How Good Is Cheap Kapton Tape From eBay?

Kapton is a polyimide film developed by DuPont and can tolerate a wide temperature range. "Kapton" tape is used in electronics for applications where high temperature resistance is desired.
On eBay I bought some "Kopton" branded tape with a temperature tolerance stated as being long-term 260 °C short-term 300 °C.
Similar listing:
www.ebay.ca/it...
Let's put it to the test!
Workbench equipment I regularly use:
946C Solder Hot Plate 200mm x 200mm www.banggood.c...
ANENG AN8008 True RMS Multimeter www.banggood.c...
Minleaf NPS3010W Power Supply www.banggood.c...
FY6900 Dual Channel 60MHZ Signal Generator www.banggood.c...
Siglent SDS1104X-E 100Mhz Digital Oscilloscope 4 Channels Standard decoder
Amazon.com: amzn.to/36fH1ui
Amazon.ca: amzn.to/36fNWUc
(These are affiliate links. I may earn a commission if you shop through the links, it supports the channel and doesn't cost you extra)
Support me on Patreon: / gadgetreboot

[@jims408]

Thanks for testing this tape, good to see the off-brand stuff holds up.

[@cmyanmar13]

Always make certain you TEST your tape. After watching this video I bought some of the off-brand "Kapton" ("Koptan") tape from eBay and it was absolutely visually identical to yours, but when I tested it against a 200°C soldering iron it melted instantly. It was literally just ordinary sticky tape but yellow. No heat resistance whatsoever.

[@cheater00]

ooof, nice, thanks for the warning

[@HawkFest]

Personally I'll use this as shown, for sticking heat probes on PCBs and enclosures, and if the adhesive is strong enough, for cable management. If the temp goes above 120 Celsius there's an alarm and a shutdown, hence in my case, this economy is most welcome. My only concern is the durability of the adhesive: in the long run, standard electric tape rated at 110 Celsius lose their sticky gripe.

[@HECKAKYH-ADEKBATEH]

They sell PE tape as Kapton. "Kopten", "Kapten" are all fakes.

[@Tarbard]

Very handy stuff, sticks well and can be reused. I've also used it to make ad-hoc ghetto "flexible pcbs". Electrical tape is awful stuff especially after a few years when you discover the adhesive has become a sticky mess.

[@GadgetReboot]

Even worse, electrical tape after several decades. When renovating a previous house, there was smoke coming out of the wall followed by a continually tripping circuit breaker and upon ripping the wall apart, somebody used electrical tape to make a junction for the house wiring running up inside the wall and when it turned to goo, it started shorting hot to neutral. Ingenious home construction.

[@guerrillaradio9953]

Homemade, flexible, tape-based PCBs? You, sir, are a nerd's nerd. Well done. Ever thought about making a video about it?

[@OgbondSandvol]

How do you make these flexibles pcb's? Aluminum foil over kapton? Thin copper wires?

[@Tarbard]

@@OgbondSandvol copper tape

[@skesd]

Adhesive Polyimide Tape offers a combination of benefits. It is a high voltage insulation tape made of thin polyimide film. It is coated on one side with a silicone pressure sensitive adhesive which allows it to bond well to most surfaces and materials.

[@SianaGearz]

I have never tried genuine DuPont Kapton tape, but i bought a huge roll of this "Koptan" out of China for... $6 or so, and i couldn't be happier, it really sticks well and holds up well. I use it all around my 3D printer too, including near the hotend which runs at 240°C. Use it all the time somewhere in electronics projects and repairs too. Very difficult to poke through or tear too, so if i need to insulate a PCB backside against something shorting it potentially, it's a pretty sensible precaution.

[@GadgetReboot]

I’ve used the genuine stuff in the workplace as far back as 1997 and only tried this eBay stuff this year for the first time and I can’t really tell any difference, which is great. It looks and behaves the same.

[@NativeVsColonial]

@@QueueTeePiesIf Its Cheaper doesn't mean it has to be fake, Chinese products are always cheaper for a reason not because of there quality...

[@ryut]

Thank you for sharing this test! So pleased to see it! Thanks again.

[@za_ozero]

ive had an unbranded one from aliexpress and i was unable to char it with blow gun at 500oC as long as with soldering iron at same temperature. I once had to weld steel threaded piece to a stleel pipe so i protected thread from welding splashes with that exact tape. it became crusty at about 10mm from the welding border but overall made its job with no molten plastic residue left on the thread. steel welds at well over 2000oC up to 4000oC...

