SOOW Cable Damage

[mic]

I have found SOOW cable damage that look like large cracks or tears on a couple of our products at one customer site. (see picture)

Installation at this site occurred about three years ago. The cables range from #16/2c to #12/24c and are all 90C cables. All cables are exposed to weather but most are not subject to direct sunlight. The ambiant temp. can reach 100F in the summer. The conductors are loaded at less that 10A average. The cables are not exposed to temps below 32F. The cables flex but do not exceed min bend radius.

Does anyone know what may be causing the damage. My first thought was UV exposure but there is no direct sun on many of the cables. There is no sign of oil or other chemicals.


We have approximately 100 installations but none of the others have experienced this type of problem.

Any help would be appreciated.

Chris

 

[don_resqcapt19]

Chris,
I would send a sample to the manufacturer of the cords or try to get a factory rep out to look at it. Any possibility of chemical damage?
Don

 

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I have sent the photos and details to the manufacturer and the cables will follow as soon as we receive them. With the current info they think that the cracking is a result of tension or over bending but the customer verified that this is not the case.

One point that I did not mention before is that the installation is within 50 miles from sea water, in other words, there is a lot of salt in the air and dust.