# Teckcable with conductors for motor and aux?



## Breakfasteatre (Sep 8, 2009)

Wondering if this exists. Let's say 3 14awg conductors for the motor and 2 seperate conductors, maybe with a seperate shield, for 24vdc aux contacts in the disconnect. Has anyone used anything like this? Our sales contact is looking as well


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## JRaef (Mar 23, 2009)

Belden and other shielded VFD cable suppliers do that all the time, just not in the _*armored *_versions of the VFD cable. Look at Belden #29511. Once you go to the armored version though, the signal pair is no longer available as a standard offering.

But I don't know if it's done with other brands of Teck Cable you might have available to you up there, we don't use it here as much as you do in Canada.


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## glen1971 (Oct 10, 2012)

Breakfasteatre said:


> Wondering if this exists. Let's say 3 14awg conductors for the motor and 2 seperate conductors, maybe with a seperate shield, for 24vdc aux contacts in the disconnect. Has anyone used anything like this? Our sales contact is looking as well


Would a 3c12/3c14 composite teck cable work?
https://www.texcan.com/composite-teck-cable-14-awg-3c-12-awg-3c-600v-aia

I've used miles of this.. Typically from MCC or starter to motor and control station (HOA or On/Off)... Not sure I'm picturing what these Aux contacts are for?


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## MDShunk (Jan 7, 2007)

I use tray cable like that all the time. I'm not exactly sure what teck cable is. VFD cable, which is most often suitable for tray cable, is very available with two small conductors for the aux contact in the local disconnect for your VFD enable circuit. In fact, I've never gotten it any other way.


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## glen1971 (Oct 10, 2012)

MDShunk said:


> I use tray cable like that all the time. I'm not exactly sure what teck cable is. VFD cable, which is most often suitable for tray cable, is very available with two small conductors for the aux contact in the local disconnect for your VFD enable circuit. In fact, I've never gotten it any other way.


Teck cable is armoured cable with an outer jacket surrounding the wiring. The inside is similar to tray cable. We use it north of the 49th in tons of applications, and mainly in the oil and gas areas.. The link I posted shows a crude picture of what it looks like..


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## JRaef (Mar 23, 2009)

glen1971 said:


> Would a 3c12/3c14 composite teck cable work?
> https://www.texcan.com/composite-teck-cable-14-awg-3c-12-awg-3c-600v-aia
> 
> I've used miles of this.. Typically from MCC or starter to motor and control station (HOA or On/Off)... Not sure I'm picturing what these Aux contacts are for?


The aux contacts are for a local disconnect switch, so that if someone starts to open the disconnect under load, the aux contacts open first and are fed to the Disable input of the VFD so that the output transistors are turned off before the main contacts open. Not doing that runs the risk of damaging the transistors. It also prevents someone from starting the VFD with the switch open, then closing it after the fact, which subjects the VFD transistors to the motor inrush.

The problem with that cable will be that in a VFD output, the control circuit will need to be shielded. The output of the VFD can be at any frequency, the aux. circuit will be at 60Hz (or 24VDC). With no shielding, the aux circuit will get a voltage induced on it that can damage the VFD input.

In the Belden cable, the 2 wires for the aux circuit are separated and separately shielded from the main power conductors.

In this picture, the one I was talking about is on the far left. The larger bundle are the power conductors, the smaller one with the blue shield are the aux circuits.


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## Breakfasteatre (Sep 8, 2009)

glen1971 said:


> Would a 3c12/3c14 composite teck cable work?
> https://www.texcan.com/composite-teck-cable-14-awg-3c-12-awg-3c-600v-aia
> 
> I've used miles of this.. Typically from MCC or starter to motor and control station (HOA or On/Off)... Not sure I'm picturing what these Aux contacts are for?


Jraef explained it perfectly.

Unfortunately, it is a 24vdc through that aux contact in the disconnect switch.
The cable would be perfect if the 14awg conductors were separated and shielded


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## glen1971 (Oct 10, 2012)

Thanks JRaef for the explanation. I figured it had to do something with the disconnect and shutting down the drive first.. I've never seen a set-up that would be wired like this.. I can see the purpose, just never seen an application..


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## gottspeed (Mar 8, 2010)

glen1971 said:


> Thanks JRaef for the explanation. I figured it had to do something with the disconnect and shutting down the drive first.. I've never seen a set-up that would be wired like this.. I can see the purpose, just never seen an application..



A while back I was wiring up the Edmonton Waste Management Center's big sorter upgrade, close to a hundred motors with many on VFDs, and all the disconnects on drives had this AUX contact. 



All the VFD motors had three drains on their feeders too, which I thought was weird.


Anybody know what triple drain VFD cable is for?


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## MDShunk (Jan 7, 2007)

gottspeed said:


> Anybody know what triple drain VFD cable is for?


