Faster Solar Installations with PV Ultra Cable

[@chrishorne3185]

This is really good cable cable. Gary showed it me this week. It will definitely make the wiring solar PV more easier for electricians. Well done Doncaster Cables 👏👍

[@efixx]

He lied to me Chris he said I was the second person to see it 😂 *Gordon

[@GSHElectrical]

🦾💕🦾

[@BillsCountrysideAdventures]

This is what I bloody love about our country. True made in England cable. They are masters and well done guys.

[@Doncaster_Cables]

Such a nice comment 👍 British Engineering is renowned worldwide - and we're happy to try and promote this in our sector through cables like this (there are not many true UK cable manufacturers left!)

[@swayback7375]

Any chance you could compare cost of this to other options? I can’t hear this video so forgive me if they said it

[@GSHElectrical]

Another fantastic cable from the truly amazing Aaron 👏🏼👏🏼 congratulations Doncaster Cables.

[@brianwood5220]

Doncaster Cables does it again. They are going from strength to strength. One single game changer under the sun.

[@Doncaster_Cables]

🙌🙌🙌

[@glynjones8187]

I don't often get excited by cable, but in this case I'll make an exception.

[@Doncaster_Cables]

👏👏👏👏

[@sergiofernandez3725]

Another great cable from Doncaster. Should get a free tool with every 150 - 200 meter drum

[@NicolasRaimo]

amazing product well done Doncaster Cables

[@Beariam24]

Fantastic stuff looks like a great option to me. Definitely will be using this on my next install. Just getting hold of the stuff from my local store will be hard as CEF doesn’t stock Doncaster just there naff nock off stuff.

[@DarylRaverty]

Australia, we have more residential solar per capita than the rest of the world. We have a requirement for the PV DC cables to be inside Heavy Duty conduit. Its underground thickness conduit but Grey. Rodents can chew through pvc cables, and they have no protection ie c/b etc if rhe Sun is out. We have to run an earth always to the rails also. What are your thoughts?

[@luka2nd]

Very clever! I wish it were accessible in Poland. We usually buy LAPP Olflex Solar, but they are classical single-strand cables, thus needing an extra conduit to make them safe.

[@falfield]

Does this help with an outdoor array when buried cable is needed? Whether it obviates the need for conduit will depend I suppose on the shear strength of the black stuff. The cable looks quite flexible - good - does this change a lot under cold conditions, as does PVC? What is the minimum recommended radius of bend curvature for 4x6mm cable? And 25yr design lifetime seems lacking in ambition: now that new panel efficiency's levelling off, if they're still working, I think most will want them to carry on generating.

[@tonyvanderhorst]

Looks pretty good. Would be amazing to have a ground in there as well. In the Netherlands we need to ground the rail and roofhooks which usually get's connected to the side of the transformer( solar edge/huawei) or the safety switch(?) which are connected to the ground rail/potential equalisation( sorry not my first language) . How would one counter the induction loop with this cable? Because I feel you'd need to cut open quite of bit of the cable to counter it. We need to make it as small as possible here. Nonetheless pretty cool cable. Love it

[@marksavenije3047]

Haha, my thoughts as well, we in NL need ground as well (you could buy 4 core, using only one pair and use one of the remaining cores as ground, seems pricey). About the induction, I guess if you use this cable just to take your solar cables up, and then use regular wiring you are good to go.

[@johnwarwick4105]

Looks a great cable hope Donny cables have patented it and it sells well. Guess it will be down to cost over ease of installation. Always thought to singles should have been a different colour so the didn’t look like coax

[@Doncaster_Cables]

Thanks - for info the cable is patent pending 👍 For info - We'll be showcasing the product at solar and storage live at the NEC in October

[@TKPAWARRIOR]

Wonderful Concept but did I miss the point price per foot? I know it said you were looking for distributors and such but a price point would be very helpful for the 8 and 6 wire.

[@therealdojj]

big thick cables are less likely to be cut by a diy'er so that's the one big obvious thing and the writing on the side is another and i've just go to the point where you've incorporated an "earth" cable in order to strip the outer sheathing 😳

[@efixx]

Usually no PE on the secondary side of Solar inverters.

[@gjrendle]

This cable looks like it it will come into play on a few jobs and is a good idea. Are there any plans to manufacture an armoured version of this cable so it can be direct buried in the ground without the use of expensive underground cable ducts and giving better protection against rodent damage? The armouring could also possibly serve as a bonding conductor between the array and the inverter.

[@Beariam24]

I have the stripper, the socket set, and depth guides very handy stuff making MC4s. The strippers are bloody expensive though

[@SkyCharter]

Slick. I'll look for it in the States.

[@andrebull2589]

Genius this.

[@efixx]

👍🏻

[@Doncaster_Cables]

👏👏👏

[@gbelectricks]

Great innovation guys! One thing though. How about incorporating a main protective bonding cable for the roof rails?

