Installation of electrical wiring is a responsible occupation associated with the solution of many issues. Before starting work, you should decide where the switches and sockets will be located, as well as to which consumers you will need to lay a separate line. The correct choice of a cable product is one of the most serious tasks that a contractor has to solve before starting work.
Typical situation (benefits for the parties)
Many users completely trust the hired electrician in this matter, which is unacceptable for a number of reasons. Firstly, it is more profitable for an outside contractor to use an easy-to-install, but not very high-quality cable. Secondly, if he is entrusted with the purchase of consumables, you can always save money by buying a low-quality cheap product. As a result of this decision, the customer receives in return for money many problems associated with current leaks and other troubles.
Sellers also benefit from the sale of cheap, low-quality cable. They can always raise the price on it, passing it off as a quality product. Under normal conditions, no one will conduct a full examination of it. As a result, it turns out that they sell you a cable product that is completely unsuitable in quality for the same money as an expensive analogue.
What to do in order not to be deceived
To protect yourself from such typical situations, you will need to familiarize yourself in advance with how to distinguish a high-quality cable from a low-quality one. This review lists the characteristic differences between a flexible wire and a rigid cable, taking into account which it is possible to select exactly the consumable that is needed.
There are several known differences between flexible cable products (PVS, PUGNP, for example) from their rigid counterparts (VVG, NYM). It:
- Service life declared by the manufacturer.
- Breakdown voltage.
- The need to use special tips.
- The quality of the protective insulation.
Additional Information: The service life of simple wires rarely exceeds 10 years, which is very short compared to 20 years for a cable.
For the second indicator, the following is noted. For flexible wires, the maximum dangerous voltage is 380 Volts, and for cables this parameter reaches 660 Volts.
Any short-term overvoltage breaks through the insulation of the former with all the ensuing consequences. When considering the issue of the ease of installation of both, first of all, attention is paid to the following points:
- flexible products with many wires are much more difficult to connect and build up;
- to do this, you first need to crimp them qualitatively by means of tips and only then insert them into the terminals;
- in contrast, rigid conductors are connected directly (without the use of sleeves).
In the final part, we note that for a simple wire, the cores are hidden in a sheath, which is used as an unreliable PVC tube. On the other hand, for a high-quality product, the insulation is doubled: first, each of the cores is protected with it, after which the entire twist is placed in the shell.