Waterproofing Coax Connections

Waterproofing_Coax_Connections.pdf

Step 1 - 3M electrical tape apply 1” outside connection assembly, apply overlapping, cover connection up to 1” past assembly Step 2 - Butyl Mastic adhesive starting 1” outside electrical tape, stretch tight overlapping until 1” past electrical tape. Work it in with hands. Clay like substance to mold together to become one solid unit. Provides actual waterproofing. Step 3 - Vinyl Electrical Tape start 1” past last step to provide protection for Butyl Mastic from Sun and Elements. Wrap over Mastic to 1” past previous step.

Now have completely waterproof connection that will last for years. Check connection after 2-3 years for drying or cracking, which allows water to enter.

Transcript:

[0m:4s] Hi I'm Josh Bloom, welcome to another video in the RSP Supply education series. Today we're going to be demonstrating how to properly waterproof coax connections. Improper waterproofing on these types of connections account for the majority of communication failures. In order to ensure a proper seal is made, it is important that we use products that are purpose built and intended for this type of application. In today's video, we're going to be using a kit that is provided by RSPsupply.com.
[0m:28s] In this kit is a three M vinyl electrical tape referred to as Tem Flex. We also have a butyl mastic adhesive and this is what actually provides the waterproofing and protection for the connection itself. Now let's go ahead and demonstrate how we make the connection. Step one is to take the three M electrical tape and begin to apply the electrical tape at least one inch outside of the factory heat shrink cable.

[0m:49s] We then want to start to wrap the electrical tape around the connection overlapping each time until we reach the other side of the connection, again, going one inch past the factory heat shrink. Once we get to this point, we can tear our tape. We complete a step one of the process. Step two: we're going to be using our butyl mastic to adhesive. Just like we did in step one, we're gonna start one inch outside of our last step. So we're gonna go one inch past that electrical tape that I just applied. When we're applying this butyl mastic, we want to make sure we pull it very, very tight around the connection. Again, overlapping on each rotation until we reach the other side of the connection, again, going one inch past our last step. Once we reach that point, we can tear our adhesive. Once we've applied the adhesive we want to make sure we really work in the butyl mastic so it becomes one solid unit. This is a clay like substance that we can really work, and again, this is what provides the protection for the connection itself. And at that point we've got one solid layer of butyl mastic adhesive. The last step in making this connection is to once again, use the vinyl electrical tape. The purpose of this step is to simply provide protection for the butyl mastic adhesive itself.

[1m:55s] Once again we're gonna start one inch past our last step, we're gonna overlap the tape each time until we reach the other side of the connection. Once we reach the other side of the connection, again, make sure we go one inch past our last step or that butyl mastic adhesive. Once we've reached that point, we can simply tear our electrical tape. We now have a completely waterproof and UV resistant connection that will last for years to come. It is important that we check this connection every two to 3 years to make sure that the butyl mastic is not beginning to dry out or crack in any way, as this will allow water to infiltrate the connection. As always, you can find any of the products seen in today's video on our website. For more information or other educational videos, please go to RSPSupply.com, the Internet's top source for industrial hardware. Also, don't forget: please like and subscribe.