Cable laying and handling guide

One page per cable family: the lowest laying temperature and pre-warming, bending radius, pulling force and method, depth and cover, drum handling and the sheath test after laying.

Every line names every source that states it and how it was seen; where sources disagree, each value is shown with its source. IEC, EN and HD documents and makers come first, national rules after them with their country.

The 14 cable families

  • LV PVC power cables: PVC insulated and sheathed, 0.6/1 kV: HD 603 3-G, the NYY and NAYY family. 57 rules
  • LV XLPE power cables: XLPE insulated, 0.6/1 kV: HD 603 5-G, the N2XY and NA2XY family. 50 rules
  • LV armoured cables: Armoured and concentric conductor cables, 0.6/1 kV: BS 5467, BS 6724, BS 7846 (SWA) and NYCWY. 51 rules
  • Medium voltage cables: Single and three core cables to HD 620, IEC 60502-2 and BS 6622. 81 rules
  • High voltage cables: IEC 60840 and IEC 62067 cables, 45 kV and above. 23 rules
  • Flexible cords: Rubber and PVC cords to EN 50525, such as H07RN-F and H05VV-F. 11 rules
  • Control and instrument cables: HD 627, BS 5308 and EN 50288-7 cables and the LiYCY family. 20 rules
  • Solar (PV) cables: Photovoltaic DC cables to EN 50618 (H1Z2Z2-K) and IEC 62930. 9 rules
  • LAN data cables: Balanced copper data cables, Category 5e to 7A (TIA-568, EN 50288). 3 rules
  • Fibre optic cables: Optical fibre cables, indoor and outside plant. 2 rules
  • Outdoor telecom cables: Outdoor copper telecom and signalling cables of the VDE 0816 family, such as A-2Y(L)2Y. 13 rules
  • North American cables: THHN, XHHW, MC, TC, MV-90 and MV-105 cables under the NEC. 18 rules
  • Aerial bundled cables: Aerial bundled and preassembled cables, with or without a messenger: HD 626, HD 620 10-I2, HD 603 7-B. 15 rules
  • Ship and offshore cables: Cables for fixed installation in ships and offshore units, laid as IEC 60092-352 says: IEC 60092-350 types and the Japanese JIS C 3410 ship cables such as TPYC and MPYC. 10 rules

Values as the sources print them. For a given job the cable's own standard, the maker's datasheet and the country's rules decide.

Cable drum calculator · Test after installation · Glossary of cable laying and installation terms