In a message dated 7/9/01 3:32:19 AM Pacific Daylight Time, ww5l@gte.net
writes:
> As an an added assurance for
> weatherproofing something that absolutely, positively has to stay dry is
to
> use
> Scotchkote (I think I spelled it correctly). Its a gooey black or dark
> green molasses
> like substance in pint cans made by 3M that will seal out moisture as long
> as the entire
> length of tape is painted with it and then a slight overlap. A ham friend
> who also used
> to work for a professional tower & mobile radio installer recommended it
to
> me years
> ago. He said he had used it on underwater cable installations with no
> moisture seepage.
That's what ScotchKote is designed to do - that is, it's for buried
connections. I've been on dozens and dozens of commercial sites and the
problem is that ScotchKote is degraded by UV; it dries out and flakes off.
Some installers use clear acrylic spray paint which lasts longer.
These days I prefer to use Liquid Electrical Tape. It's UV resistant,
also has a built-in brush, comes in different colors, and you can get it at
Home Depot. And it just peels off when you need to remove it.
> I just took down a tribander whose connections had been coated with it in
> 1992 and they
> were totally dry. Had to replace the cable because of a lightning hit.
> Scotchkote can
> be a bit pricey around $15-$20 a pint can, but the stuff lasts forever,
I'm
> still using
> the can I bought in 1992. Just make sure you tighten the lid, which also
has
> a small brush to paint the fitting.
The trick to being able to open a can of ScotchKote after it's been used
for awhile is to put some Vaseline jelly or some other sort of grease on the
threads - then it'll open easily until it's empty.
Cheers, Steve K7LXC
Tower Tech
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