Why do we use cable cleats?
Cleats are an often under estimated component of cable management systems, principle they exist to fix, retain and support cables. In addition, where short-circuit faults are anticipated, correct cleating will result in the containment of the cables during a fault and enable the circuit to continue operation with the minimum disruption.
What type of cleat do I need to use?
We currently offer over 25 different types of cleats to suit various installation requirements. These range from our single and two bolt LSF cleats, through to Emperor stainless steel cleats, designed for installation within extremely harsh environments throughout the world, e.g. off-shore petrochemical plants.
In the UK, the majority of commercial and industrial contracts call for the use of LSF cleats, aluminium two-part single way and trefoil cleats, along with the increasing use of stainless steel cleats, particularly since the advent of Fire Performance cables for critical circuits.
The following questions need to be answered to ascertain the relevant cleat for any given installation:
– What is the conductor size?
– What type of cable? i.e. single core, multi-core, XLPE, unarmoured, steel wire armoured, aluminium wire armoured etc.
– What is the overall diameter of the cable?
– Does the specification call for a specific type of cleat or type of material?
– Does the specification call for any fault current requirements?
Common issues and questions raised when ordering cleats:
– Preference for using cables ties to save money, instead of cleats.
– Spacing requirements, i.e. ladder-rack not being wide enough to accommodate the required number of cleats.
– The short-circuit withstand required from a cleat when installing single core AWA cables.
– Suitability of cleat to a particular cable, e.g. Fire Performance cleats to suit FP400 cables.
– Other spacing issues, such as the recommended mounting distance between cleats when installing cables vertically being different from when the same cable is being installed horizontally.
ETS Cable Components are the UK’s leading stockists and distributors of cable cleats and cable management accessories. For more information on our range of cleats, visit our cable cleats page or contact our Sales Team.
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