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[ Technical: FAQs ] Need to know?


Each issue, we answer a selection of frequently asked questions, providing expert guidance and tips. Here, the Approved Cables Initiative’s (ACI) spokesperson PETER SMEETH delivers the latest update on defective cables


One would expect all electrical cable brands to be quite similar in structure.


What makes a more expensive quality cable any different to a low-cost inferior item? The majority of problems encountered in electrical cable relate to a reduction in the


amount of copper used in production. The price of copper, the main cable ingredient, has steadily risen in price since 2004 and remains high today. With such a substantial rise in this base metal, it is easy to see why reducing the amount of copper in a cable can produce significant savings – while at the same time generating some healthy profits for those trading in these cables. This sharp practice obviously gives the perpetrator an advantage when it comes to pricing the goods for sale, or in a tender. In addition to this, cable with smaller cores and thicker sheaths have also been found, thereby giving


Destruction of counterfeit cable


the unsuspecting the impression they are buying the right cable when they are clearly not. Our advice is to buy cable from reputable manufacturers who have been third-party approved.


Is it possible to spot a faulty cable – are there any discerning features? More often than not, faulty cables cannot be spotted by the untrained eye, and even then


many may go unchecked unless they are subjected to routine tests as part of an installation process. Contractors are advised to follow some simple steps for ordering cable to ensure that they avoid the pitfalls. These include checking for and noting: n Type of cable; n British or other cable standard number; nCable reference number or code (CMA code or equivalent supplier stock code);


n Number of cores and nominal cross section; nQuantity and lengths of cable required (with length breakdown if required);


n Manufacturer’s details – carried on the cable; nTraceability: conformance certificate including traceability to source of manufacture, manufacturing quality approvals and CE Marking;


n Third-party approval requirement; n Technical options; and


64 ECA Today November 2012


Image supplied courtesy of BASEC


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