Hot or Not? Stainless Steel Cable Ties
By Benjamen Johnson
In the most recent email from Harbor Freight, they offer a coupon for $2 off stainless steel cable ties. Since I’m a big fan of cable ties, the stainless steel version really piqued my interest. I tie a lot of my outdoor garden projects together with cable ties, but I have noticed that over a few years they can become brittle. I’m wondering if the stainless steel version fairs any better.
These are Storehouse brand, so I wouldn’t expect the best performance, but I’m wondering in general has anybody used stainless steel cable ties? If so, for what purpose did you use ‘em? Let us know in comments.
Stainless Steel Cable Ties [Harbor Freight]
November 28th, 2007 at 9:58 am
HOT. For HOT applications. Like holding the “non-stock” exhaust in-place on one of my cars. Beats the heck out of coat hangers or bailing wire. I keep a few in my cars as emergency multipurpose ties. Also good for steering rack boots. They definitely take more weather, sun, heat, and weight than plastic ties. I generally use Panduit, but I bet these cheap Chinese knock-offs are good for 50% of the capacity, which isn’t bad for the price.
November 28th, 2007 at 10:31 am
NOT. For hot metal pipings I use wire and just snip/twist to length. I’d rather have a bucket-o-plastic ties for $5.
November 28th, 2007 at 1:10 pm
> I’d rather have a bucket-o-plastic ties for $5.
Clearly, you have fewer and less muscular hippies to restrain than some of us do.
November 28th, 2007 at 2:01 pm
Hot, definitely. They’re impervious to ultraviolet, so they’re useful in outdoor applications where even the black nylon ones wouldn’t fare well. (Any spot with concentrated sun, like northern latitudes where a snow field might reflect additional light onto an exposed tie.) High temperature applications, too, obviously, and locations where abrasion is a concern.
I’ve also seen packages advertise that they’re stable in nuclear radiation environments, which I guess makes sense. Can’t have your cyclotron experimental target falling apart after a few hours on the beamline, can you?
Also, they’re conductive. This can be good, if you’re trying to ground a shield. Or it can be bad, if an inductive ring around your feedline wasn’t the desired result. Ground cables, in particular, shouldn’t be “choked” by encirclement with unconnected metal, as it can delay the rise-time of the current pulse during a lightning strike, making the ground less effective.
November 28th, 2007 at 2:57 pm
Way neater:
http://www.clamptool.com/
November 28th, 2007 at 5:04 pm
Mark,
Seen that before. Very cool, but too time-consuming. Just stick a metal cable tie on it and move on.
November 29th, 2007 at 1:06 pm
I second Toolaremia’s comment — HOT for HOT applications. We sell them for holding exhaust heat wrap in place. They have, as they say, a thousand other uses too…
Don’t forget that really heavy-duty crates and pallets (or odd-shaped bundles) are often shipped baled together with steel strap, which is a very similar concept if not exactly the same. Super-strength, more rigid (and professional-looking) than wire, very weather-resistant. What more could you ask for? (Besides being cheap enough to be disposable — but for super-temporary uses, these are generally overkill anyway.)
November 29th, 2007 at 10:32 pm
regarding zip ties that break from UV - generally the black ones are UV stable while the ‘clear’ ones are not. There are a lot of ‘cheap’ ones on the market now that are really poorly made and tend to slip. Big Box ones are usually crap compared to the ‘installer grade’.
December 2nd, 2007 at 2:11 pm
Hot in the right situation. They’re cheap and strong as hell. I’d say for the most part, I use a lot of the reusable zip ties, but I like having the metal option available too.
They’re a bit of a pain (sometimes literally) to use though.
December 6th, 2007 at 2:56 pm
[…] Recent talk of cable ties and velcro gripping straps around the Toolmonger offices makes me think it’s a good time to share my favorite source of cable management tools and supplies: CableOrganizer.com. Appropriatly named, CableOrganizer carries a wide variety of cable and wire management products – as well as a nice selection of Klein tools and other specialty items. […]
March 11th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
The ties are cheap. Wait till you see what the price of the tool is required for them.
You would have to go through a lot of ties to pay for itself.