Black Tie Affair

See above post about carbon black. It isn't a joke.

Why not paint them...

I just had an entire bag of T&B white that I could literally break in half with a simple bend.. :( So much for QC

Before retiring from the phone company, we always used white ties inside or inside of splice cases. Outside, anywhere, we used Thomas & Betts black ties that at that time were made in the USA. Every once in a while we may run out of the blacks and use white along side of the blacks. Can't give figures but deterioration of the whites wasn't long. This was in Penna. Also, lately, have seen some Thomas & Betts that were Chinese made.

Carbon Black added to plastic makes it UV resistant.

You can't tell if a cable tie is UV protected by the color. Read the package they come in, it'll state if they are UV protected.

TomG2 wrote:
I won't be around long enough to get the benefit of fifty year Ties. I am curious if the difference between white ties and black is five versus three years or ten versus five? Maybe two against one? I have never used either color in direct sunlight.

I've used both, and unless you know what bag the black ones came from and that they ARE UV resistant (there are lots of "black" zip-ties), they will break almost as fast as any other exposed zip-tie. It also depends on your climate. A zip-tie on the Oregon coast will last years longer than one in the Arizona desert or in the clear air at 5000'. Thats why anything I NEED to know won't fail gets a SS zip on it. This is one of those you get exactly what you pay for discussions.

I won't be around long enough to get the benefit of fifty year Ties. I am curious if the difference between white ties and black is five versus three years or ten versus five? Maybe two against one? I have never used either color in direct sunlight.

SCVJeff wrote:
Anything I zip-tie in the sun now gets a Stainless Zip-Tie. 50 years from now they will look like they just came out of the bag.

Stainless Steel Zip Ties. Not cheap but, they do the job, and do it well.

Something else to consider, what are you using the zip ties for? Is it a cable running down the wall along a conduit that won't move? Or is it a string of lights on a support cable that's subject to wind movement? If its the cable and conduit or something similar that will have almost no movement, yhe white ties will most likely work. For something that will have some movement, use the black.