Flexible cords: laying and handling
Rubber and PVC cords to EN 50525, such as H07RN-F and H05VV-F.
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.
Laying temperature and pre-warming
No minimum laying temperature from a standard was found for EN 50525 rubber cords such as H07RN-F, nor for LSZH building wire: only the general statement below.
- Anixter: PVC and thermoplastic LSF turn brittle near 0 °C; elastomers stay flexible to -20 °C, but do not bend them to the minimum radius below -15 °C.Sources: Anixter Sec. 20 p. 20-43 (maker's document)
Laying in winter? Pro checks your town and month against this limit. See Pro
Bending radius
- EN 50565-1: Rubber cords (H05RR-F, H07RN-F, H05SS-F) and H1Z2Z2-K: fixed 3 D up to 12 mm diameter, 4 D above; free movement 4 D up to 12 mm, 5 D up to 20 mm, 6 D above.Sources: EN 50565-1 (Nexans France); Miguelez (secondary source)
- EN 50565-1: PVC and LSZH cords (H05VV-F, H05Z1Z1-F): fixed 3 D up to 12 mm diameter, 4 D above; free movement 5 D up to 12 mm, 6 D above.Sources: Miguelez (maker's document)
Pulling force and method
- 15 N/mm² of copper section, at most 1000 N, in service and for flexible cables in fixed installation; Lapp allows 50 N/mm², at most 1000 N, while installing cables for fixed installation.Sources: EN 50565-1 (Nexans France); Lapp p. 1005 (secondary source)
Work out the pull for your route: the verdict is free, the numbers and the PDF come with Pro. Pull calculation in the cable designer · See Pro
Depth, cover and laying
Not found in the research for this family.
Drum handling
- Keep the drum upright, its axis horizontal, in storage and in transport; never lay it flat on a flange.Sources: HD 620 Part 1 A.3.2.5, A.3.3.2; IS 1255 7.7, p. 25; Prysmian 2024; Reka (read in the standard text)
- Never drop a drum. Without lifting gear, use a ramp of about 1:4 (IS 1255: 1:3 to 1:4) with ropes or a winch and a sand bed at the foot.Sources: HD 620 Part 1 A.3.3.3; HD 603 3-I 3.3; IS 1255 7.3, p. 24; Prysmian 2024 p. 6; Reka p. 6; Nexans 2021 p. 4 (read in the standard text)
- Roll it only short distances on firm ground, in the direction of the arrow on the flange.Sources: HD 620 Part 1 A.3.3.4; HD 603 3-I, 3-L; IS 1255 7.4, p. 24; Prysmian 2024 p. 7; Nexans 2021 p. 3 (read in the standard text)
- Store it on level, firm, well-drained ground and turn it 90° every 3 months.Sources: IS 1255 7.5, 7.6, pp. 24 to 25; Prysmian 2024 p. 8, 9; Nexans 2021 p. 8, 9; Prysmian Türkiye 3.3 (read in the standard text)
- Leave the battens on until the cable is about to be laid: they keep off sun and knocks.Sources: HD 620 Part 1 A.3.2.5; BS 6622 D.5.2; IS 1255 7.8, p. 25; Nexans 2021 p. 11 (read in the standard text)
- Cable ends sealed with caps in transport, storage and laying. A cap missing for over a month, or a wet end: cut back 300 mm, check for moisture and cap again.Sources: HD 620 Part 1 A.3.2.3, A.4.7; HD 603 3-I 3.2; BS 6622 C.3; BS 5467 B.4; BS 7846 A.7.4; IS 1255 7.2, p. 24; Nexans 2021 p. 7; Draka (read in the standard text)
- Pay out tangentially, never over the flange, with the drum on an axle and jacks and braked. Top or bottom: IS 1255 says off the top; Southwire chooses by where the cable goes (the bottom into a floor conduit, the top into a tray); Nexans Belgium says the bottom, for safety.Sources: HD 620 Part 1 A.4.5; IS 1255 8.2, 8.3, 10.2; Southwire 2005 p. 2 to 3; Nexans Belgium FAQ; Prysmian 2024 p. 10; Draka p. 5, 9 (read in the standard text)
Every rule for a chosen drum, with its lagging, weight and return terms: Cable drum calculator
Sheath test after laying
No sheath test after laying was found for this family.
The tests after installation for one cable, with their voltages, in the cable designer: Test after installation
In the cable designer
Cable codes of this family
Terms on this page
bending radius · conduit · cut-back · flange · lagging (battens) · pre-warming (pre-heating) · sheath test (oversheath d.c. test) · spindle (axle) · winch
Sources
- Anixter: Anixter EMEA Wire and Cable catalogue (maker's document)
- EN 50565-1 (Nexans France): EN 50565-1:2014 Table 3 and HD 516, as quoted by Nexans France (2013) (secondary source)
- Miguelez: Miguelez, Minimum bending radius, quoting EN 50565-1 (maker's document)
- Lapp: Lapp, Technical tables T0, Effort de traction (maker's document)
- HD 620: HD 620 S3:2023 (read in the standard text)
- IS 1255: IS 1255:1983 (reaffirmed 2016) (read in the standard text)
- Prysmian 2024: Prysmian Kabel und Systeme, Drum Handling, v3 (2024) (maker's document)
- Reka: Reka Cables, Drum handling guide (2026) (maker's document)
- HD 603: HD 603 S1:1994/A2:2003 (read in the standard text)
- Nexans 2021: Nexans, Instructions for transportation, handling, storage of the drums and laying of the cables, Rev. 01 (2021) (maker's document)
- Prysmian Türkiye: Prysmian Türkiye, Cables and Drums User Guide (maker's document)
- BS 6622: BS 6622:2007 (read in the standard text)
- BS 5467: BS 5467:1997+A3:2008 (read in the standard text)
- BS 7846: BS 7846:2015 (read in the standard text)
- Draka: Draka Communications, A Guideline for Laying of Cables and Installation of Sleeves (2010) (maker's document)
- Southwire 2005: Southwire, Power Cable Installation Guide (2005) (maker's document)
- Nexans Belgium FAQ: Nexans Belgium, FAQ on the laying and use of cables (maker's document)
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.
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