Warm SWA????

[Steve]

Should SWA installed properly feel warm to the touch? I was tidying around the distribution board at work the other day, and could feel the heat being radiated from an SWA where it goes into an isolator. Then i touched it and it is rather warm. It is the main SWA from the meter (6-8 metres away) and it feeds into a big metal-handled isolator (the metal braid is exposed here) which is also quite warm. Should this happen?

 

[andy]

Should SWA installed properly feel warm to the touch? I was tidying around the distribution board at work the other day, and could feel the heat being radiated from an SWA where it goes into an isolator. Then i touched it and it is rather warm. It is the main SWA from the meter (6-8 metres away) and it feeds into a big metal-handled isolator (the metal braid is exposed here) which is also quite warm. Should this happen?

at full load, they are rated 70 deg C. which is why they have to be in open space to dissapate heat

 

[Adam_151]

does it feel warm all along its length? or just where it goes into the isolator, if just near the isolator then there there could be a bad connection on the isolator , which would be a fire risk

 

[plugwash]

at full load, they are rated 70 deg C. which is why they have to be in open space to dissapate heat

or 90 if its XPLE insulation.

if its consistantly warm along the cable its nothing to worry about but if its only warm near terminations that could be an indication of bad connections.

 

[Steve]

The cable is only accessible at this end, nowhere else on its length, to touch it elsewhere would involve climbing over dairy chillers etc, which im not doing for anyone. Oh well, im not worried, we have a decent fire alarm system.