Breaker Panel Labels

[CaptTom]

I have to replace a lot of labels on my 1980-vintage Marinetics breaker panels.

Marinetics isn't in business any more. Some of the labels I need are custom; they don't appear on any of the standard label kits you can buy.

BlueSea will sell you custom labels for $5 each, and standard for $1 each, plus shipping. They don't fit exactly, but they would work OK.

But I found I can buy a label maker that can print white on black for about the same money.

I found two brands.
Dymo has an $80 label maker that takes $18 "vinyl" tape cartridges.
Brother makes a $67 label maker that takes $12 "laminated" tape cartridges.

The panels are in a well-protected area. Still, I don't want them curling up and falling off. And who knows, I might want to start labeling stuff topside if I end up pulling the trigger on this.

Getting to the point: Does anyone have any experience fitting label-maker labels onto an existing breaker panel? What's better, vinyl or laminated?

[Cheechako]

You can buy a big pack of marine labels for a few bucks. Some big packs some small. What are the ones you cant get? (I may have some odd balls)
I have had Dymo labels on some boats that came with them, some seem to stick real well and some fall off. I have no idea why. The custom label printers are getting reasonable in price too and not that thick stuff like the old Dymo's. May be too much though.

[natew]

I used a brother label maker to do some relabeling on my panel, they sell a an extra strength adhesive cartridge which is what I used. Hasn't come off or peeled up yet.

Obviously make sure the surface is super clean before applying the new labels.

[skipmac]

I bought a Brother but have only used it a few months. So far the labels are sticking. A friend has one he has used for years and is happy with it.

Brother does sell a whole lot of different label tapes for different applications. It has been a while since I looked but seem to recall indoor, outdoor, waterproof, etc types.

Just for my own curiosity, what is it that you can't find a label for from Blue Seas? I ordered some labels for my old panel and they had everything I could think of. They have a couple of kits that included labels I didn't see in the single order list. Were a lot cheaper as well. By the way, you can usually get Bluesea products from distributors for less than buying direct. Distributors can discount, Bluesea maintains retail so they don't undercut their own distributors.

[CaptTom]

Thanks for the feedback. Do the Dymo or PTouch lables look like a professional job, or an afterthought?

For the record, the custom labels I need have fwd/aft or port/stbd designations, so the standard labels won't work. I need at least 9 of these, so I'm up to $50 including the $5 shipping charge. And that doesn't count the 22 standard labels I'll still need.

[natew]

They look as professional as you are going to get to me.

They look like stickers and I would say they certainly don't blend quite as well as those custom made stickers. But if you take the time to make sure they are on straight, well lined up, and cut appropriately then I think they look great. One thing to note too is that mine actually cover up factory printed labels so I have a mix of those and some of the original, which is probably the only reason I say that they look like stickers because the original are not stickers.

[skipmac]

The print and fonts from ptouch labels look like something from a good laser printer. If you go with the Brother go with a model with more fonts and options.

[goboatingnow]

why not get some laser clear acrylic labels and make your to suit


dave

[a64pilot]

A lot of my cave diving friends mark their dive gear with P touch lables, they stay on there, I bet they will stay on an electrical panel

[svinshallah]

I've used the Brother labels for years. They stick like a poor relative. White-on-black tape makes reasonable labels for most black nav station panels. The font is different, but it's a lot cheaper and easier than making up a new custom panel. The more expensive Brother units also allow printing Rotating-Repeating labels on 3/4" or 1" wide tape. These are the best thing I've seen for labeling wires.

[Nicholson58]

https://www.google.com/search?q=elec...maker&tbm=shop

I wonder if an electrical wire labeler would work. You might take your list to an electrical contracting store and see if they can make them for you or rent you the machine. These stay stuck to greasy wires.

[DYMOsupport]

Originally Posted by CaptTom

Dymo has an $80 label maker that takes $18 "vinyl" tape cartridges.

Getting to the point: Does anyone have any experience fitting label-maker labels onto an existing breaker panel? What's better, vinyl or laminated?

You mention that the DYMO printer takes vinyl tapes. It seems to be one of the Rhino series. If so, they have specific function to allow you to create neat-looking breaker panel labels. We would be glad to help you out with that if you contact us (see dymo.com for the local number).

As for the material, both are fine. My personal favourite is vinyl - the material stays put no matter what.

^CM
@DYMOsupport

[Jimbo485]

Impressive!

[CaptTom]

Wow, thanks CM! Whatever you folks at Dymo do to monitor your brand on line is working!

Yes, it was the Dymo Rhino Industrial 4200 that I looked at briefly on line. Frankly, my only criterion was the ability to make 1/2" white-on-black labels. I had no idea about the breaker label capability. I'll dig further. For the record, these are marine breaker panels, not the same as home and industrial breakers.

[Roy M]

P-Touch! You can do all sorts of effects on the label, such as vertical text, borders around the text, use different size width tapes (and colors), symbols, multiple lines (using the return button. I use the tapes for labeling all of the wires and cables when I do electrical work.