Technical Information Instrumentation, Power & Control

Cable Installation

Installation
Overview Ambient Temperature Equipment
A survey of customer complaints revealed Low temperatures are a cause for The proper use of appropriate equipment is
that 92% of the cables in question failed concern when installing cable. The follow- crucial to a successful cable installation.
due to mechanical damage. When does ing are temperatures below which cable The equipment needed for most installa-
mechanical damage usually occur? During should not be installed. tions is detailed in the following checklist:
installation.
• CSPE/EPR - 1/C..........................-31°F ❑ Portable electric generator
In fact, most cables are subjected to more ❑ Extension cords & GFCI
mechanical stress during installation than • CPE Jacket..................................-31°F
❑ Pump, diaphragm
they ever experience in actual operation.
• CPE/EPR - 1/C.............................-31°F ❑ Make-up air blower & hose
Needless to say, handling and pulling your
cable according to manufacturer’s recom- ❑ Manhole cover hooks
• FREP, PE, XLPE - 1/C..................-58°F
mendations is extremely important. ❑ Warning flags, signs
• PVC.............................................+14°F ❑ Electrostatic kV tester
There are five main considerations in any
❑ Electric safety blankets and clamps
cable installation:
❑ Radios or telephones
• Ambient temperature CSPE = Chlorosulfonated Polyethylene ❑ Gloves
(Hypalon®) ❑ Flood lamps
• Equipment
❑ Fishtape or string blower/vacuum
CPE = Chlorinated Polyethylene
• Conduit fill ❑ Hand line
EPR = Ethylene Propylene Rubber ❑ Duct cleaning mandrels
• Mechanical fit in raceway
❑ Duct testing mandrels
PE = Polyethylene
• Physical limitations ❑ Capstan type puller
These considerations were developed and
FREP = Flame Retardant EP ❑ Snatch blocks
refined by installers of paper-lead cables. ❑ Short ropes for temp tie-offs
PVC = Polyvinyl Chloride
Two excellent references are the ❑ Guide-in flexible tubing (elephant trunks)
“Underground Systems Reference Book” XLPE = Cross-Linked Polyethylene ❑ Several wire rope slings of various
and “Pipeline Design for Pipe Type lengths
Feeders.” The former was published by ❑ Shackles/clevis
Edison Electric Institute in 1931 and was
During cold weather installation, cable ❑ Gang rollers; with at least 4 ft.
last revised in 1957. The latter was an AIEE
should be pulled more slowly and trained effective radius
paper (#53-389) by R.C. Rifenburg, pub-
in place the same day it is removed from ❑ Hand winches (come-a-long)
lished in Power Apparatus & Systems in
storage. Do not impact, drop, kink or bend
December 1953. ❑ Manhole edge sheave
cable sharply in low temperatures.
❑ Pulling rope
For additional information on cable ❑ Swivels
installation, please refer to ❑ Basket grip pullers
page 220 through 227.
❑ 0-1/5/10 kip dynamometer
❑ Reel arbor
❑ Reel jacks
❑ Reel brakes
❑ Cable cutter
❑ Lint free rags
❑ Cable pulling lubricant
❑ Prelubing devices
❑ Plywood sheets
❑ Diameter tape
❑ 50 ft. measuring tape
❑ Silicone caulking (to seal cable ends)

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Instrumentation, Power & Control Technical Information

Cable Installation

Cable Feed-In Setups

The following diagrams illustrate various cable feed-in setups:

The feed-in setup should unreel the

cable with a natural curvature
(Figure 1) as opposed to a reverse
“S” curvature (Figure 2).

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Technical Information Instrumentation, Power & Control

Cable Installation

Cable Feed-In Setups (continued)

Single Sheaves may be

used only for GUIDING cables.
Arrange multiple blocks to hold
bending radii whenever cable
is deflected.

For pulling around bends,

use conveyor sheave
assemblies of the
appropriate radius series.

The pulleys must be positioned to ensure that

the effective curvature is smooth and deflected
evenly at each pulley. Never allow a polygon
curvature to occur (Figure 3).

The fit of a pulley around the cable is also

important when pulling heavy weights
(i.e. pulleys at the top of a vertical drop).

Remember to use the radius of the

surface over which the cable is bent,
not the outside flange diameter of the
pulley. A “10 inch” cable sheave typi -
cally has an inside (bending) radius of
3 inches.

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Instrumentation, Power & Control Technical Information

Cable Installation

Conductors in Parallel or as Assemblies.

