Bill, I am more in your camp. SS ties look like cutting knifes to me.
A lot of the worry over plastic comes from the folks in New Mexico. What they have there is a "parching" environment more that trouble with UV. I use the Panduit cable tie with the "-120" suffix, weather resistant nylon 12. Their data shows 12-15 year life expectancy. Most of these ties are actually protected from direct sunlight and weather, so I think they have a fighting chance in most environments. Mark Frye Berkeley Solar Electric Systems 303 Redbud Way Nevada City, CA 95959 (530) 401-8024 www.berkeleysolar.com -----Original Message----- From: re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org [mailto:re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of Bill Brooks Sent: Thursday, December 11, 2008 5:53 PM To: 'RE-wrenches' Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] SS zip ties Folks, I'm a bit sour on SS ties. These are easy to overtighten and have caused numerous ground faults in the field. My recommendation is to use UV-resistant black wire ties and install 2-3 times as many as necessary. Sure some will fail over time, but we are much less likely to have ground faults, and proper O&M says that we maintain the wire supports over time and replace broken ties as need. Proper tension is a must and people have to be shown how to do it properly and checked up on in the field to make sure they are not getting them too tight. Bill. -----Original Message----- From: re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org [mailto:re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of William Miller Sent: Wednesday, December 10, 2008 9:52 PM To: RE-wrenches Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] SS zip ties Kent: To tighten: 1. Pull tie snug by hand. 2. Cut tail about 20 mm from clasp. 3. Roll tail with needle-nose pliers, like a sardine can lid. This tightens tie and hides sharp end. See http://mpandc.com/practices/Technical_Procedures/PV_wiring/PV_wiring.html for photos. Do not over-tighten to avoid wire damage. William At 09:25 PM 12/10/2008, you wrote: >Fastenal has stainless ties is various lengths > >http://www.fastenal.com/web/products/detail.ex?sku=0710242 > >For those that haven't used these before, beware that it is difficult >to tighten them. > >Kent Osterberg >Blue Mountain Solar _______________________________________________ List sponsored by Home Power magazine List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org Options & settings: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List-Archive: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List rules & etiquette: www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm Check out participant bios: www.members.re-wrenches.org _______________________________________________ List sponsored by Home Power magazine List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org Options & settings: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List-Archive: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List rules & etiquette: www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm Check out participant bios: www.members.re-wrenches.org _______________________________________________ List sponsored by Home Power magazine List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org Options & settings: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List-Archive: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List rules & etiquette: www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm Check out participant bios: www.members.re-wrenches.org
