My buddy swore by zip ties for everything... til his desk caught fire

Friend of mine in Austin used nothing but zip ties for cable management under his standing desk, said velcro was for amateurs. Two years later I found him replacing a melted power strip because the zip ties held the cables too tight and caused a short. Has anyone else seen cheap zip ties cause heat issues like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

victor_butler6d ago

A short from a zip tie? That sounds more like a bad power strip than a zip tie problem. I've used zip ties on everything from car engines to server racks and never seen one generate enough heat to melt anything unless the wire was already damaged. Your buddy probably just had a cheap surge protector that was ready to go.

thea_chen6d ago

Haven't you seen zip ties catch fire when they're cinched too tight around live wires? I had a buddy who used one on an old lamp cord and it melted right through the insulation.