Dymo Labels

[Mouette]

Last year I spent a lot of time and dollars on my electrical system. This included new battery switches, batteries, wiring, as well as a different set-up to that which previously existed.

We all like our electrical systems to look neat and tidy and I am pretty pleased with mine, even though I do say so myself! It is no longer the rats nest that it used to be. As well as making it all neat and tidy, I labelled everything with a Dymo labelling machine (do they have these in other countries besides Australia?) so that future fault finding and repairs could be made a lot easier.

The labelling where the Dymo label is stuck to a flat surface seems to be holding up ok. Behind the distribution panel, I went made with the labelling machine and everything is labelled. I also stuck labels on the actual wires, wrapping the label around the wire forming a tag for that particular wire. I labelled each end of the wire so that I know where the wire is going and where it comes from.

However, 8 months later, when I open up the door on the distribution panel, or lift the lid on the battery compartment, I am finding that the labels have come unstuck and are floating around loose. At this stage, it's not great drama to stick it back on as it is quite easy to find where it came from.

But I am not happy thay they are not sticking, especially the Dymo labels wrapped around the wires as it's basically sticking to itself. Very disappointing really.

Is it the salt air that is doing this, or just an inferior product? They are the standard plastic labels in the cassette.

Or is there a better alternative to the Dymo labels - ones that do stick for a long period of time.

cheers

Andrew

[Alan Mighty]

For the wires and cables:

https://www.jaycar.com.au/100mm-labe...pk-20/p/HP1244

[El Pinguino]

I had exactly the same experience with Dymo.... wrapping the label around the wire and sticking it back on itself.... you would think that would be twice as sticky....

I have yet to find an alternative...

edit.... ^^^^^^ obviously I was looking in the wrong place....

[Dsanduril]

My preference in labeling wires is to use white heat shrink tubing. It takes up very little space, guaranteed to stay on the correct wire, doesn't catch on anything. They make versions specific for writing (Dymo is one seller). If you really want to go whole hog they make printers that print on heat shrink (Brady Heat Shrink). You don't have to shrink it if you don't want to, either way it stays on the wire.

Of course after the fact that means re-terminating all your wires. At this point I'd probably vote for the cable-tie flags as well. If you want to use a labeler use a tape labeler/printer (like Brother P-Touch) - the Dymo tape is just too rigid and won't hold the bend as you have found.

[Reefmagnet]

You need to use the one of the industrial Dymo models. They do different types of labels including flexible exterior labels, heat shrink labels and cable wrap around labels. In sizes from 3/8" to 1" wide. I have one and absolutely love it. It has been used extensively on the boat for wiring and other things too.






Having said that, if you want the standard labels to stick, either wrap sellotape around them or, if applying them to panels and other flat surfaces, grab some of that double sided adhesive tape used for plastic car trim. You can get it from Supercheap, Repco, etc. Get the stuff that is thin and the same width as the dymo label. Stick the label to a piece cut to the same dimensions, then stick the whole she-bang onto the surface.

[bigdogandy]

A good article on labeling here: Wire Labeling Photo Gallery by Compass Marine How To at pbase.com

[HankOnthewater]

I have the same but older model than Reefmagnet has (copied). The rechargable battery pack has died long ago, and I use now alkaline batteries. I have a range of cassettes, and also some especially for wiring, see here:
https://www.megaofficesupplies.com.a...RoC6c4QAvD_BwE

If you scroll down on that link, there is table of what kind of labels stick to what of substrate.


On the other end of the (aesthetically pleasing) scale, use 3/4"(20 mm) fawn coloured cheap masking tape, tear a bit off, write on it, wrap around the wire, and then..... that can last a dozen or so years if you are using a good marker. This is quick and cheap, and I use it for tempory identification, but some of my tempory jobs seem to have become permanent.

[dfelsent]

I second the use of the P-Touch with TZ tapes. You can also use these as flags, wrapping the label around the wire and to itself.

I like the heat shrink over the label idea. I will try that myself.

On a clean surface the TZ tape lasts outdoors for some time as well.

As well as labeling a diagram is remarkably useful. It does not need to be formal, but needs to be readable.

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by HankOnthewater

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On the other end of the (aesthetically pleasing) scale, use 3/4"(20 mm) fawn coloured cheap masking tape, tear a bit off, write on it, wrap around the wire, and then..... that can last a dozen or so years if you are using a good marker. This is quick and cheap, and I use it for tempory identification, but some of my tempory jobs seem to have become permanent.

My experience, exactly. My "temporary" labels have lasted 20 years!!!


