Tim in Fort Worth
Member
Has anyone here used PVC cement to cover nicks on irrigation wiring? I came across this information when researching how to locate valves for my zone problem. It never occurred to me to do something like this, but after reading it I cut an 8" length of wire, then used a box cutter to cut a slice of insulation and tried it. It appears to be an excellent solution if you don't want to replace the wire. The method called for putting several coats of PVC cement on the nick, wrapping a single layer of electrical tape around the cement and then coating the electrical tape with another couple of coats of PVC cement. I used the Oatey's Rain-R-Shine for the experiment. I applied four coats of cement, letting each layer dry for about 15 minutes before applying the next layer. I wanted to observe it, so I waited until the next day to wrap the area with electrical tape. I then applied three more coats of PVC cement, 15 minutes apart. Visually it looks like it is almost as good as the insulation is. After another 24 hours it was still slightly rubbery and didn't crack when I flexed the wire, though I don't know if will become brittle over time. Based on this single experiment I would have no problem doing this if I needed to, and was surprisingly pleased and impressed with the results.