Heatproof electrical insulating tape for oven

[hellopaul2]

Hello,
I need to replace the function selector switch for my Samsung oven. Where it's failed, it has also charred some of the insulation off one of the wires connected to it. So I'd like to insulate that section of cable. I have plenty of 'bog standard' insulating tape, but am worried that the heat in the oven might damage it. The area should not get VERY hot - it's outside of the main oven cavity, just behind the fascia. But the wire might also get hot just from its own resistance - something obviously caused the switch/wire to overheat before.

I've seen "PVC Insulating Tape Black 19mm 20metres Electrical Insulation (Flame Retardant)" available - would this do the job? Or is it flame retardant in an intumescent kind of way, without any real heat-proofing? Or should I go for something else? All the wires are all just normal plastic-insulated, not that braided fabric type that you sometimes see in hot areas.

I've just had a look at the spec of bog-standard PVC tape, and Screwfix claims it "Works at Temperatures up to 80°C", and is "Flame retardant and self-extinguishing." So I guess the bog-standard stuff IS flame retardant, but not heat proof, as I suspected.

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[bernardgreen]

Glass fibre sleeving is one option. One of many sources is http://www.simtekuk.co.uk/index.php/cable_accessories/glass_fibre_sleeving/?k=:10:131739:
Make sure the connector has not been damaged by the heat. If the metal of the connector has softened and no longer has enough "spring" to make good contact then the joint will over heat again.

 

[hellopaul2]

Thanks for that suggestion. I found some other heat resistant sleeving online (searches for heat resistant tape didn't bring up as many useful results as heat resistant sleeve), such as this one: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SWA-Heat-...-HRS4EU-New-/271950985809?hash=item3f518aba51

Thanks for the advice about the connector. I will replace that - it is a bit loose and fragile-looking. I'll need to chop it off anyway to get the insulating sleeve over it.

Just out of interest, I'm assuming the full current to power the elements goes through that switch, hence it looking a bit overheated in places. My first thought was that the switch must just be for a low current "control voltage" kind of setup (hence the skinny little wires going in and out of it), with relays somewhere else in the oven to control the flow of heavy current to the elements. Which is probably right?

 

[endecotp]

Kapton tape?

 

[hellopaul2]

I saw Kapton tape earlier, but my 1 minute search only yielded results from China, and I was distracted by the glass fibre sleeving and wandered off on that route. But, having spend another 30 seconds searching eBay, have found some Kapton tape for cheap in Nottingham, which I have now bought. Seems like it would be less fiddly than the sleeve, and more likely to stay in place.

I've just got to await the arrival of the oven function selector switch and then I can hopefully have a working oven again!

 

[jj4091]

Shrink tube, perhaps a couple of layers