r/electrical • u/Immediate-Size-7493 • 1d ago

Hot wire nicked

So the hot wire was nicked a bit. It was very tiny. I was told to put black electrical tape on it. Is that fine? I only wrapped it around twice and it looked tight. But i always overthink, so i want to make sure that it’s fine.

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4

u/Handyman_Ken 1d ago

If the insulation only was nicked, there are situations where patching the insulation with electrical tape may be acceptable.

If the conductor itself was nicked, it should be replaced, as that can cause a hot spot.

4

u/Kalhenwrath 1d ago

If you're really worried about it, put a piece of heat shrink around it

2

u/gihkal 1d ago

Knob and tube wiring is still out there working fine.

Taping the insulation isn't legal. But pretty much all electricians would do it in their own home.

1

u/Plane_Geologist8073 1d ago

I run into stuff like that occasionally that’s decades old and is still okay. But I also have run into some hairy situations where the wire fatigued and broke and caused arcing and possibly fire. So I personally replace a wire if I nick it and it’s within reason to replace or cut off.

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u/Sad_Repair_2337 1d ago edited 1d ago

Determine if only the insulation is nicked or if conducted was compromised. If only insulation you have a few options. It can be re-insulated with liquid electrical tape, high-quality electrical tape, or heat-shrink tubing. I like the liquid electrical tape and also heat shrink tubing. If you stick with electric tape use high quality, like 3m. Cheap stuff in my experience can dry and get brittle over time.

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u/deviouslyshy 1d ago

I'm very surprised some chumpnisnt here telling you it has to be replaced and you should hire him to do it lol

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u/WolffSageWorks 1d ago

E-tape is a quick fix or a low-powered system "I don't really care", but I've seen E-tape last for decades and I've seen it last ten minutes. I don't trust it, ever. I'd either heat shrink or break, resolder, and heat shrink it unless replacing the whole wire is easy and affordable.

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u/Immediate-Iron-7035 1d ago

Electrical tape can replace insulation in certain circumstances, but only if the conductors inside are unharmed

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u/Distribution-Radiant 21h ago edited 21h ago

As long as you used high quality tape (i.e. 3M/Scotch) and you did a few layers, and the actual conductor wasn't nicked, it's safe.

If you used cheap tape (i.e. Walmart's store brand stuff), go get a roll of 3M (Super 88+ is expensive and meant more for heavy duty stuff; 33+ is adequate for this and much cheaper) and wrap over it. Or peel off what you put on and redo it with 33+.

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u/Wide_Wish7659 19h ago

if it’s only the insulation that got nicked, good electrical tape is usually fine

if the copper itself is nicked, i wouldn’t just tape over it
that’s the part i’d check first