Unpopular opinion: I used to think a quick fix with electrical tape was fine until a veteran tech in Omaha told me 'that's a fire waiting to happen, not a repair'.

Now I always carry a proper heat shrink kit and take the extra 15 minutes to do a splice right, even on simple calls for a dryer's door switch.

3 comments

3 Comments

ryan_sanchez2mo ago

My old boss in Toledo let me get away with tape fixes for years. I honestly thought it was just a time saver until I saw a melted outlet from a bad splice. Now my van has a whole bin of shrink tube and butt connectors. It feels wrong to do it any other way, even on a simple thermostat wire.

avery_foster312mo ago

Ever see what happens when tape gets gooey and slips off a wire nut in a hot attic? Had a call last year for a dead AC unit... turned out the low voltage splice failed and the furnace kept short cycling. Took longer to find the problem than to just crimp a proper connector. Now I keep a heat gun in the truck for the heavy duty shrink tube on outdoor stuff.

averym8218d ago

You ever been on a roof in July and watched tape basically turn into warm syrup? @avery_foster31 nailed it, that gooey mess is the worst. I still get flashbacks to a job where I found a wire nut covered in what looked like old honey, just dangling there. Now I carry those little gel-filled butt connectors for anything that goes near a furnace or attic.