I bought an inexpensive Dymo label machine when we bought our boat in 1998. I used it to label the clutches and cam cleats on our cabintop (four double line reefing, main halyard, vang, lazy jacks, and one or two others - back when the boat was new to us there seemed to be twice as many!!! ). Pretty soon the labels started to dry up and curl up and fall off. There may be two of them left!


Maine Sail's ideas are superb, and look and are very neat.


From a FUNCTIONAL POV, I find BIG wide masking tape and BIG letters on them with an indelible magic marker work just as well. Why? Because they aren't out in plain sight, they are all hidden.


Plus, if your eyesight is normal now, just wait...


I like being able to read what the function of the wire is without having to find my glasses.


I developed and use detailed wiring diagrams for all of the systems on our boat. But being able to easily see what the wire is when I'm "in there" is priceless.


When we were developing our upgrades to the electrical system 20 years ago, a friend was kind enough to share with us his extremely well detailed wiring diagrams and plans. He numbered each of the wires and the ends of each wire had their own numbers. All of those were cleanly installed on each wire at each end. Trouble was that once you were "in there" you had to look at the wiring diagram at the same time or else you didn't know what the wire or end was for, only its number!!! That extra level of abstraction made me decide to KISS. The wire from my Link 2000 to the fuse holder to the battery + says: "Link 2000 Bank 1 X A fuse". Even I can figure that one out!

[Midwesterner]

How much does the Dymo Rhyno 5200 cost? Looks 'spensive.

[clownfishsydney]

Yes, the standard Dymo tapes have no holding power whatsoever. I still have a tape measure that has two old style raised Dymo tapes attached. I put these on the tape measure in 1976 when I started university! Have not faded either, another problem with the new ones, even in darkened areas.

[El Pinguino]

I recall going through all this some years ago.... standard Dymo tape was a failure... I think they make a flexible tape but I could never find any....

So... having done a bit more research I think the Brother P-touch mentioned above ^^^^ may be the way to go... about $30...... https://www.brother.com.au/p-touch-l...pt-1010-detail

Combine this with one of their flexible tapes .... https://www.brother.com.au/pdf/consu...nical_Data.pdf

https://www.inkstation.com.au/brothe...SAAEgK07vD_BwE

and we may have a cost effective solution.

Mind you these flexible tapes don't seem to be readily available over the counter.

[a.d]

Originally Posted by Midwesterner

How much does the Dymo Rhyno 5200 cost? Looks 'spensive.

I picked up one from eBay for about £50 about a year or two ago, part of a stock clearance or something. They tend to come up cheap every so often. Typically they are about £120 new I think? The labels are where it stings though. The standard label tape you can get 3rd party cartridges for but I haven’t yet found any 3rd party heat shrink.

I use it inside CNC machinery, not on a boat, but I’ve found the feature set to be worth the upgrade from a consumer Dymo. The “industrial” vinyl or nylon labels (can’t remember which one) stick very well and come off in little fragments unless you take a scraper to them instead of a whole label. The heat shrink is fantastic stuff but it does leave a lot of waste either side of the printed area. When you’ve only got 1.5 metres to work with in a cartridge can be frustrating.

[Dsanduril]

In the wayback when it was just too expensive to put a heat shrink label printer in every tool bag we had a little plastic board with flat metal 'fingers' attached on one side. The fingers were of varying widths. You cut a piece of heat shrink to the desired length, slid it onto an appropriately sized 'finger' so that it was just stretched and held flat, and then wrote on it with a permanent pen. If you got really fancy you applied the label followed by a clear heat shrink cover so there was no chance of wear/smearing.

I still have my board in my tool bag and still use it when I can't be bothered to break out the printer but I can't find a link to anything like it on the web. Still, would be simple enough to make for yourself and much cheaper than a printer for a small job. Does depend, however, on how clearly you can write

[MrZhdens]

Originally Posted by a.d

I picked up one from eBay for about £50 about a year or two ago, part of a stock clearance or something. They tend to come up cheap every so often. Typically they are about £120 new I think? The labels are where it stings though. The standard label tape you can get 3rd party cartridges for but I haven’t yet found any 3rd party heat shrink.

I use it inside CNC machinery, not on a boat, but I’ve found the feature set to be worth the upgrade from a consumer Dymo. The “industrial” vinyl or nylon labels (can’t remember which one) stick very well and come off in little fragments unless you take a scraper to them instead of a whole label. The heat shrink is fantastic stuff but it does leave a lot of waste either side of the printed area. When you’ve only got 1.5 metres to work with in a cartridge can be frustrating.

Can you share with link where you bought this?