Buy SO Cable & SOOW Cable

Anyone following the markets lately will notice that commodity prices have been on a steady rise through the first half of the year.  As SO cable as well as Type G, Type W, welding cable and DLO cable are all heavily dependent on raw input prices, there has been a noticable increase in the pricing of these items.

Many of our regular customers are acutely aware of the effects of increasing commodity prices.  Most important of course is the cost of copper.  Copper as of today was selling for about $2.20 per pound on the COMEX.  While much higher than it was at the beginning of the year, it still has a long way to go to catch up with the $4.00 per pound cost it reached in the summer of 2008.  A close second to copper is the cost of oil.  As the jacket and insulation of most cables are petroleum based, the cost of oil plays a big role in pricing also.  Oil of course topped in the $140 per barrel range last summer and is currently around $70 per barrel.

As the economy improves it is quite likely that we will witness a continued increase in these raw input costs.  Most economists agree that we will begin to see a recovery starting in the second half of the year and into 2010.  Many emerging markets are already seeing improvements with China of course being the 800 lb gorilla.  If we stay on this current track it is reasonable to believe that copper and oil will continue the steady march north.  If you are a big buyer of the larger sizes of wire and cable it may behoove you to take a look at some projections later this year and maybe think about stocking up now before we begin to see the big increases.

As always if you have any questions you can contact us at 800-714-9473.

A question we are often asked is what is the difference between SO cable and VNTC cable and under what circumstances should I use one over the other?  Keep in mind that SO cable is generally designed for portable power applications also known as temporary power.  Tray cable on the other hand is designed more for a permanent installation.  If you think in those terms, it will make it easier for you to decide which one to use.  If you are installing something and leaving it there for the long term, then tray cable is probably your best bet.

Another factor to consider is what the cable will actually be exposed to.  SO cable is not designed to be left out in the sun or buried under ground for any extended period of time.  If you use it in that way you will find that the jacket will begin to dry rot and crack.  Tray cable on the other hand generally comes with a UV resistant jacket that is also direct burial rated.  Delco stocks both items in most gauge sizes and conductor counts.  Give us a call if you have any questions at 800-714-9473.

One of the more popular uses of SO cable is for temporary power applications.  If you are in a situation where you are using a generator of any type, many times you will need an SO cable with multiple conductors depending on the generator configuration.  Some generators only need or use a single conductor power wire.  In these cases many people will end up using a welding cable.  Welding cable is quite similar to SO cable in that the jacketing material is basically the same.  The voltage and temperatur rating are also the same at 600 volts and 90 dgrees celsius.  As always the size and power of your generator will determine how large the cable needs to be to handle the amperage and voltage.

Whatever your need or configuration, Delco Wire and Cable stocks most awg sizes of both welding cable and SO cable.  We never charge for cuts and there is no minimum order size for either product.  Give us a call at 800-714-9473.

This week we will keep it short.  From time to time we find that we get loaded down with odd lengths of certain types of cable.  Right now we have a pretty large amount of random lengths in SO cable and also in DLO cable.  We have published a listing of the gauge sizes available with the best lengths.  We accumulate these lengths over time from cutting these cables to order.  You can check out our current stock on randoms by clicking here.  As always if you have any questions or concerns please contact us at 800-714-9473.

One of the most common questions we get is what is the voltage rating or how many amps can a particular cable handle.  This is common for all cables whether it is the SOOW version or Type W or DLO etc.  The easy answer of course is for SOOW cable the voltage rating is 600 volts.  DLO cable, Type W cable and Type G cable all run up to 2000 volts.  The more difficult question is what and how do amperage ratings apply to these cables.

It is important to understand that how you will be using the cable will affect its amperage ratings.  You need to know whether you will be using the cable in a tray along with other cables, or will you be using it in a free standing capacity?   Also what is the ambient temperature that the cable will be exposed to?  A very simple online chart is provided by the Okonite company here.

If you have additional questions give us a call at 800-714-9473.  One of our knowledgeable staff members will be happy to help.  You can also visit our products page at Delco Wire and Cable

In this post we would just like to share a little information on what I guess we would call attention to detail. We have spent a fair amount of time in this business and one thing we know for sure is that pricing is, and has always been, volatile. When it comes to SO cable or SO cord the primary driver in price is copper cost. The larger the awg size of course, the more the copper differential will come into play. A handy site to keep at your disposal is www.nymex.com. Here you can get daily spot copper pricing.

