Discuss 5 core SWA 120mm pvc cable in the Commercial Electrical Advice area at ElectriciansForums.net

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buzzer123

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Hello all
So Im doing the groundwork to install a electrical kiosk and lay 250m approx. of cable to live up an off grid property.
I am not an electrician i am only doing the hole digging and slab making for the kiosk - I will not be wiring anything in - not my thing :) a qualified company approved by uk power networks will be doing that.

I am working for a friend though who wants to source the best priced cable he can - at the moment he has had a price from kew for £40.41 a metre

I was looking for your advice please on where else to call to get a competitive quote -

Thank you in advance for your help :)
 
I have - he recommended Kew and i rang them
My client is old and not tech savvy and so i am helping him. He also does not have much money and so I am trying to get him the best price (as this size cable is going to be expensive).
Understandably the Sparky who is doing the install does not want to buy the cable so he has put that into the clients court and will therefore be working on day rate to connect etc

...…...just hoped to have some more input
[automerge]1567602116[/automerge]
Hi BuzZ its 5 core SWA 120mm pvc cable
 
What the size is the 4 core 3phase it will be a big size for 250 meters.

Title says its 5 core SWA 120mm mate.
[automerge]1567602308[/automerge]
Have you tried pricing up 500m of 70mm 5 core SWA and comparing the prices?
 
Hello all
So Im doing the groundwork to install a electrical kiosk and lay 250m approx. of cable to live up an off grid property.
I am not an electrician i am only doing the hole digging and slab making for the kiosk - I will not be wiring anything in - not my thing :) a qualified company approved by uk power networks will be doing that.

I am working for a friend though who wants to source the best priced cable he can - at the moment he has had a price from kew for £40.41 a metre

I was looking for your advice please on where else to call to get a competitive quote -

Thank you in advance for your help :)
Out of interest only where is the Sparky going to connect this 120mm2??
 
Title says its 5 core SWA 120mm mate.
[automerge]1567602308[/automerge]
Have you tried pricing up 500m of 70mm 5 core SWA and comparing the prices?
Hello- could that be done? And safely? Interesting- why did the electrician not mention this? Thank you for that that could be a really good idea
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Why dont the op ring up cleveland cable peaple and go direct to them considing the length he will need a big drum of cable.
They are expensive £45 a metre
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Out of interest only where is the Sparky going to connect this 120mm2??
House (he lives off grid) electric gate and his workshop- metal worker so 3 phase needed
 
Hello- could that be done? And safely? Interesting- why did the electrician not mention this? Thank you for that that could be a really good idea

It's just putting the cables in parallel.. No safety issues
 
I have - he recommended Kew and i rang them
My client is old and not tech savvy and so i am helping him. He also does not have much money and so I am trying to get him the best price (as this size cable is going to be expensive).
Understandably the Sparky who is doing the install does not want to buy the cable so he has put that into the clients court and will therefore be working on day rate to connect etc

...…...just hoped to have some more input
[automerge]1567602116[/automerge]
Hi BuzZ its 5 core SWA 120mm pvc cable

It's difficult to comment without knowing more details, but I would ask the person who calculated the cable size whether they have considered parallel cables to reduce the overall size an dtherfire price?
Also using 5 core seems a little bit odd, especially in that size.
[automerge]1567605021[/automerge]
Have you tried pricing up 500m of 70mm 5 core SWA and comparing the prices?

Why 70mm? 2x50mm would normally replace 1x120mm
 
I no spoon why 5 not 4 just asking three phase and all.
People are questioning that you don’t need five core & you can go with 4 core
I assumed one was For neutral and the other was for earth and the three remaining were for the phases am I right or am I talking to a complete lemon electrician?
 
It's difficult to comment without knowing more details, but I would ask the person who calculated the cable size whether they have considered parallel cables to reduce the overall size an dtherfire price?
Also using 5 core seems a little bit odd, especially in that size.
[automerge]1567605021[/automerge]


Why 70mm? 2x50mm would normally replace 1x120mm

You are correct mate.

@buzzer123, as @davesparks has pointed out. 2 x 50mm cab replace your 1 x 120mm
 
People are questioning that you don’t need five core & you can go with 4 core
I assumed one was For neutral and the other was for earth and the three remaining were for the phases am I right or am I talking to a complete lemon electrician?

It's not always a simple yes or no answer. Without knowing the details of the design and calculations for the circuit it is hard to know whether 4 or 5 core is required.

I'm going to put this in somewhat simplified terms as I get the impression you aren't necessarily interested in the full technical explations and terminology.
Generally with armoured cable the four cores are three lives and a neutral, the armour itself is the earth. However in some situations the armour doesn't satisfy the requirements for being the earth (particularly if it is doing earthing and bonding, not just earthing) this is worked out based on a few calculations and the details of your particular incoming supply.

This cable will have been oversized to account for the long distance it has to travel, and to be honest I'm a little surprised that it isn't bigger than 120mm for that distance. This will generally mean that the armour will be big enough to be both an earth and a bond.

Ypu may not be talking to a complete lemon, but they may not have a full understanding or much experience at designing this type of circuit.
 
Allowing a 2% vd you will scrape 80A on a 240. A 300mm will give you 90A.
 
Me my self is not questioning what cable that he is using knowning the fact the op sould be asking the said spark i agree what some are saying
Its like asking is this string long enough.
 
Last edited:
Hello all
Thanks for your responses.

I believe that is 100 A total Split across three phases.
Client is talking to UK power networks about upgrading transformer to have 100 A from each phase.

What size cable would he need to future proof for that?
Thank you.
 

Reply to 5 core SWA 120mm pvc cable in the Commercial Electrical Advice area at ElectriciansForums.net

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