[@abdolakbarpour5789]

Kapton should really go up to 400 °C which is the rating according to Dupont who manufactured it. Its dimensionally stable between −269 to +400 °C so you would expect a genuine kapton not to burn and shrink at 400 °C but your cheap stuff from eBay is good for most jobs, I use it all the time as an electronics design engineer. Good to see these tests done, thanks.

[@GadgetReboot]

yeah I always use the genuine stuff on the job but for at home the cheap imitation is good. Even at home I would still probably want the real stuff if I intended to have it last long term like wrapping a heating element that will be in place for a long time instead of a temporary disposable type situation.

[@big_b_radical3985]

But that begs the question then, what is the cheap stuff really made of?

[@AZ-vk7oe]

That's exactly the point. Form stability is really the keyword. For example protected 18650 lithum-ion batteries have a nickel running around the corner and along the cup. Imagine the battery gets too hot, making your non-polyimide tape to shrink, exposing the corner which is negative. 650mm of tape only need to shrink a few % in order to expose the corner to the nickel.

[@HECKAKYH-ADEKBATEH]

your cheap stuff on ebay is just brown duct tape for $1 resold to you for $10.

[@Debraj1978]

I got the same and thanks for the video. I plan to use the tape as IGBT back side insulator on heatsink.

[@pranavkashyap8402]

very nice, a practically useful test video, saves money and time for many people

[@richfiles]

Good to see the "Kopton" tape is legit! I just grabbed a multi-size pack off Amazon, mainly just to have around for when I do need it. Glad to know it was a good investment!

[@12villages]

I find this tape inside LCD panels from 20+ years ago. Now it's available at all hardware stores because phone(smd) repairing has become the thing now.

[@AMStationEngineer]

While I realize this video is more than three-years-old, and has entered the realm of "vintage", I wonder if anyone has experimented with testing it under conditions similar to that which is encountered by commercial and military aircraft at their lower-limit threshold (aka: "tap dancing towards Kelvin"??). @Gadget Reboot, this is a great video, as it has not gone the direction of becoming 'dry' in content; thanks for sharing!

[@lemagreengreen]

My cheapo tape even says Kapton but you know it isn't, still it seems to hold up to hot air at 400c, never really blasted it directly but I use it to protect nearby components and it never seems to warp or distort, I assume it gets the occasional hit of 300c+ air. I think the cheap stuff tends to be real polyimide, it's possibly a cheaper adhesive that might not hold up well over time but most people just treat it as temporary/disposable.

[@AdrianVegaOfficial]

I bought the same brand "koptan" tape 😂 and I was so worried but this video put my mind at ease that it will be ok at 250 degrees

[@Scarlett-105]

Hello ,You can look at the tape we sell, high temperature resistance, high viscosity

[@HawkFest]

The wire's heat shrink is the point of failure? Sold! Thank you, today I'll save a couple of dollars 😁.

[@irishguy200007]

Hold on now, the captain tape was not covering the thermocouple properly?

[@damianzelazny5785]

Very useful comp, many thanks for sharing!

[@KiR_3d]

yeah, you should cover the whole heatshrink tape on the sensor. Seems that even cheap "koptan" tapes :)) works good. I'm gonna protect my fanduct with it and insulate the cooling turbines from warm air that will be going there.

[@sprescav]

Thankyou very much, I'll make good use of this in my project. Saludoss!

[@peppiino]

Nice to know, thanks!

[@DecibelAlex]

just got a few rolls of the 'koptan' stuff from ebay. has a pungent smell to it and it's not really stickier than normal scotch tape (maybe old batch?), otherwise it seems to be doing its job

[@jeffreyosborne6747]

An excellent explanation and the vid length was better to be long. Do you have any schematics or circuit diagrams? Thanks muchly

[@magnets1000]

I have a roll of the "koptan" stuff and it's just not all that sticky

[@guerrillaradio9953]

Thankfully, this is one of the "good clones" coming out of China. I buy wide rolls on eBay for battery pack building (as well as other electronics). Great stuff.

[@Kyle5K]

can you recommend any for mobile phone and laptop repair? Thanks!

[@irishguy200007]

Isn't captain tape meant to keep the heat from getting to the device underneath it?