[@christopherconnor1010]

I install solar here in the United States . It’s kind of cool that you can use this cable to run outside but the conduit just looks so much better. And for the price the homeowner is paying for their PV system there is absolutely no way I would install this on someone’s house and for the attic run, we typically use a flexible metal conduit

[@patricklyons7683]

Me likey, yes l am creating new colloquialisms. Great markings ...is it tinned wire?

[@efixx]

Yes it’s tinned

[@patricklyons7683]

@@efixx That's even better because it's highly rated for marine environment then, imho.

[@cdoublejj]

can i get it in the USA?

[@FirstDan2000]

Bloody hell, Doncaster. That looks excellent. Love that rip cord Will that make it's way Into ordinary SWA cables?

[@gino2465]

Nice cable, not many installers bring down a ground wire from roof rail. Is that not a requirement now.

[@paulf3353]

When it will be available ?

[@Doncaster_Cables]

Available very soon - we are just completing our initial stock runs, and are setting up some initial distribution channels with electrical wholesale. Ask your electrical wholesaler to get in touch with us to discuss further.

[@martindearman2218]

Termination into a Wiska box by compression gland? What sort of diameters do the cables have especially the larger 4c 6mm? Great idea by the way 👍

[@Doncaster_Cables]

4x6.0 diameter is around 19.5mm. With the 4x4.0 being around 17.5mm, 2x6.0 being 16.3mm and 2x4.0 being 15.0mm. Could be tight on the larger sizes, but from early discussions there seems to be a lot of termination options. The heat shrink boots are very good for the 4x6.0 (we've had a play with these ourselves 😊)

[@johnwaby4321]

I saw on a job that someone had used multi core SY cable from The roof solar panels down to the investors .Does this type of cable comply

[@davemyers77]

No, on several levels.

[@glynjones8187]

SY doesn't even have a BS certificate

[@Doncaster_Cables]

No. SY was originally designed to be a control flexible (interconnecting machines). It has no British Standard, and the design has very thin insulation and sheathing. There has been a lot of comments from NIC and other technical bodies over recent years to reduce the use on normal AC circuits too because of this.

[@johnwaby4321]

@@Doncaster_Cables yes I know that .that's why I put it on my test certs 👍👍

[@JamesCurnowElectricalEngineer]

This is an interesting video.

[@efixx]

Thanks

[@retrozmachine1189]

Don't mean to blow the safety whistle here but the labelling on the sheath, 'DANGER DC CABLE LIVE DURING DAYLIGHT', that surprised me. It obviously is true but at least to me that could indicate to a less informed person that the cable is safe when it's nighttime. That isn't necessarily so with there being no isolation between the AC side and the PV side with transformerless inverters (ie, most of them these days).

[@Doncaster_Cables]

Interesting comment. The pre-marked warning label is intended to replicate the guidance already issued (which is to use the same wording on labels that are already being used for single core PV cables.

[@retrozmachine1189]

@@Doncaster_CablesInteresting they'd give that advice really but that's how these things work I guess. I'm not in the UK etc by the way.

[@deang5622]

I disagree. Those cables only have a voltage on them during sunlight hours. The cable warning is correct and appropriate. The issue of a lack of isolation between AC and DC side only becomes a problem and can only result in the DC cables having a potential on them when a fault occurs. When a fault occurs, all bets are off, in any type of electrical installation. You don't mark everything up to cater for faults.

[@jeremybaggett1966]

A 5th core would be useful for the inverter to rail bond

[@TienkeBosherPelzmann]

Is there any way inverters can be made less noisy? It is mind draining to have that windy swoosh sound.

[@X11-35-2]

Hm but now i need to run always the additional 3th/ 5th wire for FE. What a good development lol

[@philipholme9911]

i have enquired about this product today with my wholsaler today 4/8/23 and its not availble until October solar trade show. i have at least one job next week this would have been great for. can i have 25 m on trial please?

[@davida1841]

The Doncaster cables guy says SWA is not recommended as it doesn’t qualify as double insulated??? The code of practice directly references it as a feed cable from the inverter. Are Doncaster cables writing the regs now? I like the idea of this but it falls down on 3 fronts. 1) It’s bulky. 2) It has no earth (installations need a minimum of functional earth to rails) 3) it won’t stand up to foxes. (I’ve seen their EV cable torn to shreds by foxes)

[@deang5622]

That isn't a functional earth. A functional earth is where the earth is needed for normal operation of the apparatus and not in fault condition. If you are talking about metal rails then you are talking about normal earthing or bonding which are protective mechanisms which activate under fault conditions.

[@davida1841]

⁠@@deang5622 Thanks, but i know what i meant. As a minimum UK PV installations need array frame functional earths. This helps to ensure the inverters array isolation measures perform correctly. Has nothing to do with bonding or a cpc.