Soft Drawn Copper or Hard Drawn Aluminum
The following maximum tensions are for direct attachment to the conductor. However, the pulling force must not exceed the
smallest value of 1) conductor tension; or 2) pulling device tension; or 3) sidewall load.
MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE CONDUCTOR TENSION (LBS)

#CDR
AWG/KCMIL 1 2 3 4 5 6
20 8 16 24 26 33 39
18 13 26 39 41 52 62
16 21 41 62 66 83 99
14 33 66 99 100 130 150
12 52 100 150 160 200 250
11 66 130 190 210 260 310
10 83 160 240 260 330 390
9 100 200 310 330 410 500
8 130 260 390 420 520 630
6 210 420 630 670 840 1000
4 330 660 1000 1060 1330 1600
3 420 840 1260 1340 1680 2020
2 530 1060 1590 1690 2120 2540
1 670 1330 2000 2140 2670 3210
1/0 840 1690 2530 2700 3370 4050
2/0 1060 2130 3190 3400 4250 5110
3/0 1340 2680 4020 4290 5370 6440
4/0 1690 3380 5070 5410 6500 6500
250 2000 4000 6000 6400 6500 6500
300 2400 4800 6500 6500 6500 6500
350 2800 5600 6500 6500 6500 6500
400 3200 6400 6500 6500 6500 6500
450 3600 6500 6500 6500 6500 6500
500 4000 6500 6500 6500 6500 6500
600 4800 6500 6500 6500 6500 6500
700 5000 6500 6500 6500 6500 6500
750 5000 6500 6500 6500 6500 6500
800 5000 6500 6500 6500 6500 6500
900 5000 6500 6500 6500 6500 6500
1000 5000 6500 6500 6500 6500 6500

T = 0.008 x CM x N, if N ≤ 3.
T = 0.008 x CM x N x 0.8, if N > 3.

Dimensions and weights are nominal; subject to industry tolerance.

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Technical Information Instrumentation, Power & Control

Cable Installation

Multiconductor Cables Having Equal Sized Conductors, without Subassemblies.

Soft Drawn Copper
The following maximum tensions are for direct attachment to the conductor. However, the pulling force must not exceed the
smallest value of 1) conductor tension; or 2) pulling device tension; or 3) sidewall load.
MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE CONDUCTOR TENSION (LBS)

AWG
20 18 16 14 12 11 10 9
2 16 26 41 66 100 130 160 200
3 24 39 62 99 150 190 240 310
4 33 52 83 130 200 260 330 410
5 41 65 100 160 260 320 410 520
6 49 78 120 190 310 390 490 620
7 49 78 120 190 310 390 490 620
8 52 83 130 210 330 420 530 670
9 59 93 140 230 370 470 590 750
10 65 100 160 260 410 520 660 830
11 72 110 180 280 460 570 730 920
12 78 120 190 310 500 630 790 1000
13 85 130 210 340 540 680 860 1000
14 91 140 230 360 580 730 930 1000
15 98 150 240 390 620 790 990 1000
16 100 160 260 420 660 840 1000 1000
17 110 170 280 440 710 890 1000 1000
18 110 180 290 470 750 940 1000 1000
19 120 190 310 500 790 1000 1000 1000
20 130 200 330 520 830 1000 1000 1000
22 140 220 360 570 910 1000 1000 1000
24 150 240 390 630 1000 1000 1000 1000
26 170 270 420 680 1000 1000 1000 1000
28 180 290 460 730 1000 1000 1000 1000
30 190 310 490 780 1000 1000 1000 1000
32 200 330 520 840 1000 1000 1000 1000
34 220 350 560 890 1000 1000 1000 1000
36 230 370 590 940 1000 1000 1000 1000
38 240 390 620 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000
40 260 410 660 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000
42 270 430 690 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000
44 280 450 720 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000
46 300 470 760 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000
48 310 490 790 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000
50 320 510 820 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000
The maximum limit is 1000 lbs.
T = 0.008 x CM x N, if N ≤ 6.
T = 0.008 x CM x N x 0.8, if N > 6.
T = 0.008 x CM x N x 0.6, if twisted subassemblies.

Dimensions and weights are nominal; subject to industry tolerance.

