Help to Identify Fitting

[phykell]

Hi,

I have a strange hybrid fitting which I can’t identify. It’s on the inside of my garage and there’s an SWA cable entering it from outside the building. There’s a 2.5mm cable (or a bit heavier) exiting the fitting and feeds a power and lighting circuit. Lastly, and here’s where it gets strange, there’s what looks like metal brake pipe running from it to what looks like an old light fitting and another running out and down into the driveway. There are two old driveway lights but they don’t work.

Here’s a picture - does anyone have an idea? The metal pipes look too thin to contain cables...



Thanks

 

[crystal ball]

They are MICC cable by the looks of it, might still be live, the whole shebang looks a bodge

 

[EFLImpudence]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mineral-insulated_copper-clad_cable

 

[phykell]

Thanks for the quick replies - I’ve never heard of MICC before. I’ll check it out to see if it’s live but I take it that it’s best to have it removed/replaces then?

 

[EFLImpudence]

Well, not just for the sake of it - but if you want to alter anything, you may as well as it'll be a job to find anyone to do it these days.

 

[JohnD]

it's a type of cable that is not suitable for amateur work (nor for inexperienced professionals), it needs extra tools and skills. Once opened to the air, the insulating material absorbs moisture and crumbles.

 

[john4703]

MICC, or Pyro, is great cable if you know how to work with it. If you do not know how to work with don't try. If it is in place and properly installed it should still be fine.

 

[SimonH2]

Yup, certainly looks like MICC (aka Pyro, being short for Pyrotenax which is one established brand). The fitting itself looks like two stacked conduit boxes.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mineral-insulated_copper-clad_cable

It would be nice to recommend our Wiki article as well, as that shows how the cable is constructed much better than the Wikipedia one.

But until and unless RF either stumps up a payment to Photobucket (or Photof***it as I've seen some people starting to call it), or just copies the images to this site, it is sadly not much good.

 

[SimonH2]

I’ve never heard of MICC before. I’ll check it out to see if it’s live but I take it that it’s best to have it removed/replaces then?

If it's where you want it, and it's intact (see comments about how it needs to be terminated properly or it gets moisture in it and fails), then leave it - it's one of the best cables around. Smaller than other cable types for a given capacity, and apart from physical damage (holes in the sheath let moisture in) is as near to indestructible as you'll get - there's a reason it used to be "the" cable used for fire alarm systems.

 

[RF Lighting]

It would be nice to recommend our Wiki article as well, as that shows how the cable is constructed much better than the Wikipedia one.

But until and unless RF either stumps up a payment to Photobucket (or Photof***it as I've seen some people starting to call it), or just copies the images to this site, it is sadly not much good.

I was not aware of the photobucket issue until bas sent me a message. I have now deleted all the old image links from this article and replaced them with images hosted by this site.

Unfortunately I have around 1,500 images on these forums, so will only replace them on request. I certainly won’t be paying photobucket $400 a year to be able to view my own photos.


Here is the updated wiki page. https://www.diynot.com/wiki/Electrics:MICC

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I have now deleted all the old image links from this article and replaced them with images hosted by this site.

Unfortunately I have around 1,500 images on these forums, so will only replace them on request.

Fair enough. I doubt that you'll get many requests to update old forum posts. Whether newbies looking at the Wiki would ask, I don't know, but thanks for doing the pyro one.

I certainly won’t be paying photobucket $400 a year to be able to view my own photos.

I think it's that you can see them for free, and for all I know share links - it's hot-linking they have decided to monetise, and from what I have read online you're not alone in not being prepared to pay for that.

Here is the updated wiki page. https://www.diynot.com/wiki/Electrics:MICC

PHYKELL - it's really worth looking at that if you want to find out more about that type of cable.

 

[RF Lighting]

If anyone comes across any articles in our wiki, or old forum posts which have blocked images from Photobucket which you would like to view, please send me a message and I will do my best to replace them.