If one is good, three must be better, maybe? Iv'e seen that flavor also. The several times I've seen it they were all twisted together and landed on the ground screw in the disco and at the VFD, so I'm not sure if it's supposed to be a shield or an extra ground to detect a hole popped through the conductor insulation earlier than normal. Probably just some voodoo marketing gimmick. There's gazillions of motors in the world operating on VFD's just fine on THHN in pipe.


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## paulengr (Oct 8, 2017)

VFD cable is all bull crap.


https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/vfd-cable-snake-oil-paul-campbell/


By the way, TECK cable is not just armored. There are really 3 "versions" of armored cables.


First is no armor at all. It's called TC-ER or tray cable--exposed run rated. It is tested exactly like MC and meets all the mechanical specs of type MC/AC but there's no TNC's or hack saw needed. You cut and terminate just like tray cable (TC) using CGB's for terminations which are not special order. Available in a myriad of different conductor combinations including 5/C-14 up to around 16/C-14. NEC Code treats it basically like MC so you don't need conduit stubs at the drops from a tray, just run it directly into the equipment. In fact you don't really even need a tray, just use straps to support it as required. It's sort of like industrial BX at this point.


The second is "armored" which is usually type AC or MC. This is the spiral wrapped armor stuff. Common especially for light fixtures in exposed industrial areas. There are some limitations in hazardous locations (only class 2? Forgot which).


The final is "TECK". This is armored too but it's actually a continuous tube like corrogated steel. Not common in the U.S. Biggest advantage in the U.S. is since it's "sealed" it can go into hazardous locations anywhere including div 1/class 1 where normally you'd have to run strictly RMC. I forgot exactly where/how but it is very common in Canada since CEC allows it in places where MC/AC/TC-ER are not allowed. Two big problems with it. First you can always unwind MC/AC and then just cut the strip and trim and tuck it back in before installing the TNC for a termination. With TECK 90 you have to saw all the way around and try not to nick the conductor insulation. Second once you bend it to shape, you can never unbend it back again! If you don't make your bends perfectly where you want them the first time, it looks like jack leg crap because you have all these kinks and bends where you tried to straighten it.


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## glen1971 (Oct 10, 2012)

paulengr said:


> The final is "TECK". This is armored too but it's actually a continuous tube like corrogated steel. Not common in the U.S. Biggest advantage in the U.S. is since it's "sealed" it can go into hazardous locations anywhere including div 1/class 1 where normally you'd have to run strictly RMC. I forgot exactly where/how but it is very common in Canada since CEC allows it in places where MC/AC/TC-ER are not allowed. Two big problems with it. First you can always unwind MC/AC and then just cut the strip and trim and tuck it back in before installing the TNC for a termination. With TECK 90 you have to saw all the way around and try not to nick the conductor insulation. Second once you bend it to shape, you can never unbend it back again! If you don't make your bends perfectly where you want them the first time, it looks like jack leg crap because you have all these kinks and bends where you tried to straighten it.


Not quite right with teck.. You make one cut at an angle through one or two of the ribs of the armor, with a hacksaw then twist the armor to remove. Some times it comes off without removal of the outer rubber jacket, but most times it the outer rubber has to be removed. Depending on how it was built, it may be tight enough that you have to cut the armor a couple of times and remove it in shorter pieces.. I've had to remove the armor in 1' lengths on cables before as it was too tight..
Most teck has an inner rubber between the armor and the conductors, so nicking the conductors is avoidable but can happen..
The bending thing, not even close.. Some teck will distort depending on construction, and it ALL will distort if the corrugated armor is broken apart, like BX or MC, is broken. I've seen literally piles of cable in an area get straightened out and look as good as it can with cable.. Without adequate support teck installs can look gross, but when done properly they look pretty good..


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## eddy current (Feb 28, 2009)

paulengr said:


> VFD cable is all bull crap.
> 
> 
> https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/vfd-cable-snake-oil-paul-campbell/
> ...


The Teck90 we use in Canada is not the stuff you are referring to. I think you are talking about a completely different kind of wire. Teck90 has an aluminum spiral armour the same as AC or MC, very easy to cut on a 45 degree angle with a hacksaw and also bends very easy, the same as AC.


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## canbug (Dec 31, 2015)

*paulengr*
I think you may be getting MI(mineral insulated) and TECK mixed up. Teck is an all purpose very easy to use cable. It is used a lot for hot tubs and is cheaper to buy than NM when you start getting into bigger sizes.


Tim


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## paulengr (Oct 8, 2017)

I checked. TECK is not much different from MC/AC in the U.S. except for the inner PVC jacket. TECK 90 is the MV-90/MV-105 version of it.

The corrogated and armored stuff is MC-HL (HL=hazardous location?)


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