Any substitute for 4/0 XLPE?
Any substitute for 4/0 XLPE?
(OP)
Good morning All,
I have a situation where field doesn't like to work with 600V 4/0, 19 strand XLPE since it's pretty stiff and terminating it in an AC panel is quite a hassel.
The purpose of this cable is to provide 200A 120/240 single phase service. The AC panel is located about 200 ft from the padmount XFMR.
Could you all advise if there are any better alternatives around?
I have a situation where field doesn't like to work with 600V 4/0, 19 strand XLPE since it's pretty stiff and terminating it in an AC panel is quite a hassel.
The purpose of this cable is to provide 200A 120/240 single phase service. The AC panel is located about 200 ft from the padmount XFMR.
Could you all advise if there are any better alternatives around?






RE: Any substitute for 4/0 XLPE?
RE: Any substitute for 4/0 XLPE?
RE: Any substitute for 4/0 XLPE?
RE: Any substitute for 4/0 XLPE?
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If it is broken, fix it. If it isn't broken, I'll soon fix that.
RE: Any substitute for 4/0 XLPE?
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If it is broken, fix it. If it isn't broken, I'll soon fix that.
RE: Any substitute for 4/0 XLPE?
Please see my note above. As I stated the source is located about 200 ft from the AC panel and I need to account for 2% voltage drop in the feeder circuit.
I appreciate the comments. Please keep them coming
jghrist,
Thanks for reminding me that I forgot to mention the type of conductor. It is Copper
RE: Any substitute for 4/0 XLPE?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
If it is broken, fix it. If it isn't broken, I'll soon fix that.
RE: Any substitute for 4/0 XLPE?
You could look at something besides XLPE - XHHW or some other synthetic rubber based insulation might be more flexible.
Maybe you just need to find some new electricians. Lots of them looking for work these days.
"The more the universe seems comprehensible, the more it also seems pointless." -- Steven Weinberg
RE: Any substitute for 4/0 XLPE?
4/0 is not that stiff of a cable to work with and unless it is very cold should not be that big of an issue for an electrician.
RE: Any substitute for 4/0 XLPE?
It will be burried in 2" conduit. I believe their problem is more with the stiffness of the strands than the insulation type. I think they are after fine strands/braids.
reqqcapt19,
Do you know what's the price difference? Unfortunately, I can't say that price is not a concern.
RE: Any substitute for 4/0 XLPE?
I haven't purchased any DLO in a long time. As I recall it was 30% to 40% more expensive than standard wire and that does not include the purchase of terminations that are suitable for use with the very fine stranded conductor. It also has a larger OD than standard conductors so conduit fill may be an issue. If you do use it in conduit make sure the installers use plently of wire pulling lube. As long as you cover all of the insulation with lube it pulls fine, but if you have a "dry spot" it really drags.
I was using it both for its flexibility and the insulation voltage rating. DLO is rated for at least 1000 volts and I was hooking up large DC motors with a 700 volt armature voltage. The flexibility was required because there was no way that 16 500kcmil standard conductors would fit in the motor junciton box.
RE: Any substitute for 4/0 XLPE?
"The more the universe seems comprehensible, the more it also seems pointless." -- Steven Weinberg
RE: Any substitute for 4/0 XLPE?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
If it is broken, fix it. If it isn't broken, I'll soon fix that.
RE: Any substitute for 4/0 XLPE?
The problem may be that the conductor material is not (NEC) "AA-8000" alloy, that has been available for about 35 yrs now for building interior wiring. IIRC, the alloy is combined with a small amount of iron, making it much more workable. See ww
A fix may be [if there is suitable gutter space] to splice a piece of UL RHH extra-flexible copper conductor www.phoeni
to the aluminum with connectors such as
www-public.tnb.com/util/docs/CG_OCC_CHT.pdf
www-public.tnb.com/util/docs/CG_OCC_CCC.pdf
RE: Any substitute for 4/0 XLPE?
Bill
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"Why not the best?"
Jimmy Carter