What is Concentric Neutral Cable?

Question:  What is Concentric Neutral Cable?

The "concentric neutral" is the right most wires in this photo.

Answer:  In concentric neutral cable, the concentric neutral wires primarily serve two purposes:

1.  They act as the neutral (shocking revelation!)

2.  They  act as the ground; disbursing the current throughout the length of the cable if needed. 

Why is this important when selecting a medium voltage splice?  Because the splice area needs to have this same concentric neutral set up that the cable itself (as manufactured) has.  If the concentric neutral isn't recreated in the splice area then it can lead to a failure of the entire cable in a catastrophic event.  

When dealing with the electrical world; the devil really is in the details...so don't overlook them!

What is Armored Cable?

     Another question you must answer when trying to purchase a Raychem medium voltage splice of some kind is:  do you have armored cable?  An easier question to answer if you know what 'armored cable' is! 

     Well, it is exactly what it sounds like.  Armored cable is a cable with 'armor' built into it.  This armor gives the cable extra physical protection from potential physical damage; thus (in theory) increasing the expected life of the cable.  Here is a photo:

What do 1/C and 3/C Mean When Ordering Raychem Heat Shrink?

Question:  Looking through some of the medium voltage heat shrink splice options in your catalog; I see a designation for 1/C and 3/C.  What do those mean?

Answer:  This one is fairly simple!  The 'C' stands for conductors, so a 1/C cable has only one conductor in it.  A 3/C on the other hand has..........yes; three conductors.  See photos below in case you need it spelled out even further.

A one conductor cable.

A three conductor cable.

     It probably isn't difficult to understand why it is important to know whether you have a 1/C or a 3/C cable prior to ordering a splice kit.  Clearly, the 3/C splice kit will essentially be '3 splice kits in one' (plus some other components). 

Jacketed versus Unjacketed Cable

     When looking at the different Raychem heat shrink kit options for medium voltage cable splicing, it quickly becomes apparent that there are a number of possible cable configurations in the market today...and that knowing which cable configuration you have is an absolute necessity when attempting to select the correct Raychem Medium Voltage Splice kit for your specific job.

     Over the next few days, I will be looking at some of these different 'options'.  These details are incredibly important.  When making a medium voltage splice (or any splice for that matter), the goal is recreate the structure of the manufactured cable in the splice area.  We want the cable configuration to be identical, whether looking at a manufacture portion or at the spliced section.

     Today I'm looking at what is probably the simplest one, jacketed cable and unjacketed cables.  This is most easily demonstrated through photos:
T

This is a jacketed cable; notice multiple cables all surrounded by an outer PE jacket.

This is an unjacketed cable; notice that though the individual cables do have a PE jacket; they are not all housed within a single, outer PE jacket.

     Which ever type of cable you have, you want to make sure you purchase the correct corresponding Raychem splice kit in order to be sure you have all of the components you will need.