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Instrumentation, Power & Control Technical Information

Cable Installation

Physical Limitations
Training and Bending

Overview Applications in Accordance with the

Training is the positioning of cable National Electrical Code.
which is not under tension. Bending is
the positioning of cable which is under
tension. When installing cable, the TABLE 1
object is to limit these forces so that Shielded and Non-Armored
the cable’s physical and electrical char- Single Conductor - 12 x Overall Diameter
acteristics are maintained for the Multiple Conductor - 12 x Diameter of the largest cable
expected service life. component over which the shield/lead cover is applied
The recommended limits are:
• Tables per National Electric Code
(see tables at right)
• Tables per ICEA/NEMA
(see pg 100) TABLE 2
• A non-shielded cable can toler-
Non-Shielded and Non-Armored
ate a sharper bend than a shield-
ed cable can. This is especially Single and Multiple Conductor – 8 x Overall Diameter
true for cables having helical (Flexible Cable) 10 x Overall DIameter (Non-Flexible Cable)
metal tapes which, when bent
too sharply, can separate, buckle
and cut into the insulation.
The problem is compounded by the fact
that most tapes are under jackets which TABLE 3
conceal such damage. The shielding Armored Cable - Type MC
bedding tapes or extruded polymers Interlocked or Continuously Seam Welded
have sufficient conductivity and cover- Corrugated Sheath
age initially to pass acceptance testing, 12 x External Diameter of Armor
then fail prematurely due to corona at
the shield/insulation interface. In all cases, the minimum bending radius specified refers to the inner surface of the
Remember that offsets are bends. cable and not to the axis of the cable.

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Technical Information Instrumentation, Power & Control

Cable Installation

Physical Limitations
Training and Bending (Continued)

Applications in Accordance With ICEA/NEMA STDS. (Non-Code)

TABLE I
Non-Shielded, Non-Armored Power & Control Cable
Overall Diameter of Cable (Inches)
Thickness of
Conductor Insulation Up to 1.000 1.001 To 2.000 Over 2.000
(Inches) Min. Bend Radius as a Multiple of Cable O.D.
.155 and less 4 5 6
.170 to .310 5 6 7
.325 and Over - 7 8

TABLE II
Metallic Shielded and/or Armored Power & Control Cable
Min. Bend Radius
Type of Cable as a Multiple of Cable O.D.
Flat Tape or Wire Armored . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Armored, Interlocked (Duralox® ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Armored, Welded Corrugated Sheath (Philsheath®) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
*Non-Armored, Tape Shielded (Uniblend® ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
*Non-Armored, Wire Shielded or UniShield® . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Table I Above
*Includes 12 x Single Conductor O.D. in Cabled Assemblies, i.e. Triplexed, Quadruplexed, etc.

The above Tables contain the minimum values for the radii to which insulated cables may be bent for permanent
training during installation. These limits do not apply to conduit bends, sheaves or other curved surfaces around
which the cable may be pulled under tension while being installed. Larger radii bends are required for such condi-
tions due to the limitation of sidewall bearing pressure. In all cases the minimum radii specified refers to the inner
surface of the cable and not to the axis of the cable.

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Instrumentation, Power & Control Technical Information

Cable Installation

Maximum Sidewall Pressure

Sidewall Loading (Sidewall Bearing Pressure)

Overview
Sidewall load is the radial force exerted on a
cable being pulled around a conduit bend or
sheave. Excessive sidewall loading can crush a
cable and is, therefore, one of the most restric-
tive factors in installations having bends or high
tensions. Sidewall loading is reduced by increas-
ing the radius of the bends.
The maximum tension that can be safely applied
to the cable during installation can be derived
using the maximum sidewall loading limit of the
cable and the radius of the bend it is traversing.
For example, a cable having a maximum SWL of
300 lb/ft that is being pulled around a bend hav-
ing a radius of 2 feet should have no greater
than 300 lbs/ft x 2 ft or 600 lbs tension applied
to it as the cable exits the bend. Laboratory
tests conducted on standard cables after they CABLE TYPE SWL LBS/FT
had been subjected to conduit pull tests 600V non-shielded control 300
through 90° elbows of appropriate radii, indicate
no significant change in the cable’s electrical 600V and 1kV non-shielded EP power 500
parameters at the following sidewall loads: 5 and 35kV UniShield® & Uniblend®, 5 kV Durasheath ® EP 500
Interlocked and Philsheath® armored cable (All Voltage Classes) 300

General Cable’s Approval List of Cable Pulling Lubricants

NAME OF LUBRICANT MANUFACTURER

Polywater® A, G and J . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . American Polywater Corporation, Stillwater, MN

Polywater® Plus Silicone, Types NN, WNN, FS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . American Polywater Corporation, Stillwater, MN
Wire Lube® Aqua-Gel®, Yellow 77* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ideal Industries, Sycamore, IL
Dyna-Blue® Cable Lubricant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . American Polywater Corporation, Stillwater, MN
Wirepull . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mac Products, Kearney, NJ

Other lubricants may be suitable for use with General Cable designs.
Contact the lubricant manufacturer about the compatibility of their products with specific cables.
Cable lubricants should be currently UL listed.
Contact lubricant manufacturers for proof of approval.
* Not recommended for our UniShield product line only.

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