Cable tests that are not equivalent, and why

Tests and listings from North America, Britain, Germany and Europe that are often offered for one another. The pass criteria on each side, every one with its source and how it was seen; where a value is not held, it says so.

• IEC 60332-1-2 ≠ VW-1 (UL 2556 FV-2) / FT1: The flame, the number of flame applications and the pass criterion differ: a cable that passes one has not shown that it passes the other.
• IEC 60332-3-24 (cat. C) ≠ FT4 / IEEE 1202 ≠ UL 1685: The burner, the flame time and the char limit differ.
• IEC 61034-2 ≠ UL 1685 ST1 / LS: UL 1685 measures the smoke of the tray fire itself; IEC 61034-2 burns a sample in a closed 3 m cube and measures how much light still gets through.
• CPR B2ca / Cca (EN 50399) ≠ NFPA 262 (CMP, CL2P, FPLP, OFNP, FT6): Different apparatus (a horizontal tunnel with forced air against a vertical ladder) and different measures (flame travel and optical density against heat release, flame spread and smoke production).
• IEC 60754-1 / -2 ≠ NEC / UL / CSA: No North American listing tests the halogen acid gas of a cable: "LSZH" on a North American cable has no standard behind it unless the offer names a separate specification.
• IEC 60331 ≠ BS 6387 (C, W, Z) ≠ BS 8491 ≠ EN 50200 (PH) ≠ DIN 4102-12 (E30, E60, E90) ≠ UL 2196: Flame or furnace, temperature, mechanical shock, water and what is tested (a cable alone, or a cable with its supports) all differ: a time or class from one test says nothing about another.

India: IS 10810 test methods against their IEC twins

• IEC 60332-1-2 ≠ IS 10810-53: A different burner (a Bunsen flame, not the 1 kW premixed one), a flame time set by the cable's mass instead of its diameter, and no lower char limit: an IS 10810-53 pass does not show an IEC 60332-1-2 pass.
• IEC 60332-3-24 (cat. C) ≠ IS 10810-61: IS 10810-61 is a tube test with its own fire and no IEC counterpart: an Indian FR or FRLS claim that rests on it says nothing about IEC 60332-3 or a CPR class.
• IEC 61034-2 ≠ IS 10810-63: The same cube and fire, a different result: IS 10810-63 reports an absorbance, while the IEC recommendation and the product limits are written as light transmittance; the test pieces per diameter differ too.
• IEC 60754-1 / -2 ≠ IS 10810-59: The Indian halogen-free limit sits at the method's own lower limit, so IS 10810-59 alone cannot show that a cable is halogen free.
• IEC 60502-2 (partial discharge) ≠ IS 10810-46: The method's pre-stress and sensitivity are weaker than those of IEC 60502-2; only the product standard (IS 7098-2) brings the limit to 10 pC.
• IEC 60228 (20 °C) ≠ IS 10810 (27 °C): India conditions and measures at 27 °C and corrects resistance with its own coefficient: convert a reading before applying an IEC limit.

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