Low Voltage AIRGUARD™
CASE STUDY
How LV AIRGUARD™ compares to continuously corrugated welded cable.
THE RESULTS ARE IN
LV AIRGUARD™ demonstrates
flexibility, labor savings and safety
Border States Electric, the end user and installing
contractor worked together to test Prysmian Low Voltage
AIRGUARD™ cable to determine if it could withstand the
rigors of a live construction site.
borderstates.com
OPPORTUNITY
CASE STUDY
PUTTING AIRGUARD™ TO THE TEST
2 | Case Study
An energy producer agreed to test Prysmian Low Voltage (LV) AIRGUARD™
cable at a well pad construction site in Longmont, Colorado. Border States
Electric supplied the cable and training courses on the product, and a
contractor was on-site to perform installation.
The test provided the opportunity to obtain customer and contractor feedback
on Prysmian LV AIRGUARD™ cable, as well as comparisons to similar projects
completed with traditional continuously corrugated welded (MCHL) cable.
PREPARATION
When the Prysmian LV AIRGUARD™ cable arrived at the job site, the
contractor began pulling approximately 4,800 feet of 3C No. 8 AIRGUARD™
into a 420-foot long trench. When installing in the trench, the crew found the
AIRGUARD™ to be lighter and seemed to lay flatter, compared to MCHL cable.
The crew noted the AIRGUARD™ was more pliable than MCHL and did not
have the curlicue effect after coming off the spool. The following day, the crew
began to install the Prysmian 3C 4/0, 3C 2/0, 24/PR No. 16, 4/PR No. 16 and
3/C No. 10 cables.
Border States Electric provided in-class training and certification, and four
specialized cable strippers for stripping Prysmian cable and connectors.
FIELD TESTING
Crews performed extensive
tests on various cable sizes
CABLE STRIPPING AND INSTALLATION
The crew performed numerous cable stripping tests and began stripping
and installing cable in the field. During those tests, the crew found the
AIRGUARD™ 3C 2/0 to strip faster than 2/0 and 4/0 MCHL.
With the AIRGUARD™ 3/C No. 10, the crew found the most efficient
method for stripping was to use the Prysmian tool to score the cable,
then use the two rip cords. They found the 3/C No. 10 to be more
malleable than MCHL and a lighter weight when installing in the trench.
The crew found cutting cable with a reciprocating saw is a better choice
of tool, as a portable band saw will bind in the EPR filler. The PG tool
is best for removing the PVC and nylon jacket, while the rip cords were
best for the EPR and polypropylene layers on longer cables. The crew
also determined AIRGUARD™ could be installed on skids over metallic
liquidtite or GRC conduit as a cost-saving measure.
RESULTS achieved
LIGHTER WEIGHT. IMPROVED FLEXIBILITY.
BETTER ALIGNMENT. LABOR SAVINGS.
Success 1: Lighter weight product
MEASURING SUCCESS
How LV AIRGUARD™stood
up during testing
» LV AIRGUARD™ cable (smaller configurations) seemed to be lighter when
compared to like MCHL cable configurations.
» Larger conductor configurations were noticeably heavier.
Success 2: Better trench alignment
» LV AIRGUARD™ cable did lay flat in the trench better than MCHL cable.
» The product was easy to pull in trenches, and anticipates it will be
significantly easier on cable tray.
» Installed cable will allow for ground settling and seismic activity of well site.
Success 3: Flexibility
» It did not hold the “curlicue” effect after coming off the spool.
» Prysmian cable is notably more pliable than MCHL cable.
Success 4: Customer satisfaction
» The installing contractor’s general assessment of the LV AIRGUARD™
product is “it’s amazing.”
» The product offers large labor savings on the larger sizes constructions.
» Cable stripping was reduced significantly on larger cable conductor sizes
No. 4 and above.
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PROCESS overview
PRYSMIAN LV AIRGUARD™ BENEFITS
» Cables 1˝ and smaller can be installed in Class 1 Div.1 areas
» Use less expensive terminations
CGB vs. TMC style fitting
» Much more flexible
» Will not kink or break
» Bend radius 4x O.D.
» Termination is 2x faster than
MCHL small sizes
» Above 2/0 minimum of 5x faster
» No knife or saw required—much safer for the installers
» Most chemical and abuse resistant cable in the industry
» IEEE 1202/FT4
» Direct burial/tray/conduit installations
» Resistance to gas and moisture migrations
» Available in LSZH constructions
» 18% labor savings on entire project
ONLY AVAILABLE
at Border States.
CASE STUDY
» Cables 1˝ and larger can be installed in Class1 Div.2 areas
7 | Case Study
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A 100% Employee-owned, American Company
50-090 (2015-10)
©2014 Border States Industries, Inc.