Joining Steel Wire Armoured Cable for Lighting and Outdoor Connections
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- Опубликовано: 20 июл 2017
- Joining SWA cable using a metal conduit box with option for connecting flex to a light fitting or similar item.
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Peope who say they get water in these are obviously not doing them properly. I have been using this method for the last 15 years and never had a problem (and my old mentor anothe 30 years before me). I must admit mine are always fixed to a wall. I would not recommend fixing them flat to the floor or anything like that. Or something silly like fitting them in a car wash. But for 90% of applications it is fine. Also for people saying the screws will rust in tight, this is why brass screws are used for conduit boxes! They dont rust!
I just wanted to say what an economical, elegant and efficient solution this is. My exterior lights are only 98mm dia inside the column and I had been struggling to work out how I was going to connect the armoured cable. This allows the cable to come in and out of the fitting away from the ground and nicely handles the earthing issue. Any other solution was awkward and costly - much less satisfactory. Clearly the box does not need to be watertight as it is located within the light fitting column. Thank you for posting.
hey john! i love the new look channel, production is great keep up the good work my friend!
This is a old fashioned way to connect cables for loop in and out in an outdoors environment other than bollards within the post. After thirty years in the trade I have seen many done like this and that have suffered water ingress ether through the gland thread, earth pin thread, poor rubber gasket and even between one failed joint to another through the armour stands and inner insulation. Only would use under cover and never underground. Better products are available with water tight enclosure and earth continuity bars. You can even use special gels to pore into the enclosed joint for total leak resistance. Another alternative is to fit outdoor socket on a short post by each point. if it is for garden spike lights ect this works great.
Wiska box for me all the time , but would be a handy alternative if without.
Or buy a WISKA box, cheap, quciker to use 5 connections and ip 65 also looks alot better if you get the black one with a black stuffer.. 😉
Luke Hughes Good tip Luke! If you also use the earth clamp bar, it will give you mechanical strength and continuity between your armoured cables.
John, great video, thanks. You don't mention how the J box might be secured to the wall?
The issue I always seem to run into is box volume. Laws governing how many connectors are allowed in a specific volume seem very rigid when you're trying to connect through.
I've tried this with 10mm 3 core swa and it was really hard to make the connections in the space available in the box. Possibly ok with smaller cable but 10mm 3 core was real hard and I gave up and went to an IP box.
Top tip...I find if u use extra heavy duty box lids which are avalible they seal better and don't bend like the ones u get these day's !
Our outside lights are done similar using the 3 entry BESA box but instead of armoured cable, orange sheathed pyrotenax has been used is this all still in regulation?
I need to connect a swa to a dist board but everything is boxed in. I can access the board back entry.Could I gland to the through box then carry on to the dist board and connect ? Of course taking another earth lead from the conduit box to the earth bar.
Hi JW, got any bright ideas for actually securing the box to the wall, short of drilling holes in its base? Obviously, using the right size cleats on the SWA will go some way to holding it in place...
moodophile I'm a spark and drilling a 5mm ( or whatever is needed as long as the hole is not bigger than the head of the screw obviously) hole through the back of the box then screwing it down is sufficient. If you have a good fixing the screw will tighten up and keep it water tight. Hope this helps.
Quick question how do you stop water ingress? Or did I miss something? Thanks for the content JW excellent as always!
Self amalgamating tape on the brass and the entries, and then a wrap of it around the lid after tightening the whole lot up and testing it. Otherwise you just grab roofing tar, heat it up and apply liberally to the finished item to cover all metal parts, or just paint with a good quality enamel paint using a galvanised metal primer as first coat.
These have been around since the beginning of electrical installations, it's a pity they haven't improved the water ingress problem.the rubber gasket is ok but the finish on the rim is usually rough and prevents a good seal, and as mentioned earlier drilling a hole in the back and screwing it to a surface can allow water in.