We say all of this because we see quite a few sites out there that allow you to buy SO cable from a shopping cart. Now, these may all be fine companies but as a consumer you would be far better served to make the phone call. Odds are that with so many different items to keep up with, it is unlikely that most of these sites are updating their pricing on a daily basis. While this is certainly their prerogative, it does not help you as a consumer. If you are just blindly buying this item from a shipping cart we would wager that you are paying more than you need to. Consider this a public service announcement from your friends at Delco Wire and Cable. Call us for your SO or SOOW cable needs at 1-800-714-9473 or visit us at www.delcowireus.com

If SO cables were always used as permanent power sources, abrasion resistance wouldn’t matter. You’d install equipment once, attach the cable, and leave it there for years. Water resistance would be a main advantage, but abrasion concerns would be minimal. The reality is that SO cable is often used as a temporary power source. It’s dragged over concrete to power a portable fan at a workshop or pulled through the mud at every stop on a circus tour. And after all that abuse, it’s gathered up roughly, stuffed in the back of a storage unit, and expected to perform perfectly the next time.

SO cable takes a beating, and that’s why abrasion resistance is such a benefit. Water resistance is nice, but if the jacket breaks every time it hits a snag, it would be very impractical. By virtue of its strong outer jacket, SO cable is heavy-duty and reliable and just may be the right choice for you.

If you are looking for price and availability for SO cord or SOOW cable contact us at 1-800-714-9473 or visit our website at www.delcowireus.com

Is there a big difference between welding cable and DLO cable? Both are single conductor cables but that is about where the similarities end. Diesel locomotive cable is available from 10 awg up to 777.7 MCM. This cable is rated 90 degrees celsius and 2000 volt. Primary uses include of course diesel locomotives as well as oil and gas rigs, motor leads, mining and earth moving equipment and shipyards. There is usually an inner insulation as well as outer jacket which affords tremendous impact and abrasion resistance.

Welding cable is generally available from 6 awg up to 500 MCM. While not quite as robust as DLO cable, welding cable is also used in situations where power generation is needed. Many people use this cable when they need to power generators or similar type equipment. This cable is usually rated at 600 volts and 90 degree celsius.

Delco Wire and Cable stocks both types of cable in all gauge sizes. We do not charge to cut to length for you and there are no minimum orders. You can check out specifications for the DLO cable here and for the welding cable here. Please also feel free to call us at 800-714-9473 should you have any questions.

Another question we often get is what is different between VNTC cable and SO cable? VNTC stands for vinyl nylon tray cable. This type of cable is quite different from SO and SOOW cable. The SO cable is designed for temporary power whereas the VNTC is for permanent installation. This type of tray cable is also generally approved for direct burial applications and is usually sunlight resistant and weather proof.

SO cable if left out in the sun will eventually crack and dry rot. While the SOOW version of this cable is water resistant it is not water proof, which means it is not recommended to use this cable for applications where the cable may be continually submerged.

We have specifications you can look at on our VNTC cable here. Delco stocks a wide variety of tray cable and SO cable. Feel free to give us a call at 800-714-9473 if you have any questions or needs for either of these products.

In our last post we talked about the difference between SO cable and Type W cable. If you need something more robust than Type W you would then move up to Type G cable or Type GGC. The difference is the G has 4 conductors and the GGC has two or three conductors. Type G is similar to Type W in that both are 2000 volt rated and 90 degree C rated. However the W does not have ground conductors where the G has a ground conductor for every primary conductor as well as 2 additional grounds. Ground wire size depends on what gauge size the primary cable is.

For example if a cable is called out to be a 2 awg 3 conductor GGC the cable would have a total of three 2 awg conductors, two 7 awg grounds and one 10 awg ground check. In a 2 awg 3 conductors type W cable you would only have the three 2 awg insulated conductors.

To see a chart showing the specs and ground wire you can go to our site here. If you have any questions on Type W, Type G or SOOW cable please feel free to contact Delco at 1-800-714-9473.