[@trialsted]

Interesting that in EV world we have to use orange cables with HVIL, screens, double insulation and isolation monitoring and then random black stuff in the house

[@muso31]

what do people do for earthing when using this?

[@edcooper2396]

Whats a good rodent resistant solution for ducts?

[@Roobob45]

Would this remove the requirement for mechanical protection for cables run internally?

[@Faddnn]

No, this cable does not have mechanical protection, does it?

[@Roobob45]

I wonder if they will do an SWA version like the EV Ultra?

[@Roobob45]

@@Sqrt3cosphi so basically, in a stud wall, this needs to be in metal trunking?

[@deang5622]

​@@Sqrt3cosphiThere is no hard requirement to mechanically protect a cable in conduit indoors. It is down to the installer to decide for themselves where it is needed.

[@deang5622]

​@@Sqrt3cosphiAnd the need to protect the buried cable with a metal conduit or guard in front is to provent against an electrocution risk. There is no electrocution risk with DC voltage from solar panels unless it is at 120 volts or higher.

[@ELECTRICLIFE4U]

🥰❤👍👍👍👍👍

[@tonywebb9909]

I thought the neutral had to be black. Maybe rules are different in eu

[@efixx]

It’s DC voltages for solar - neutral is blue since around 2005

[@tonywebb9909]

@@efixx yes, was waiting for someone to call me out on that! Negative of course, I looked up or rules which oddly say, "positive can be red or black, but negative must be black" not sure if this is all of EU or just Ireland. However I do remember the really old red n white UK DC cables from year back (showing my age)

[@fester.]

how much is it though

[@jimbob1ist]

A quick search and I can only find the EV Ultra cable. Looks like you'll need get a quote from an electrical wholesalers

[@corglass]

£34/meter

[@jimbob1ist]

@@corglass 😳

[@corglass]

@@jimbob1ist haha, I joke 🤣

[@Doncaster_Cables]

Pricing will need to obtained from electrical wholesale. We are looking to set up early distribution channels with our initial stock run, and more stock to follow in the near future. I don't think it will be the £34/meter that @corglass mentioned 😊)

[@philipholme9911]

this is something i will look into. Apollo Solar Energy Ltd

[@MichaelFanny-m2b]

Ransom Orchard

[@MagicianMan]

2 core in 4mm and 6mm? what about 8mm?? Obvious question is how does price compare to single 4mm, 6mm and 8mm cables...?

[@PhyllisPope-h6i]

Margret Extensions

[@BurnsCornell]

493 O'Hara Shoals

[@HoodCora-f1i]

Enid Cliffs

[@GardinerMaurice-p2d]

Brendon Stravenue

[@MarthaRosemary-g6x]

Volkman Mountains

[@ToddaRice-v7d]

Elinor Overpass

[@BurnsHansen-h2q]

Franz Dam

[@JoeMantz-m9s]

Kilback Landing

[@GwendolynFulton-m6r]

Gerard Plaza

[@SamHoks-m6b]

Derick Coves

[@DaniellMoll-r1g]

Reta Ridges

[@FaradayBoyd-j7j]

Schulist Coves

[@CraigieHorace-g8r]

Dibbert Center

[@HenriettaRosa-l9x]

Ebert Light

[@SumalJahan-t1i]

Melissa Glens

[@EddieBlack-o7x]

Jakubowski Ferry

[@mklotsaOkmlitsa-h3u]

Willms Flat

[@freelifeproductions]

regulations in EU say we cant have the positive and negative wire of the PV next to each other.. when this cable gets damaged there is more chance of arcing .. and therefor more chance of a fire... nice try tho... also we dont clip cables on a house.. looks crap.

[@edc1569]

Are their actually EU wides regs? Electrics in Italy are so different to Germany for example I find that surprising. Is this a recent development?

[@deang5622]

Funny, but all your appliance power cables have the negative and positive next to each other. Funny, but all your electrical cables in the installation itself, in the walls, under the floorboards, from the consumer unit to the socket outlets have the positive (live) and negative (neutral) next to each other. Sounds to me it's you that is talking crap.

[@shavermcspud]

Only real issue I can see with the four core is wastage if you have two strings on elevations a fair distance from each other, stripping back four cores and removing say 10 meters for the first string would leave a lot of wasted cable.

[@johnwarwick4105]

Would you not simply split the cable in the middle of the two strings and a pair each way

[@shavermcspud]

That's fine for opposing elevations but not for instance on a L shaped property.@@johnwarwick4105

[@Doncaster_Cables]

After speaking with some solar installers, and system designers, they think this will be overcome through system design. Perhaps splitting the cable in the middle as suggested by another user, or positioning strings to have final connections at a similar area. A good comment though 👍