Cable size question

[Dave Plowman (News)]

No - that's not the one. The one I've got has two jaws which separate under spring pressure. One holds the cable outer (under different spring pressure) on the working stroke, but releases it on the return stroke. The other jaw contains the split dies with the holes, which have a sharp leading edge and bite into the insulation, again under spring pressure. They don't need to go through it to the conductor - simply grip it firmly, hence the choice of four sizes, which cover everything I use. It wouldn't be suitable for very large stuff, though - I'd not try it on larger than

2.5mm.

The big difference is that it bites into the insulation over 360 degrees - or near enough - where most rely on just attacking it from two sides.

No brand name, unfortunately, although it's built to last with the wearing parts fixed by screws for easy replacement. If I knew who made it. ;-)

I think it came from Maplin, and was expensive.

[Lurch]

On Fri, 02 Jul 2004 10:13:56 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)" strung together this:

Did you see the URL I posted, it sounds just like them.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

signs of wear.

[Lurch]

On Fri, 02 Jul 2004 23:07:04 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)" strung together this:

Nope, mine neither. As a coincedence the Ideal catalogue landed on my doorstep today, they've got six A4 size pages dedicated to the different variations of these strippers! I'm also rather impressed with some of the other gadgets in there, only downside is there's not one mention of a metric measurement so far!

[Martin Angove]

Why has no-one mentioned the simple pen-knife yet?

T&E - slide it down the CPC and it slits the outer, then pinch the end of L or N between your thumb, the knife and your index finger and roll it a bit. Off pops the end.

Ok, it only works on solid cores properly (with thin stranded you run the risk of losing a few strands, but it's fine for all the T&E I've tried) and works best when the inner insulation (the red/black bit) isn't glued to the cable and is free to rotate, but variations on this have made me "lay aside" practically every wire stripper I've ever tried... and it is much better at getting into tight places too :-)

The only caveat I have is that it really needs a decent pen-knife to work. I mislaid the tool for a couple of days and had to use a Stanley

- not anywhere near as good, probably down to the shape and material of the blade.

Hwyl!

M.

[Andy Hall]

>

of your index finger ? :-)

.andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

[T i m]

I still have and use the ones BT forgot to take back when I left over twenty years ago. ;-)

They are like a pair of pliers but with the ends at 90 deg to the main tool (and overlapping) and a 'V' notch in each jaw. The depth is set by a threaded stop on the side and are very easy / reliable / repeatable to use.

I was stripping some Cat5e with that slippery type insulation and they were doing a fine job ..

All the best ..

T i m

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Sounds like the standard electrician's type.

They're ok, but need to be set for different cable sizes which is fiddly on small ones - although on solid core mains stuff you can ignore the stop, with practice.

[Andrew Gabriel]

Well, that's what I use -- normally a stanley knife.

When wiring, I usually try to avoid cutting the conductors if they are to be connected back together in the terminal. I remove a length of insulation and fold the conductor in half or lay it through a slotted terminal.

When doing a whole ring circuit, I usually try to see if I can install it as one single uncut length of cable from the CU back to the CU. This way you never get any cumlative contact resistances in the ring itself.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I'd be amazed if you could measure any difference over properly made terminations in the fittings. Ie, done up till they groan.

[Lurch]

On Sun, 04 Jul 2004 00:16:23 +0100, Martin Angove strung together this:

I used to do it like that, and even used pliers to double everything over but it was 'old fashioned' and too slow.

[Mark Williams]

Is this with singles or T&E? If the latter; how do you fit earth sleeving over the unbroken protective conductor: single sleeve over doubled conductor?

[Andrew Gabriel]

I've done it with both.

This isn't something I religiously stick to. Simply, where possible I avoid cutting conductors which are to be reconnected. If you see a ring circuit I'm installing at first fix, you'll see the cable loops in and out of each back box. If I get a whole ring installed in one uncut piece, I give myself a pat on the back.

You feed both the wires through the same hole, and sleeve the folded CPC with one piece wide enough to take two conductors.

[John]

I'll bet you still have your 81s and No.2 somewhere

[Lurch]

On 4 Jul 2004 20:14:11 GMT, [e-mail] (Andrew Gabriel) strung together this:

Er, that's against the regs.

[Andrew Gabriel]

Please cite...

[Lurch]

On 4 Jul 2004 21:54:03 GMT, [e-mail] (Andrew Gabriel) strung together this:

I knew you were going to say that. I haven't found the particular line yet, having said that I've only ever been told by the bloke from the NICEIC that it's a no-no. It's bad practice anyway, which is against the regs.

[Andrew Gabriel]

I'll save you the trouble -- there isn't one. ;-)

You might ask why out of curiosity, but NICEIC's made up rules aren't part of BS7671.

Why? On the contrary, I often hear it stated as mandatory for supplementary service bonding not to cut/join the conductor (which isn't true, but is a good idea nevertheless).

[Lurch]

On 4 Jul 2004 23:43:38 GMT, [e-mail] (Andrew Gabriel) strung together this:

I had a feeling there wouldn't be.

No, that's why I didn't mention that to start with. I generally take all advice from the NICEIC loonies with a pinch of salt.

Yes, on supplementary and equipotential bonding, not with the CPCs though. Having said all that, I do it myself most of the time as it's a lot quicker that way, and I like to fly through a big job!