Mineral cable - Electrician Talk - Professional Electrical Contractors Forum

chrisb271 · 11-07-2007, 06:03 PM

Do you guys use cable like this ?

Its called Mineral Insulated Copper Cable ( MICC for short )

The conductors are embedded in a layer of magnesium powder and you need special tools to make the ends of and terminate it.

Used a lot in gas stations and churches and in this instance a 200 year old mud hut that is being renovated by the national trust.

Not very easy to work with

Attachment 296

Attachment 297

Chris

brian john · 11-07-2007, 07:09 PM

Yes we utilize this time of cable.

HighWirey · 11-07-2007, 07:33 PM

Used tens of thousands of feet, mostly black vinyl voated, and thousands of connectors. Application was mostly on missle launch towers.

Never seen a sheath stripper as shown in picture 1. How does that work?
Also never seen the white coating as in picture 2.

You are correct "Not very easy to work with".

gilbequick · 11-07-2007, 09:35 PM

What's the purpose of using mineral cable?

HighWirey · 11-08-2007, 12:25 AM

MI cable, with the correct potting compound, is explosionproof, and is fireproof to a very high temperature. It is fairly robust in construction.
Do a google on 'MICC cable' - Wikipedia has a good rundown.

Applications were mostly fire alarm and critical power circuits.

Just don't know why it would be used in a U.K. church. Heard of 'fire and brimstone' preaching?

Best Wishes

te12co2w · 11-08-2007, 09:20 AM

Have used that quite a bit. Around here we see it in explosion proof installations. Oil Refineries, power houses. Another big use for MI cable is for heat tracing pipes and vessels in exposed or very cold locations. We have some of that here in Wyoming

frank · 11-08-2007, 02:32 PM

Chris

Full marks for the 'home brew' stripper. The PIRO strippers are difficult to use if not practiced with them. So your 'tool and or the end of a flat nose screwdriver work just as well. And cheaper too. Other than for designer specified use I now stay away from MICC and use FP200 or Fire Tuff if possible.

Frank

chrisb271 · 11-08-2007, 05:25 PM

Frank

Got the idea for the stripper from a tin of pilchards

I can strip a foot of copper sheath in 90 seconds with it,so its quick.

We have done a couple of churches and a lot of alterations and extras in Lincoln cathederal,the Lincolnshire diocese specify Mineral cable for all there churches and will not allow anything else to be used.

I used to do some gas stations but the regulations got really silly in the end so gave it up.

Chris

chrisb271 · 11-08-2007, 05:31 PM

HighWirey

The stripper is used by twisting the key in a clockwise motion whilst turning it round,bit of a complex manouver until you get the hang of it,i can strip faster with this device than my lads can with a purpose bought tool.

The white coating is a PVC skin,in the UK we mainly get either white,orange or red coatings.
The red mainly gets used for fire alarms circuits.

Chris

frank · 11-09-2007, 02:44 PM

Chris.
Like you I have given up on lots of Petrol Station Work. Filling in the forms and taking all that resposibility was just too much. Not worth the hassle. I don't do domestic work now either. Anything that requires Part P form filling or notifying the NICEIC I leave to others. Although Part P registered as a full NICEIC 'sparkie' I again can't be bothered with the paperwork. I stay with commercial and industrial. In this way I am free from nosey parkers. They have no idea what I am doing anyway. I am free from domestic customers - who only want to see you do a job on the cheap, complain a lot and take time in paying you - after first asking for a discount. Then they try to get you to break the law and ask, " if I pay you cash will you knock of the tax". And they always have a friend or relation that could have done the job but they are 'just too busy right now'.

Frank

chrisb271 · 11-09-2007, 03:06 PM

Frank

I think we are on the same page m8,the only domestic stuff i do now is for the National trust or English heritage,they can and usually are a bit "picky" but pay well and on time which was another one of my reasons for getting away from the domestic scene,late or none payments

I'm also a fully paid NICEIC member but was sick of trying to cut someone elses throat for the "chaff" jobs then wade through the endless pile of documentation and forms after - No thanks !

I have a good list of 'good customers' that i look after really well but its finding time to get round everyone,i always get invited to there chrismas do's good job i love food

Chris

HighWirey · 11-09-2007, 05:50 PM

Chris,

Kudos on your MICC sheath stripper. Whatever we can do to make our work easier is a plus.

It is too bad that our bureaucracys are running good contractors away from some otherwise good projects. We have the same situations on this side.

Best Wishes

HighWirey · 11-11-2007, 12:17 AM

Chris and Frank,

Thank you for your replies.

I do not understand how you can spirally unwrap the sheath on MI without first scoring the sheath. I surely do not understand how you could use the 'the end of a flat nose screwdriver" to do this.

We have always used 'a purpose bought tool' for the task.

Please enlighten a dummy here.

Best Wishes

JohnJ0906 · 11-11-2007, 08:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frank

I stay with commercial and industrial. In this way I am free from nosey parkers. They have no idea what I am doing anyway. I am free from domestic customers - who only want to see you do a job on the cheap, complain a lot and take time in paying you - after first asking for a discount. Then they try to get you to break the law and ask, " if I pay you cash will you knock of the tax". And they always have a friend or relation that could have done the job but they are 'just too busy right now'.

Frank

Boy, although there are many differences between electrical work in the UK and the US, some things are EXACTLY the same.

gilbequick · 11-11-2007, 12:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnJ0906

Boy, although there are many differences between electrical work in the UK and the US, some things are EXACTLY the same.

My thoughts exactly.

chrisb271 · 11-11-2007, 02:35 PM

HighWirey

It seems strange but the stripper i use DOES take it off the MICC in a spiral,its not scored in anyway,obviously i have to take the pvc covering off first.

Mineral cable can also be stripped with side cutting pliers which i have used on many occasions and this spirals off too.

The stripper in the picture is about 13 inches long and quarter inch diam with a slot cut in the end.
A small section of the outer sheath is then stripped off with side cutters and the end is fed into the rod stripper.

It then comes off in a spiral

Chris

frank · 11-11-2007, 02:39 PM

HighWirey.

I guess it's all in the wrist action.After a while you can do it quite easily. I generally use a manufacturers stripping tool for long tail ends. But for shorter ones - say 6 inches or so - then a screwdriver works just fine. Just as Chris says. If you have ever opened a flat can of pilchards or sardines then you have the idea.

Frank