[@irishguy200007]

So you can use regular electrical tape as heat shrink?

[@RJ_Cormac]

Cool, I hate the gooey residue left from old electric tape

[@FAB1150]

Got it on eBay and had the doubt, glad it's good :)

[@aravindraja8034]

Can I use this stick Tony copper or aluminium fins on my H410M-E Mobo? VRM?

[@filippos989]

is it a good thermal insulator?? phone battery gets up to very high temperatures (47c) when device gets heated up, because its got a plastic back and frame, whilst frame is magnesium try to dissipate the heat, anyhow, i was thinking of using it, in between of the battery and the frame, what do you think?

[@rosekreuze]

i was looking for this type that could resist heat. on my old phone during heavy use as gps and lte the phone tend to heatup unbearable even to touch. my last known recorded battery temp was over 60°c. so usually my battery last a year before needing replacement. drawback from overheat was the battery became bloated and sometimes shuts down below 50-60% and trust me this kapton tape really adresses somewhere the heat if wrapped around the battery. i still love this phone its small and compact but i guess i couldnt do anything for the processor. any phone maybe running snapdragon600 i guess are normal at over 60-70° running at extended use

[@jakelancaster5889]

What the fuck get a new phone ffs

[@NativeVsColonial]

@@jakelancaster5889 NO, I LOVE MY PHONE ITS MY SOULMATE, HOW CAN YOU REPLACE YOUR SOULMATE :"(

[@naderhumood]

Tape is amazing....,good games. Thanks v much

[@thepilotgaming993]

Thanks for Good And understanding Testing method👌

[@jonienglish3231]

Good Video this Tape Would be Good for Tubeless Bicycle Rim Set up

[@marcg611]

Lol that's why I'm here also.. ordered some 30mm off Amazon as well as Stans to see which works better on 27id carbon wheels..

[@jonienglish3231]

@@marcg611 Got a NEW front 29" Sun Ringle Duroc 35 came Taped . install a KING 29x2.4 Started to Leak from Valve Stem threads , i said to my self WHY ?? New Rim , NEW TApe , New Tire , NEW Cheap Valve stem off Ebay - @##@$~@#%#~#@ Waited Few Days Still LEaking - Finnaly Decided to Demount and inspect !!!! the RIM Tape i Thought was new had Crack lines Running Around Rim . , Ended up using Black 1" Gorilla Tape just the Middle Section - Valley , That Fixed the LEAK - YEEHA

[@kennynvake4hve584]

You did it wrong with the Kapton tape...the thermocouple should not be out in the open...it should be under the tape.

[@rominhawk3949]

Liked it; thank you for this great presentation.

[@_________________404]

I have this tape and when I tried to burn it with matches it catched fire.. But that might just be because of the adhesive ?

[@GadgetReboot]

Maybe a match flame is hotter than the rating of the tape

[@big_b_radical3985]

There are some reports that the market has been flooded with fake kapton recently. Though I would not suggest testing with open flame.

[@raffyturc]

good review. thanks 😉

[@ABID5]

Very Well Done!

[@CVC-CSS]

Thank you.

[@felixcat4346]

So the question becomes, how does this compare to cellophane tape?

[@GadgetReboot]

When I looked it up I think the temperature tolerance was only around 40°C so I didn’t even try. I’ll save it for wrapping Christmas presents in a month or so!

[@SianaGearz]

Office tape is pretty eager to melt, it's usually polypropylene. This doesn't melt, doesn't smell, you can burn it but it's a slow and difficult process. It is nice to use, very sticky and safe.

[@thegorn]

good stuff man cool vid

[@cheater00]

nice video, thanks

[@bobbymalta73]

Thks for sharing.

[@chinapolyimidefilm4209]

cool the kapton tape

[@kashishsadadia3623]

Can we use this in laptop ? For around 95°C?

[@GadgetReboot]

It can tolerate that temperature, but depending what it's for, it will degrade over time and lose performance so it can sit in there, but it may not be as sticky eventually (maybe well beyond the life of the laptop)

[@PeetHobby]

The tape I got from China is also called Koptan tape, not Kapton because Kapton is a branded name and they are not allowed to sell it in the EU and USA under that name.

[@ukbd3054]

Is it electrically conductive?

