaper source for the same tape:
http://www.duluthtrading.com/search/searchresults/96825.aspx?feature=&kw=tape
It's too stretchy for a fanbelt, but it's a great upgrade from electrical tape. I use it on motorcycle wiring all the time. A little bit goes a surprisingly long way because it stretches so well.
Wow, how could I not have known that this stuff exists? My under-maintained apartment has a million leaky drafty things that need this.
#46 "My under-maintained apartment has a million leaky drafty things that need this."
Yeah, same here, but when I try they hit me with their walkingsticks :(
I fixed a leaky radiator connection with this stuff. Works like a charm, and I can imagine a million uses for it.
If your fanbelt breaks, just replace it with a strip of nylon made from your date's pantyhose.
It doesn't work, but it makes the wait for the tow truck so much more interesting.
where oh where can I buy this in Canada?
I have sold this in my own auto parts store for decades now . To us , the main attraction is there is NO ADHESIVE , so when you cook it with high underhood ambient temps ....it doesnt fall off . There are other similar things that have varying degrees of goopiness on one side for water proofing .... and that aint this stuff .
Aerostich has sold the same stuff as X-Treme tape for a number of years.
It's cheaper too
It's a lot cheaper at Harbor Freight Tools. Only $3.99! =)
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=96807
Definitely not the same as bondage tape.
In the sailing world, it is white and called rigging tape. We mostly use it as anti-chafing to wrap pointy things and meat hooks in the wire rope that tend to shred sails and people. It also has a million other uses. Great stuff, but pricy if you buy it from a marine store. Buying it from a bolt and screw distributor can save a lot of money because it doesn't say "marine" on it. My 2 cents...
It gets used in the aerial and satellite industry as a way of making sure everything stays weatherproofed and in place. I've seen satellite dishes with this shit still attached to them even though the dish is basically a lump of rust.
I loved this stuff for weatherproofing outdoor cell tower equipment. We called it the magic tape.
I've used this product (in white) for many things on the various boats I've worked on. It's expensive, but it's the best rigging tape out there.
I bought this stuff at a car show thinking on man the uses, and I never really used it for awhile and could remember the name of it since I threw the wrapper away.
But it really is rescue tape! cars hoses, exhaust, electrical (wrapping exposed jumper cables), kithen sink trap rotted, oops puts some of this on it to hold it till you fix it. wrap an old hammer.
I've used it so many ways, the limitations are your needs. :)