Greg wrote:

Incidentally, your work experience sounds like fun to me. How do you still
sail in the Merchant Marine and also find time to teach?

It has been a lot of fun. I now sail for just 4 to 6 months of the year
and only teach the winter quarter.

Rick

padeen wrote:

Sooo..... What DID you use as a sealant ...?

Well, it was a multistep process that started with soldered butt
splices, covered with heatshrink. The stepped splices were then wrapped
with a well stretched layer of self-vulcanizing tape and the whole was
filled with a 3M product called ScotchFil, a soft, thick, rubbery tape
that filled all the voids between the conductors. Next, the smoothed
Scotchfil was wrapped with another couple of wraps of self vulcanizing
tape until the splice was smooth and solid. Final wraps of a vinyl tape
like Scotch 33 overlapped the entire length and then that was secured
with cable wrapping thread and finally the entire splice was coated with
Scotchkote, a rubber glue type of sealant.

These splices were almost guaranteed to work to 10,000 feet. Note the
almost ...

Rick

padeen wrote:

Sooo..... What DID you use as a sealant ...?

Well, it was a multistep process that started with soldered butt
splices, covered with heatshrink. The stepped splices were then wrapped
with a well stretched layer of self-vulcanizing tape and the whole was
filled with a 3M product called ScotchFil, a soft, thick, rubbery tape
that filled all the voids between the conductors. Next, the smoothed
Scotchfil was wrapped with another couple of wraps of self vulcanizing
tape until the splice was smooth and solid. Final wraps of a vinyl tape
like Scotch 33 overlapped the entire length and then that was secured
with cable wrapping thread and finally the entire splice was coated with
Scotchkote, a rubber glue type of sealant.

These splices were almost guaranteed to work to 10,000 feet. Note the
almost ...

Rick

Greg wrote:

I shrink mine from the middle out to squeeze out excess RTV.

That is incredibly messy isn't it? The adhesive filled heat shrink that
Steve mentioned is a far better alternative. The adhesive will bond to
most wire jackets while RTV just won't stick well enough to depend on.
The heat shrink is self contained, no messy tubes, no rags, no drips or
blobs of excess goo ...

Rick

Greg wrote:

I shrink mine from the middle out to squeeze out excess RTV.

That is incredibly messy isn't it? The adhesive filled heat shrink that
Steve mentioned is a far better alternative. The adhesive will bond to
most wire jackets while RTV just won't stick well enough to depend on.
The heat shrink is self contained, no messy tubes, no rags, no drips or
blobs of excess goo ...

Rick

Leanne wrote:

Has anyone tried Liquid Tape?

It is good stuff. We use it onboard ship as a substitute for Scotchkote.
Another substitute, especially for neoprene jacketed wire is wet suit
glue ... I believe all three are essentially the same product though
Scotchkote is a much higher quality and is thickened with some type of
plasticizer.

Rick

Leanne wrote:

Has anyone tried Liquid Tape?

It is good stuff. We use it onboard ship as a substitute for Scotchkote.
Another substitute, especially for neoprene jacketed wire is wet suit
glue ... I believe all three are essentially the same product though
Scotchkote is a much higher quality and is thickened with some type of
plasticizer.

Rick

Rick, you don't mention the deep submersibles method of routing nearly all
electrical cables inside of tygon tubing and fittings and filled with
mineral oil. The fluid is always at the same pressure as the water outside..
If everything goes as planned, the cabling is never exposed to seawater,
even at 10,000 ft.

I have built and repaired hundreds of cable assemblies for the DSVs and the
DSRVs while working for Locheed Advanced Marine Systems.

Steve
s/v Good Intentions

Rick, you don't mention the deep submersibles method of routing nearly all
electrical cables inside of tygon tubing and fittings and filled with
mineral oil. The fluid is always at the same pressure as the water outside..
If everything goes as planned, the cabling is never exposed to seawater,
even at 10,000 ft.

I have built and repaired hundreds of cable assemblies for the DSVs and the
DSRVs while working for Locheed Advanced Marine Systems.

Steve
s/v Good Intentions

If you don't want to pay the price for the connectors with the self adhisive
sleeves, then use good quality marine connectors and purchase, sperately,
the heavy duty adhesive shrink sleeving..

I'm really sold on the heaver self adhesive shrink sleeving.. I get mine
from Waytek Inc, http://www.waytekwire.com/ Good prices but they have a
minimum order of $25..

Steve
s/v Good Intentions