Reef Safe Waterproofing of Electrical Connections?

[um02122]

How about liquid electrical tape?

You brush it over the electrical connections and it solidifies forming a waterproof insulation.

 

[Skydvr]

I’d do some serious research on that stuff before using it.

I remember my shop teacher telling us not to strip wire with our teeth and not to use our teeth to tear electrical tape as the insulation and tape contain compounds that are toxic to rodents to deter them from chewing wires.

I’ve never actually looked into this to determine if it is true, but that is not something I’de be willing to experiment with. I remember the liquid electrical tape being some nasty stuff.

 

[um02122]

I think checking is excellent advice.
I guess some products are safe(r) than others.

https://performixcoatings.com/product/liquid-tape/

Liquid Tape is an air-dry synthetic rubber coating that can be easily brushed on and exhibits excellent moisture, acid, alkaline, abrasion and dielectric resistance. Liquid Tape will not crack, peel or harden and remains flexible – even under extreme conditions.
Liquid Tape can be used in many applications including electrical connections for boats, trailers, RV’s, trucks, automobiles, timers, pool electrical, bilge pumps, sprinkler pumps, instruments, computers, circuit boards, switches, and will stop terminal screws from vibrating loose. Use Liquid Tape to insulate, protect and color code.

https://www.gardnerbender.com/en/p/LTB-400/Liquid-Electrical-Tape-Werpro-Seal

Highly flammable liquid and vapor. Harmful in contact with skin.
Causes skin irritation. Causes serious eye irritation. Harmful if
inhaled. Suspected of causing cancer. Suspected of damaging fertility
or the unborn child. Causes damage to organs through prolonged or
repeated exposure. Harmful to aquatic life. Harmful to aquatic life
with long lasting effects.

https://www.iplastidip.ie/product/liquid-electrical-tape/

Plasti Dip Liquid Electrical Tape is an insulation coating you can use on electrical connections everywhere.
Perfect to use in hard to reach areas where electrical tape is difficult to work with.
Use it on speaker cables, circuit boards, automotive projects and toggle switches.
Try it on underground wiring, terminal blocks or under water aquarium pumps.

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

Hi everyone,

Been thinking about this and thought I'd ask. I am going to be putting a float switch at the bottom of a 50g vertical tank. The leads of the float switch will almost certainly not be long enough to reach the bottom of the tank, so I'm planning on extending them and waterproofing them. My first thought is to solder them, heat shrink them, place a 2" drinking straw around the joint, and fill it with reef safe silicone. Let it cure for a week or so and then use it. I think that should work and should be fairly simple, but have any of you done something different that may work better?

Brandon

Also gold plated terminal for stereos, if made, I'd use. Thanks for sharing

 

[NeveSSL]

Thanks for all of the replies, guys. I've read that the 3M liquid electrical tape is supposed to be one of the best and is supposedly made with food safe materials. Either way, I think I'm going to stick to my original plan of just plain silicone as I know without a doubt it will be reefsafe so long as I get the pure type and not the anti-mold one. I'll be worrying about it otherwise.

Brandon

 

[Skydvr]

If the 3M liquid tape stated that it is food safe, you should be good (assuming this information is coming from 3M). They will have the MSDS listed and will also have information regarding the food safety of the product.

If you are getting the silicone from one of the big box stores, check be the glass and plastic sheeting. They have a silicone sealant that is intended for most plastics. I think you will have better luck with sealing to the wire insulation with that than regular silicone caulk. You may have issues bonding the silicone to the wire insulation. Most silicones don’t bond well to plastics and most of the float switches have a very smooth and slick vinyl insulation that will make proper adhesion less likely.

The product states that it is suitable for above waterline marine applications, but I have used it successfully to build a plastic sump for my pico. It has held up for the past couple of years.

 

[NeveSSL]

Thanks, again! I decided to take a hybrid approach. I soldered and put small piece of heatshrink on each connection. I then put a larger piece of heatshrink around that whole thing, filled the ends as best I could with silicone, and then shrank it from the middle out. Looks like it worked great! I did learn silicone WILL burn faster than heatshrink. Haha!

Gonna let it cure for a day or two and then put it to work.

Thanks everyone!

Brandon