Long 2120' 4-20ma Control Cable - Options and Suppliers

[Lancie1]

Wholesale only i think? Fiber is cheap and a good option

Yes, HW&C sells to distributors, but I have called or Emailed them and located the wire, then called a local guy to buy it.

 

[bce123]

Wow yhats a ways from you to get wire. Most of the supply houses here buy wire from hwc did not know they had such a wide range of sales. As far as the splices go a can of scotch coat works great as well as many other common off the shelf items. Lowes and home depot sell the splice kits

 

[Rixter78]

4-20 loop

The distance isn't so much of a problem.

Special connectors? Not at all. Where did you come up with that?

What I mean by special connectors is waterproof if you are doing direct burial. The other option has already been mentioned by putting in pipe (PVC) and pull boxes. I still say a wireless system would be your best solution. If you can find a good systems integrator in your area I'm sure he can help you with the installation.

 

[Lancie1]

I have thought about wireless, but since I am trenching to this location anyway for the water pipe, I thought why not drop some cable in that same trench?

Guys, WW said he will have a "free" trench. His additional cost is the cost of the direct burial cable. Lay it in and forget it. Wireless means some more equipment to maintain for the next 30 years.

PVC pipe in this case is not needed and will not add any benefits. 2100 feet is too far to pull through, and pullboxes will add much extra cost. The only boxes I would consider would be two small PVC splice boxes (handholes) for the direct burial cable. EDIT: Another option for this small cable would be a couple of pedestals, where you bring the ends up and splice inside the pedestal (tall metal can), so that no underground connections are needed.

Because the cable will be in the same trench as the water line, if there is a failure (cable or pipe) there will be no digging it up for repairs (too close to the water line). At that time, it will require another cable trench, or the wireless solution.

 

[Lancie1]

Wow, thats a ways from you to get wire. Most of the supply houses here buy wire from hwc. Did not know they had such a wide range of sales.

Yes, I have got wire from there, but also many other places, wherever I can find what I need at a reasonable price. HW&C seems to have a wide selection of tray cable, and also the higher voltage power cable, 12 KV and up.

 

[wwsmith]

If a 2500' roll can be found, then by all means go that route. I have tried looking for long lengths in the past, with success at times, but most of the time having to settle for shorter lengths. I have wasted a lot of time looking for long lengths, so it is not an efficient way to get on with the job. The problem is that small direct-burial shielded signal cable is not often needed in such long runs. It would be luck to find a suitable piece.

Houston Wire and Cable might be a place to check for long rolls.

I appreciate all the comments guys. I am a big ebayer so I went on ebay to see what I could find. Here is a listing for 3000' of shielded direct burial 18/3 cable for $870 shipped http://www.ebay.com/itm/3000-18-3-S...463?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2315cbf527 But even better on that listing was the actual web site for that supplier http://www.nassauwireandcable.com/ I spoke with Sam at Nassau and discovered they had even better deals on other spools that they didn't list on ebay. I could get closer to my length needed with 4 conductors and for less than $870.

As I suspected, my local supplier Elliot Electrical came in about $1200 on a 4 conductor cable although I think they quoted me 16/4 cable. I will try Houston Wire and Cable tomorrow. But I suspect as Lancie has mentioned that you really have to call far and wide and especially check with surplus and liquidator companies to get the best deal. Since this is for my own company's new office, I have time available to do this.

Sounds like splices can be made to work well for this application, but if I can get the length I need at a reasonable price as it seems like I can right now, then I can skip the splices.

On conduit, yes, that is always preferrable, especially if you ever have to dig it back up. But I can lay this cable to the side of the pvc water pipe and thus strike the pvc first if I ever have to dig near it for any reason.

 

[Lancie1]

WW,

It sounds like Nassau can fix you up. Due to the long length and voltage drop, I would try for 16 AWG, if they have any of that. It will also be less likely to break. If you can get 2200 feet of 4/c #16 direct burial (shielded) for about $1000, that would be a great deal. Lay it in the trench, cover up, and you are done.

I would check out Nassua's record and credentials to make sure that are reliable, and I would ask for specs on the cable to make sure it is rated for direct burial.

 

[wwsmith]

Due to the long length and voltage drop, I would try for 16 AWG, if they have any of that. It will also be less likely to break. If you can get 2200 feet of 4/c #16 direct burial (shielded) for about $1000, that would be a great deal. Lay it in the trench, cover up, and you are done.

My analog output has the wattage and voltage to easily power a 4-20ma signal through 18 gauge wire over the 2200 feet distance. But as you mention, the 16 gauge wire is more durable. And being direct burial with ground shifting and any unnoticed small rocks in the backfill, that little thicker wire of 16 gauge could make all the difference on long term reliability. I will definitely check out the price difference between 16 AWG and 18 AWG.