I remember watching a show once where they tested various tapes for
suitability of duct patching. Duct tape actually came in quite low on the
list.

"To provide lab data about which sealants and tapes last, and which are
likely to fail, research was conducted at Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory Environmental Energy Technologies Division. Their major
conclusion was that one should not use duct tape to seal ducts (specialty
tapes are available for this purpose). (They defined duct tape as any
fabric-based tape with rubber adhesive.) The testing done shows that under
challenging but realistic conditions, duct tapes become brittle and may
fail.[6] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duct_tape#cite_note-5>Commonly duct
tape carries no safety certifications such as
UL<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underwriters_Laboratories>
 or Proposition
65<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Proposition_65_(1986)>,
which means the tape can violently burn, produce toxic smoke, ingestion and
contact toxicity, irregular mechanical strength, and low life expectancy for
the adhesive on the tape. Its use in ducts has been prohibited by the state
of California <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California>[7]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duct_tape#cite_note-6>
and
by building codes in most other places in the
U.S.<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States> However,
metalized and aluminum <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminum> tapes used by
professionals are still often called "duck/duct tapes"."

- Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duct_tape#Usage_on_ductwork

So ... there you go.  However, according to the Mythbusters, it is good for
building sail boats and cannons.

-Sean
 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duct_tape#Usage_on_ductwork>

On Thu, Mar 25, 2010 at 10:55 AM, Bill Dueber <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Also...it's pretty good for plugging leaks in ducts.
>
> On Thu, Mar 25, 2010 at 11:51 AM, Nate Vack <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> > On Thu, Mar 25, 2010 at 10:00 AM, Joe Hourcle
> > <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> >
> > > You say that as if duct tape is a bad thing for auto repairs.  Not all
> > duct
> > > tape repairs are candidates for "There, I fixed it!"[1].  It works just
> > fine
> > > for the occassional hose repair.
> >
> > At the risk of taking an off-topic conversation even further into
> > Peanut Heaven, automotive hose repair is actually one of the things
> > duct tape is least well-suited to. The adhesive doesn't bond when wet,
> > it's not strong enough to hold much pressure or vacuum (especially
> > moderate continuous pressure), and it fails very quickly at even
> > moderately high temperatures. And it tends to leave goo all over
> > everything, thus adding headaches to the proper repair you'll still
> > need later.
> >
> > Duct tape is OK for keeping a wire bundle out of your fan or
> > something, but if you try to fix a leak in your radiator hose with it,
> > you'll still be stranded and also have gooey duct tape adhesive all
> > over the place.
> >
> > Extending these points to the ongoing language debate is an exercise
> > that will benefit no one ;-)
> >
> > Cheers (and just get that hose replaced ;-)
> > -Nate
> >
>
>
>
> --
> Bill Dueber
> Library Systems Programmer
> University of Michigan Library
>