Cable Ties "Do Not Open ..."

[xrunner]

All I need for now is a couple, what should I do? 

[Mr. Scram]

Bake the rest next time you need them, just like you would chips.

More seriously, nylon is hygroscopic. I don't quite get how ties already in service would be exempt, though.

[calexanian]

I wonder if they are suggesting you are not emotionally ready to use them. Perhaps they are having an existential crisis! Are any of us truly ready for life? Douglas Adams would have had thoughts on this matter.

[xrunner]

I wonder if they are suggesting you are not emotionally ready to use them. Perhaps they are having an existential crisis! Are any of us truly ready for life? Douglas Adams would have had thoughts on this matter.

Yea perhaps LOL. Perhaps the excitement level is so great that, unless you are mentally prepared to start cable-tying things you would be overwhelmed with emotion just staring at an opened-but-unused bag of cable ties. 

I guess I wasn't aware of the delicacy of these items. Perhaps they are not ready to be used outside on my antenna pole in the heat, rain, and sun like I've been doing. What am I supposed to do now?  .

[coppercone2]

I noticed they get kinda brittle after a long time in poor conditions where they still do their job at low load but they might break if they were in that condition to begin with unused and you tried to bend a tight loop with them. I only saw it like once or twice though. Also sometimes they break and they can retain their shape enough to keep the wire in place from gravity at literary NO LOAD NO VIBRATION.

I think I saw this occur in the cheapest chinese garbage imaginable though.. not western electronics. And I don't think it was the same type of zip tie, it was the ones that like have a ladder structure without a full backer (even cheaper IIRC, and a bit more pliable)

I figured heat and UV did that damage not moisture.

All that bag can do is keep moisture out so keep them in a tight container with a small packet of desiccant in it?

[mzzj]

I noticed they get kinda brittle after a long time in poor conditions where they still do their job at low load but they might break if they were in that condition to begin with unused and you tried to bend a tight loop with them. I only saw it like once or twice though. Also sometimes they break and they can retain their shape enough to keep the wire in place from gravity at literary NO LOAD NO VIBRATION.

I think I saw this occur in the cheapest chinese garbage imaginable though.. not western electronics. And I don't think it was the same type of zip tie, it was the ones that like have a ladder structure without a full backer (even cheaper IIRC, and a bit more pliable)

I figured heat and UV did that damage not moisture.

All that bag can do is keep moisture out so keep them in a tight container with a small packet of desiccant in it?

Its the other way around, some nylon (polyamide) grades get brittle when they dry out. Old trick is to submerse the crappy zip ties to water for a day or two before installation if they have become brittle.
Can be also used other way around, nylon is really nasty to machine (long stringy chips making birds nests) but if you bake it dry in oven the chips are going to be brittle and break to small pieces instead of making birds nest

[coppercone2]

oh, so you would be better off storing them with a few drops of distilled water in a sealed washed container (mold) then a dry one?

[coppercone2]

I guess you should keep them in a humidor with the cubans? 

If they are too pliable then your zip-tie gun won't set the correct torque I think

[xrunner]

I guess you should keep them in a humidor with the cubans? 

If they are too pliable then your zip-tie gun won't set the correct torque I think

I use many cable ties outside, some in the sun. Sure they deteriorate in the sun eventually but after a few years in uv light, rain, and freezing rain. I just cut some off outside where my cable TV coax and old landline cable comes up the electric pipe. They were put on by the installers and were in the shade and have probably been there for more than ten years outside in the various wx conditions. Seemed in pretty decent shape.

Let's just say I'm not worried about cutting the bag, using a few, and not sealing it back up. 

[VK5RC]

Quantum zip ties! Only use if the bag is sealed!

[TerraHertz]

No no no! You're reading it wrong. It's not YOU who is not ready for use. It's the cable ties. They are not ready yet. They will let you know when they are OK to go.

[xrunner]

No no no! You're reading it wrong. It's not YOU who is not ready for use. It's the cable ties. They are not ready yet. They will let you know when they are OK to go.

Thank you TerraHertz - I appreciate that. I didn't realize that they might not be ready to use when I got them - I feel I was being a little pushy on the poor little fellows now. I will now wait patiently until they are ready to use. I'll put them away for a few weeks.

Again I thank you for taking the time to let me (us) know about this situation. 

This forum is a great resource for all of us!

[Gregg]

Real cable tying is done with waxed linen cord and traditional knots; none of that plastic rubbish!

[coppercone2]

Does anyone know what those rubber coated metal strips are called? I like them better then zip ties