Installation and Termination of STABILOY® MC Conductors

Notice: This information is presented in good faith but no warranty, express or implied, is given nor is freedom from any patent owned by Alcan or by others to be inferred. While reference is made to procedures and practices of the National Electrical Code and other specifying agencies, the appropriate local codes must be reviewed prior to any electrical contractor installations.

• STABILOY® MC Cable• Installations• Stripping Armor & Installing Fittings• Termination Procedure• Installation Examples & Video• Suggested Fittings & Clamps• ALCAN Cable on the Web

Contents

MC Cable

Interlocked Aluminum Armor AA5000

STABILOY Equipment STABILOY Equipment Grounding ConductorGrounding ConductorAA8030AA8030

STABILOY Phase ConductorsAA8030

XHHW-2XLPE Insulation

Mylar Tape

• NEC 330 - Metal Clad Cable

• With & without PVC Jacket

• STABILOY® AA8030, 3 & 4 conductor assemblies, sizes #6 AWG - 750Kcmil w/ grnd

• NEC 330.30 - Installations supported every 6’

• Vertical installations may be supported per NEC 300.19 if required

• Rated for Direct Burial, Cable Tray, Encased in Concrete & Sunlight Resistant

MC Cable

Installations

• per NEC 330.24 (B) -

• Cable Clamps should be spaced max. 6ft apart

• Vertical Installations - Alcan recommends using offsets (two 90s (Method 2)) spaced per NEC Table 300.19A or equivalent method

• Cables can be either pulled up with a tuggeror dropped from the top down depending on jobsite conditions.

Vertical Installation Offsets

Method 1 Method 2

90°

90°

45°

45°

MC Cable

Offsets45°

45°

Vertical Offset Support

per NEC Table 300.19(A)

Vertical Installations

• To reduce the stress at the higher clamps, and reduce the likelihood of cable slippage through them, circuits should be designed if possible with horizontal sections at the top of the run.

• Care should be taken not to transfer forces generated at bends to enclosures of electrical equipment or to box clamps.

• In vertical applications the clamp design should permit the clamping force to be transferred through the jacket and armor to the underlying core.

• Clamps having hexagonal head or socket head securing bolts, permitting them to be tightened securely with a wrench, are recommended over those having slotted head bolts or screws.

• Clamps which distort in shape, or which leave a gap between cable surface and the clamp, when fully tightened at the tightening bolts, should be avoided.

Stripping MC Armor

• There are several tools available to cut MC Armor

• The Seatek Roto-Flex RF-170 works well up to 1-1/2” OD1 Knob – Lock cable clamping bracket

2 Thumb Screw – Lock cable in position

3 Cable Clamping Bracket

4 MC Cable Convolution

5 Crank – Rotate cutting blade

6 Upper Housing Body

STEP 1: Clamp ROTO-FLEX® RF-170 to MC Cable AssemblyTo clamp a cable first make sure that the bottom thumb screw tip protrudes about ¼“ through the bracket. Slide the bracket until the tip of the thumb screw falls into the valley of the cable convolution. Then tighten the knob securely and lock the thumb screw holding the cable. This allows you to strip MC cables from .84" to 1.82" outside diameter.

5

6

���� On-Line Instruction Sheet

Stripping MC Armor

IMPORTANT NOTES:1 - The cable must be straight. If the cable is curved away from the cutting blade it will not cut deep enough to cut through the convolutions.2 - The cable must be clamped securely to hold the armored casing against the shelf where the blade protrudes.3 - If the cut is too shallow the casing can sometimes be separated by inserting the flat tip of a screwdriver into the slot made by the blade. Turn the screwdriver, the casing should then crack open.

STEP 2: Cut MC Cable ArmorSqueeze the top and bottom housing together with your left hand and start turning the crank. When the blade spins freely release the top housing completely. Loosen the bottom thumb screw and remove the cable. Hold the cable on each side of the cut and unscrew the armor to remove it.

• Above 1-1/2” OD Power Tools can be used

• Some installers use a hacksaw to cut the armor on larger cables– cut half way through 2 armor bands (do not cut into insulation)– twist the armor on either side of the cut to finish

• Also ref: NECA/NACMA 120-2006, Standard for Installing AC & MC Cables, sect. 6.3 – Cutting AC and MC Cables

Stripping MC Armor

Installing TMC Fittings

Step One:• Prepare cable• Install fitting body into enclosure• Slide gland nut and intermediate body onto cable

Hazardous Location fittings, type TMCX• Mix sealing compound & pack conductors over armor• Slide armor stop insert, over conductors & sealing

compound, back against armor• Pack remaining sealing compound

Step Two:• Insert cable assembly into fitting body• Thread intermediate body with gland nut onto

fitting body• Tighten Intermediate body, then gland nut

Intermediate Step:

Termination Procedure

• Strip back insulation (pencil, do not ring)

• Wire brush conductor

• Apply antioxidant paste

• Must use lugs rated for Aluminum (ex: AL/CU, AL9CU, etc.)– Mechanical: Torque to manufacturers’

recommended value

– Compression: Use the correct lug die-tool

Termination Procedure

Termination Procedure

Termination Procedure

NOTE: Some Compression lugs are pre-filled with oxide-inhibitor

Termination Procedure

Mechanical Lugs :

Termination Procedure

Compression Lugs :

Installation Example

Installation Example

• 800 Amp panels on the 3rd, 7th & 10th floors

• Fed by parallel runs of 4c – 750 STABILOY MC (OD roughly 3”)

• Cable dropped down from the top for easier install

Installation Example

Suggested FittingsTERMINATOR™ Cable Fittings

Cable Gauge and Sizer• Measure the cable armor and select the proper cable fitting.• Determine how much cable jacket should be removed for

proper installation.• Decide how much compound to pack around the cable for

proper installation of TMCX (Haz. Loc.) fittings.

Suggested FittingsTERMINATOR™ Cable Fittings

• Subassembly* = Diameter of cables without armor.

• Consult accessory manufacturer for details. This information is suggested for guidance only and should be verified with the fitting/clamp manufacturer prior to installation.

• For MC Cable Strut Clamps:* = Physically test these fitting against the cable prior to installation. This assembly size may require the use of the next smaller size fitting from B-Line or PowerStrut.

Suggested Fittings & Clamps