[@GadgetReboot]

Mine doesn't register anything with probes near each other on it

[@electronic7979]

Good 👍👍

[@aydensutton]

I got the same tape on Amazon and it's bag was wish

[@NativeVsColonial]

hahah LOL, you should be filming that, video title: Amazon getting *EXPOSED*

[@Unknown_Ooh]

You are a victim of drop shipping nothing to with amazon except not enforcing rules on sellers that do this

[@brandystoy]

Good kapton tape won't even come off a circuit board at 400.

[@GadgetReboot]

With this stuff not being proper branded Kapton, that’s partly what the experiment is. Can it stand up to a few hundred degrees for soldering.

[@brandystoy]

@@GadgetReboot Gadget guy, you're not going to melt anybody's kapton. Worst case It won't stick to your board. I've been through about three hundred rolls of kapton as a circuit board reworker, it never melts.

[@brandystoy]

@@GadgetReboot I'm not trying to be a dick about this but kapton is kapton, the question is will it stick to whatever you're applying at 2. believe me that's a big thing, it's infuriating when you put the hot air pencil to it and it starts to come away from whatever you're trying to protect. And that's really all you're trying to do with kapton tape. You're protecting something from the heat.

[@GadgetReboot]

I haven’t had the official kapton product in about three years, I wish I could compare the stickiness to this particular role I have now but so far so good, nothing came off while I was using it for various hot air re-works.

[@dubmob151]

​@@brandystoy Kapton doesn't act as a heat shield if that's what the goal is. It's thermally conductive, and electrically insulative.

[@bornach]

Unfortunately kapton insulation has been implicated in fatal airplane fires, including the September 1998 crash of Swissair Flight 111 over Nova Scotia. All 229 passengers and crew perished.

[@GadgetReboot]

I wonder if it was approved for use at the time or if somebody improperly used it. I know military, aerospace, and presumably anything to do with aircraft Will have strict guidelines on approved materials so I would hope they’re not still using it if it caused a problem.

[@Tarbard]

@@GadgetReboot I was curious so I googled it, turns out it's the insulation around the wires becoming brittle over time, not kapton tape just spontaneously combusting , at least according to this blog www.vision.net.au/~apaterson/aviation/kapton_mangold.htm .

[@androidkenobi]

found some info that was surprising news to me (arc faults) from scanning the 350pg accident report: Arc faults can create circumstances that do not fall within the design limits of the over-current/time protection curve of conventional CBs. One such phenomenon is an intermittent metal-to-metal event (conductor-to-conductor or conductor-to-frame) known as a “ticking fault.” Such events can generate extremely high temperatures at the location of the insulation failure; however, the current draw may not be sufficient to heat the bimetal element to the temperature necessary to cause the CB to trip. In some cases, a breakdown of wire insulation can lead to other types of arc fault failures, such as arc tracking. The arc-tracking phenomenon involves carbonization of the wire insulation material that can result in intermittent arc faults between conductors, the aircraft frame, or other grounded conducting material. Although the hazards created by ticking faults and electrical arc tracking are widely known, existing technology is such that there are no CPDs [circuit protection device] available for use in aircraft that can accurately and reliably detect faults associated with wire insulation breakdown. The USN, the FAA, and aircraft manufacturers are sponsoring initiatives to address this shortfall in CPD technology. The goal is to develop an arc fault circuit breaker device appropriate for aircraft use. Various potential ignition sources, including electrical and non-electrical, were evaluated within the fire-damaged area. It was determined that the most likely ignition source was an electrical arcing event involving breached wire insulation that ignited nearby MPET-covered insulation material. end quote so ironically fire retardant material was one of the contributing factors to spreading the fire. And based on this sentence by NASA " Because all wire insulation types tested to date arc track, a test procedure has been developed to compare different insulation types with respect to their arc tracking susceptibility," seems like this problem will be inescapable for at least a while. There's an F-16 wires video showing mitigated flame length and duration by surrounding the kapton layer with teflon. hopefully that removes the kapton's ability to soak up moisture resulting in brittleness.

[@WickdPerfekT]

@@GadgetReboot I've seen in person with my own eyes the use of kapton film in the new James Webb space telescope... They're still using it.

[@gtfkt]

@@WickdPerfekT Kapton (polyimide) is used in all sorts of applications in space.

[@polycrystallinecandy]

It kapton going...

[@GadgetReboot]

and going… and going…until…

[@brandystoy]

Jesus Christ you're trying to melt kapton tape at 250.

[@irishguy200007]

Captain tape