Sparks Electrical News April 2015

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sparks
ELECTRICAL NEWS april 2015
cables and cable accessories 21
BRADY has launched a durable and
compliant Low Smoke Zero Halogen
Sleeve to identify wires and cables and
to protect people in closed environ-
ments during a fire.“Our Low Smoke
Zero Halogen Sleeve passes EU and
UK norms for smoke and toxic gas
emission and is therefore useful to
identify cables and wires inmass
transit passenger vehicles or in public
places”, says Mario van Bever, global
product manager materials wire ID, at
Brady Corporation.
Lethal smoke
In enclosed spaces, where it is dif-
ficult for people to evacuate, smoke
and toxicity are oftenmore lethal than
Low smoke zero halogen cable sleeve increases safety during evacuations
COPPER theft is costing South Africa tens, if not hundreds of
millions of rand each year. This includes replacement and la-
bour costs as well as revenue loss due to electrical outages.
Add to that the danger posed to humans by ungrounded
power systems, security costs such as surveillance cameras
and the problemgains perspective.
But ARB Electrical Wholesalers’range of Copperweld® bi-
metallic earth-wire and strands products are helping to turn
the tide on copper theft across Africa says s Dave Muller,
divisional manager at ARB Electrical Wholesalers.
He explains that the Copperweld range of products has
the appearance of galvanised steel, yet it features a steel
core clad in highly conductive copper. While the copper
layer ensures reliable conductivity it is also impossible
to separate from the steel core, making the wire virtually
worthless to scrap dealers and, therefore, to cable thieves.
The NRS 102: Anti-Theft Earthing Materials (2014) also rec-
ommends the use of copper-clad steel to deter theft.
“Here is a product that has been treated to look like galva-
nised steel, is magnetised and difficult to cut, creating the
illusion of low-cost steel. In terms of conductivity, it is on par
with copper and even produces better tensile strength and
sufficient current capacity,”explains Muller.
“It really is an excellent alternative to copper and bound
to curb the copper cable theft that is plaguing our country.”
It is for that reason that several South Africanmunici-
palities are using the product, including the eThekwini
municipality in KwaZulu-Natal; the City of Johannesburg
metropolitanmunicipality in Gauteng; and the Cape Town
metropolitanmunicipality in theWestern Cape. These prod-
ucts are also being used in several African countries
ARB Electrical Wholesalers is the sole distributor of the
Copperweld range in southern Africa. Muller explains that
after operating in the local market for 35 years, ARB under-
stands its unique challenges.“As southern Africa’s largest
independent black-empowered electrical wholesaler, ARB
plays a pivotal role in providing the essential materials
required for the electrification of large scale industrial and
parastatal projects.”
The Copperweld range is available through any of ARB’s
18 branches countrywide. For more information contact
ARB by emailing them at .
To take a look at their entire range of products or to learn
more about the various technologies, log onto
Enquiries: +27 31 910 0200
Copperweld: conductors for the future
MAJOR Tech’s MT900 TDR cable meter is
capable of measuring cable lengths and
finding the distance to an open or
short using the Time Domain Reflec-
tometry (TDR) principle says
Werner Grobbelaar.“This
meter offers exceptional
features and a range ca-
pability usually associated
with far more expensive
instruments.”
“The MT900 can be used
for any cable consisting
of at least two insulated
metallic elements, one of
whichmay be the sheath
or shield of the cable,”he
explains.“The MT900 has
automatic internal matching
networks to allow testing of
25Ω, 50Ω, 75Ω, 100Ω, 125Ω
or 150Ω cables. This cor-
responds to power, telephony,
CAT V and LAN cables. It can
be closely matched to the ca-
ble under test using the menu
selection keys. The propaga-
tion velocity value can be
similarly adjusted tomatch the
cable under test thus ensuring
Handheld, battery operated
TDR cable meter
the fire itself.“It is difficult for people
to evacuate quickly in closed envi-
ronments. To reduce the risk of toxic
smoke poisoning during a fire in these
spaces, it is necessary to limit the re-
lease of smoke with toxic substances.
Materials used to build public places or
mass transit vehicles must limit smoke
generation and the release of toxic
substances.”
Mass transit norms
Well aware of this risk, national
regulators have establishedmaximum
smoke emissions for materials used
in railway passenger vehicles.“Our
newest generation B-7641 Low Smoke
Zero Halogen Sleeve passes the
London Underground requirements
through the BS-6853 Vehicle Category
1a norm, whichmeans that the sleeve
can be used to safely identify wires
and cables in underground rolling
stock.”
Brady’s newest generation B-7641
Low Smoke Zero Halogen Sleeve
also passes the European Norm
EN-45545-2, requirement 22/23/24,
Vehicle Category HL3. This European
Norm creates a clear and transparent
requirement to construct newma-
terials for railway applications across
Europe.
“EN 45545 is expected to replace the
various national norms in the following
years andwe havemade sure our new
identification sleeve is already aligned
with this European Norm”, saysVan
Bever.
“We have created a very durablewire
and cable identification sleeve that will
offer newoptions to railwaymanufac-
turers, and suppliers working
with similar conditions,
to increase passenger
safety.”
For more informa-
tion, contact Brady
at emea_request@
bradycorp.com.
Enquiries: +27 11 704 3295
an accurate distance measurement.”He
adds that the MT900 can store up to 20 test
results for custom cable types in internal
non-volatile memory and the stored cable
library provides easy access
to 39 standard cable
types, which enables
accurate measurement
without the necessity of
enteringVOP (Velocity
of Propagation).
The MT900 TDR cable
lengthmeter can test
accurately throughout
the entire range when
measuring cables to
3.7 km and is princi-
pally designed for cable
wholesalers and retailers,
contractors, electricians and
cable and alarm install-
ers who need tomeasure
the cable lengths and test
for opens and shorts in all
types of cable. He says the
MT900 is easy-to-use with
an extra-large backlit LCD
and user-friendly menu
onscreen
Enquiries: +27 11 872 5500