Insulation for Areas Where Shrink Wrap Won't Fit?

[The New Steve H]

What's the best way to insulate bare wires you can't put shrink wrap on? Today I tried spray-on electrical tape, and it's pretty pathetic. Is plain old tape the only option?

I stuck a blue LED in my latest amp as a power indicator, and there is a funny H-shaped area you can't really wrap.

[The New Steve H]

I got two ideas.

1. Brush-on insulation.

2. Truck bed paint. Similar to the spray crap, but much thicker, so it should actually work.

[Firestorm]

I've used the brush-on stuff for small surfaces, but not for wires. That sounds difficult, at best. What sort of bare wires do you have that can't be heat-shrinked?

[The New Steve H]

There is a diode that joins a capacitor on one end and a resistor on the other. Two wires run away from it, to an LED.

I hit it with truck bed paint, and it worked very well. You have to wrap everything carefully so you don't blast the guts of the amp, though.

Here's the circuit.

http://freecircuitdiagrams4u.blogspot.c ... d-led.html

[xtian]

Try silicone tape:

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R4 ... Categories

It's cool stuff. It sticks to itself, and fuses together. You can cut small pieces and wrap it around odd shapes, as long as you can wrap AROUND something so the tape can grab onto itself.

Spec sheet says it's a good electrical insulator but I have not tested, so proceed with caution.

[davent]

I usually brush on (comes with it's own applicator brush) a nice bright red nail polish/enamel, may take a couple coats but easy to do. (and you don't really have to use red.)

dave.

[Cantplay]

I've used silicone tape for years, its great stuff.

Keep it away from dust while working, and strech it as you go.

I use the dark orange stuff with blue stripe. www.f4tape.com

John

[Cliff Schecht]

Two things I use: Kapton tape (for insulating on PCB's) or heatshrink tape (insulating wires). Kapton is made from teflon and is impossible to melt (err is dangerous to melt) and stays sticky even after a few uses. I use it a lot on the boards I do for my research to insulate stuff from stuff. Heatshrink tape I use rarely but I do use it. It's literally tape that you heat up and it shrinks but it tends to not look so neat so I only use it where it's needed (i.e. I forgot to heatshrink a wire and don't want to desolder it).

[diagrammatiks]

I'd replace that circuit with a mains rated lamp and call it a day.

I use them all the time so I don't have to wind heaters all the around to the indicator.

what that site you linked to up there doesn't mention is that you have to use an AC rated class x/y capacitor on the live side.

A dc rated capacitor rated at 200vdc will fail and it will blow shit up.