An Electrician Teaches You How To Use Electrical Tape

One of my first jobs as an electrical apprentice was to pull wire. No, not the 12-gauge or 14-gauge non-metallic sheathed cable (NM-B, aka Romex) you see in your home, but massive, inch-thick wires used to bring power to U.S. Bank Stadium. When a wire gets this big, they don’t bother color-coding it like the black, red, white and green you buy at the store. It comes out to the job on giant reels, and it has one color: black.

Enter electrical tape. I was given a stack of brown, orange, yellow, and gray tape and told to get busy. (On a 277-volt service, the colors are different than in your home’s 120-volt service). One problem? There’s a bit of a learned technique to taping- a technique I definitely didn’t have yet. My foreman saw me awkwardly handling the tape and came over to give me a lesson.

I know it sounds ridiculous. (Who doesn’t know how to use tape?) But electrical tape differs from Scotch tape, painter’s tape and duct tape. Below, I’ll walk you through some helpful tips and tricks. You’ll be surprised at what electrical tape can do.

Uses for Electrical Tape

Here are the most common official uses (and one non-official use) for electrical tape.

• Identification. Electrical tape is fantastic for wrapping around wires to identify them by color (called “phasing”) or for making flags to write on with a permanent marker. You can also ID your breakers and label electrical boxes.
• Wire pulling. Wrap electrical tape around bundles of wire to organize them, then tape the head of your bundle and fish tape to effortlessly (well, sometimes) slide the wires through walls and conduit.
• Protecting terminal screws. This is slightly controversial, but a lot of electricians (including me) were taught to wrap electrical tape around the terminal screws of receptacles and switches before shoving them into the box. The idea is to prevent shock if the device is handled while energized, but it’s not required by either the National Electrical Code (NEC) or manufacturers. (Ironically, following manufacturer labeling is required by the NEC, hence the controversy.)
• Splice insulation. Electrical tape comes in various materials and insulation ratings to protect splices in high—and medium-voltage connections (such as utility transmission lines). This usage requires extensive training to ensure the splice is secure and protected. Never use electrical tape instead of wire nuts or other connectors.
• Connecting motor leads to feeders. Motors often run 24 hours a day in dirty, greasy environments. Electrical tape protects the electrical connections against chemicals, corrosion, temperature fluctuations and moisture. Kits are sold for this purpose nowadays, but using tape this way is a time-tested skill that many electricians learn.
• Minor or temporary repairs. We’ve all wrapped electrical tape around small scrapes and nicks in wire insulation, but if you can see the wire itself, do not use electrical tape to fix it.
• Keeping paint scuff-free. This is my favorite non-standard use. Using a metal torpedo level on a painted wall (to level a device or faceplate, for example) leaves marks that do not come off. Wrap the edges of your level with electrical tape to keep your paint scuff-free.

How to Use Electrical Tape

To wrap electrical tape around a cable, a bundle of wires, a pipe, a fish tape or another cylindrical object, hold the tape loosely in your dominant hand, with your thumb on top of the tape. Unstick the flap on the tape. Hold the object in your opposite hand. Stick the flap to the object, hold it down and begin your wrap.

Grip the tape between your index finger and thumb, stretching it as you pull the tape toward you and down. Don’t pull off too much tape, or the roll will flop around and get twisted. You want just enough free tape to encircle the object once. Keep pressure on the tape so that it’s taut as you stick it to the object at a slight angle.

When you get underneath and to the backside of the object, flip the roll over the top with your fingers. Grab it, pull it taut and start another wrap, overlapping by half the width of the tape as you move down the length of the object. (Play around with your technique. You might like wrapping away from you and behind the object first, for example.)

When you reach the end of your taping job, grip the tape with your thumb and finger right next to the object and give it a quick jerk. This will rip the tape roll cleanly away, leaving a short flap. Fold or twist into a “buddy flag,” which makes it easy for the next guy or gal to unwrap the tape.