Mineral Insulated Copper-Sheathed Cable

[Graham]

Have power to my Triton T80si fed through Mineral Insulated Copper-Sheathed cable, some 8 metres from fuse box. This was installed prior to buying the flat last year. After some redecoration work and removing old hot air (no longer used )central heating ducting I now find myself with surplus cabling that needs re-routing and shortening by approx. 1 metre. Problems would like help on are :

1. If I cut the cable to shorten it, how do I fit a new new seal and where do I buy from?
2. Is it a DIY job or is a professional electrician needed?
3. Might it be OK just to loop part of the excess cable in a ducting void and keep the original seal in tact? I would need to bore larger holes (12mm min) in the thermalite walls for the re-routing.
4. If decide to get rid of shower all together and install one to run off the combi-boiler, can I easily remove the entire cabling from the fuse box? Thank you in advance for any help with the above.

[Owain]

You can buy new seals and glands from an electrical wholesaler. Caveat - depending on the age of the MICC you might need Imperial rather than metric, which might not be stocked any more.

What is very important is that whoever does it has *practiced* using MICC, that the cable is then meggered, and that the cores are properly identified.

If convenient.

Probably the best thing as your combi boiler will provide a significantly better shower than any electric instantaneous, and be cheaper to run too.

Removing the cabling from the fuse box shouuld be just a matter of undoing the nut inside the box and removing the gland. You'll need a blanking grommet or something to fill the hole with though.

Owain

[Dave Plowman (News)]

From a wholesaler who stocks them - and not all do.

Difficult question to answer. To be safe I'll say get a pro in. I use the stuff and have the terminating tools, and like everything else it's simple when you know how. And the larger sizes - like you'll have - are probably easier to terminate. However, the other gotcha is that there will be plenty of electricians around that don't know how to do it either.

That would be the easiest answer.

Yes - there's nothing complicated about removing it. Once disconnected, you can cut through it with a hacksaw. You might find it interesting to take a termination apart to see how it's done.

[Stephen Dawson]

I have to say, that I quite enjoy doing MICC work, because there is a sense of skill and pride with, more so than other cable because using it is a dying art, and you generally get one chance only when terminating it.

Steve

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Yes - last time I used it was for my Victorian conservatory which I'd re-built as close to original as possible. It's a lean to and the bricks weren't rendered, so no way of concealing cables. It's very satisfying to make a neat job. Found it difficult to get the bits, though - I was using

2L1 bare.

[Andrew Gabriel]

I hope you kept it away from any potentially damp cement ;-)

[Dave Plowman (News)]

*Damp*? After *I've* rebuilt it? Wash your mouth...;-)