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[Jeff Bankston]

I see a lot of new 6/4 SOOW rolls for sale thats not UL rated. Is this legal for power distro use in the USA ?

[Rob Spence]

I see a lot of new 6/4 SOOW rolls for sale thats not UL rated. Is this legal for power distro use in the USA ?

I though I read some time in the past here that raw cable is often not UL approved but that an assembly might be.

Of what use to us is UL cable?  As soon as we attach cord caps (even if UL listed), the assembly is not UL approved.



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[TJ (Tom) Cornish]

I see a lot of new 6/4 SOOW rolls for sale thats not UL rated. Is this legal for power distro use in the USA ?

Perhaps a more relevant question is what are you going to do with it?  Though 6/4 is commonly used for a 50A connection, it’s technically not rated for that with 3 current carrying conductors, which includes any pro audio application with 120v loads.  For code and voltage drop reasons, 4/4 is a better choice.

[Jeff Bankston]

Perhaps a more relevant question is what are you going to do with it?  Though 6/4 is commonly used for a 50A connection, it’s technically not rated for that with 3 current carrying conductors, which includes any pro audio application with 120v loads.  For code and voltage drop reasons, 4/4 is a better choice.

Using 6/4 from a distro to spider boxes. 2 hots 1 neutral 1 ground. 25' and 50' runs. I prefer 4/4 but the wire wont fit in the Hubbell CS8365C and CS6365C lugs without cutting some strands. My old 6/4 cable is so scuffed up and wore out I cant read the writing on it anymore to see if it was UL rated.

[Mark Cadwallader]

Using 6/4 from a distro to spider boxes. 2 hots 1 neutral 1 ground. 25' and 50' runs. I prefer 4/4 but the wire wont fit in the Hubbell CS8365C and CS6365C lugs without cutting some strands. My old 6/4 cable is so scuffed up and wore out I cant read the writing on it anymore to see if it was UL rated.

4/4 won't fit in a Hubbell Cali connector?  Hmmm. How about in another brand?  I'm planning on building some cables up this fall.

[Jeff Bankston]

4/4 won't fit in a Hubbell Cali connector?  Hmmm. How about in another brand?  I'm planning on building some cables up this fall.

I already have 12 male and 12 female Hubbells. And at $60.00+ each I am not going to buy anymore. The Hubbells are the best.

[Jeff Bankston]

I just tried a #4 battery cable I took off my truck and I can make it fit. Wont be easy doing 4 wires. I might need some longer screws for the rear clamps. I will definitely use 4/4 for he mixing board run. I see both UL and non UL 4/4. 

[Chris Hindle]

I just tried a #4 battery cable I took off my truck and I can make it fit. Wont be easy doing 4 wires. I might need some longer screws for the rear clamps. I will definitely use 4/4 for he mixing board run. I see both UL and non UL 4/4.

As far as i know, UL can only be applied to a FINISHED PRODUCT, not the raw cable.
If you saw an extension labelled that way, it was factory build. NOT u-mak-em.
Chris.

[Mark Cadwallader]

It is my understanding that UL-listed components may be used to build assemblies, but the exclusive use of listed components does not mean that the assembly itself is UL approved (listed).

That said, I'd rather be able to show the AHJ I'm using UL listed parts in my home-made extension cords than otherwise. (Not that I've been questioned on the subject, but I'm a cautious s.o.b.)

[Frank Koenig]

Though 6/4 is commonly used for a 50A connection, it’s technically not rated for that with 3 current carrying conductors, which includes any pro audio application with 120v loads.

Interesting. In a 125/250V, 3 pole, 4 wire, single-phase system, as commonly encountered in audio (connecting a generator to a spider box via a 50A Cali plug), my interpretation of NEC table 400.5(A) allows for 55 A in 6 AWG up to an ambient temperature of 30 deg C. We can use column B as only two of the conductors are "current carrying". The third (neutral) conductor carries only the out-of-balance component. This makes physical sense so long as we are not concerned with harmonic current in the neutral. 

For higher ambient temperature they tell us to derate in accordance with Table 310.16, using the column corresponding to the cord's rated temperature (or, I suppose, the lowest temperature rated connection made to that cord). The trouble is that the lowest column in the table 310.16 is for 60 deg C and the closest piece of SOOW I have lying around has 40 deg C stamped on it. What to do now?

640.42(E) (Audio Signal Processing, Amplification, and Reproduction Equipment), refers us to 520.5, 520.10 (Theaters...), and 525.3 (Carnivals...), which mostly just refer us back to Article 640 and say nothing special about ampacity. So it appears that article 400 applies to us. Sorry to flog this dead horse but is this everyone's understanding?

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