If you use these in great amount, then buy a 4 inch wide flat bed sander, £150 or less and will have other uses for chisels, drill bits etc. Then you can kiss the gasket face onto the bed to get a flat finish. Rear fixing can be improved with silicone or fibre washers.
Hey JW I’ve got an rcbo metal cu I want to run an swa cable to an outside man cave is anything different because it’s rcbo what’s the correct procedure and cable size
It's a method and quite cheap but for outdoors, i'd use a Wiska with their earthing kits for SWA. If it's being used at ground level or below, and you can't pot it, Pratley all day and everyday. Yes they're expensive, but they will maintain your reputation for a very long time.
I'd screw an swa gland straight in to a wiska box and then carefully dress/surround anywhere where water ingress is possible, I don't mean fill the box with gel, my method is to try and stop the water coming in the first place. I've actually buried these and still have had no problems 2/3 years down the line..
That's how I'd do it connect all cpc to back of besa box wago rest & use box lid gasket question is to drill a small drain hole or not?
Drain hole if moisture is likely to get inside, no hole if not (such as it being inside the base of a light or under cover).
If underground or likely to be submerged in water, fill the entire thing with Raytech magic gel or similar.
Thank you!
They're good in ways but crap IP against water. I'd tend to use a plastic junction box with good IP rating personally. Wiska do some decent ones.
Interesting video, would have liked to seen gland seating and terminal type.
The SWA/ armoured cable connections are covered in detail here: ruclips.net/video/5XST0DkotYw/видео.html
To stop water ingress, fit a nylon 20mm washer to the glands and fill the boxes with suitable compound or gel, Raychem or similar. Not silicon bath sealant.
If you use the right size glands, the cable itself will act like a gromit when tightened.
A CW type gland will seal the gland, but not seal where the gland threads enter the box, you would be relying on the threads. If you look at the stuffing gland you can see a nylon washer, these are sold to fit to the SWA glands as well to seal the mating surfaces of the gland to the box. If you look inside a conduit box installed without the seals in an area exposed to the elements, water jets, or similar, there invariably leak.
A reaaly good idea that
Is this going in the CNC shed?
Thank you for the excellent work with all the videos you make , nice replacement of wiska junction box !
Hariga Eduard behave, if you pick this over a WISKA box your just daft, awfully cramped in there as well.. Takes double the time for less useable connections
@luke, i agree, ive opened many of these over the years for broken lighting etc, and found inside they were usually just twisted tape joins! because its so tight in there you cant use a bit of choccy block a wiska box is obv superior , i used a small one today for a job!
Thanks
Can swa glands be fitted to plastic conduit boxes or must the box entry be threaded?
Yes, for plastic a clearance hole is used and a threaded locknut on the inside.
Hello John, Where did you buy that box, I have looked around the internet but I can`t find them. I am in the uk.
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/20MM-25MM-GALVANISED-CONDUIT-BOXES-GALV-ACCESSORIES-SADDLES-ADAPTOR-ELECTRICAL-/282121896427?var=&hash=item41afc681eb:m:mAMDvTAaI7dtF5kZuDxGPvA
The one in he video is a 3 way Y box
They sell them on pretty much all wholesaler and diy websites (newey and eyre, screwfix etc)
Search for 'galvanised conduit box', available from many suppliers. Usual sizes are 20mm and 25mm which refers to the thread size on the connections.
Can I ask how to get from 50mm2 to a more consumer unit/submain friendly size?
Any CNC updates?
Not yet, but there will be.
looks rather tight in there to join those 3 ends up swa isnt flexible either
Jusb1066 you can get front extentions that add depth to the Beezer
Are the Saddles and Conduit box's gone to shit quality wise in the UK also?
yes, alot of rough castings available so the rubber seal doesn't seal against the metal.
Wiska or a Pratley
Basically "here is a box", would have been more useful to show one wired up for real. People always get the details wrong.
Really couldn’t bother to show it real life?