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Subject - compact wiring?
veganfan I have been working on box fill and race way calculations. I have come across questions and tables for compact conductors. What exactly is a compact conductor? The best I can come up with is the MC wire that we call machine wire at work a little more flexible and smaller. Is this correct? Also the ask about different NM cables with out the outer cover where is this in NEC?
JimmyDee
quote:
The best I can come up with is the MC wire that we call machine wire at work a little more flexible and smaller. Is this correct?

I don't think so. The only compact wire I've ever seen is in the larger size aluminum wire. It comes in the cables many are using to feed a panel when they put a disconnect on the outside of the house and run a huge (romex type) cable to feed their inside panel.
What it looks like is: instead of the conductors being made up of smaller round strands, they are sort of triangular shaped and fit tightly together making it much smaller than a normal conductor. There is almost no air between the smaller strands and are almost as flexible as a normal stranded conductor. I would say, from what I've seen, they are very similar in size to a solid conductor.
Jim
RS377
quote:
Originally posted by JimmyDee

quote:
The best I can come up with is the MC wire that we call machine wire at work a little more flexible and smaller. Is this correct?

I don't think so. The only compact wire I've ever seen is in the larger size aluminum wire. It comes in the cables many are using to feed a panel when they put a disconnect on the outside of the house and run a huge (romex type) cable to feed their inside panel.
What it looks like is: instead of the conductors being made up of smaller round strands, they are sort of triangular shaped and fit tightly together making it much smaller than a normal conductor. There is almost no air between the smaller strands and are almost as flexible as a normal stranded conductor. I would say, from what I've seen, they are very similar in size to a solid conductor.
Jim


While this is true for aluminum cables, you can order larger sizes of copper in compact size as well. The way they do it is use different size strands to fill the spaces better. Half small and half large basically.

I'm sure you'll see on your fill tables that the difference isn't huge, but sometimes every little bit helps.
veganfan Thanks a lot. This helps becouse at my work place we never use or see this style of conductor.
RS377 It comes in handy every once and a while.

Just out of curiosity, did none of your fellow employees know what this was?