SWA Cable - Steel Wire Armoured

[@SaqibKhan-hd7ic]

Not only is this guy knowledgeable in his field (electrics). But he has also mastered the art of teaching and KZbin video presentation. I take my hat off to you sir! much respect 👏🏽

[@harrybotonikes]

Lovely geezer , he sounds like the 2x speed option on the videos

[@Mixolixplosion]

Big Clive is awesome too.

[@gavinjohn-hyde2760]

I learn more by watching Johns videos than i do in hours at college and on expensive courses... his no nonsense to the point explanations are a great example of how to teach... i wish all tutors could follow this guys example.

[@alanreynolds5985]

A much better instructional video than others I’ve watched John. No banging music and silliness. I’m now confident enough to install all my new shed wiring with swa and not have to worry about slack professionals. Thank you.

[@mongoose621]

Glanding SWA is one of my favourite jobs, I find it very therapeutic, I could happily do it all day. Great video as always JW.

[@riteandleft]

Excellent video. I'm an electronics engineer and I've just installed the 'electrics' into an outside building. The only thing I wasn't sure about was terminating the armoured cable. Now I know. Thanks for an excellent, clear, thorough tutorial.

[@ironmantooltime]

Naturally you had it signed off 😉

[@thelegacy5368]

This Man is gifted when its comes to explaining electric staff.

[@ringsidejudge4302]

Super instructional video . At 20.05 I am now aware of why my garden light failed . On inspection I discovered that the wires were completely coiled up and a couple broke over time . A simple error for a DIYer but at least now I can correct thanks to your excellent tuition . Many thanks .

[@gautamherma6047]

Hey John this is the fully informative video to all who uses cable glands. As a manufacturer of cable glands i can say this is my pleasure to come across this presentation.

[@philbrm]

I’m a Trainer - but am in awe of Johns fantastic training videos

[@chrisroyle4813]

Very helpful, the wrap of insulation tape was spot on.

[@simonhep]

Excellent tutorial video and put me straight onto the right track for running an outside lighting circuit using 1.5mm 3-core SWA. I gave the hacksaw scoring method a try but found it a tad awkward, especially when standing on top of a ladder! Job was quicker and neater with a standard plumbing pipe cutter and as I have a couple of them didn't cost any extra in new toys. I will have a look at some of your other vids to pick up more useful tips - hope you're making money from the hard work you're putting in to share your knowledge.

[@ricktherecorder4416]

Excellent, thorough video. "Now you just strip off the bedding...". That's what I wanted to see you do, safely! Also the standard technique for cutting the boot is to pull it hard on to the end of the cable, and cutting it off where you can see it is slightly deformed. You did that, Blue Peter style, off camera.

[@100ukmrf]

Great Video. 100% accurate with clear step-by-step instructions. I'm sure this will help a lot of people out as there is a lot more involved in terminating armoured cable as opposed to other typed of cable like twin and earth etc And yes we have all seen shocking terminated armoured cable jobs in our time

[@alunmauve]

I actually stumbled across this whilst trying to find out whether to have a separate premises earth for a garden room, and ended up watching all the way through. What an excellent tutorial!! Takes me back 30 years to my BT power section apprenticeship at their Paul Street training centre. We learnt how to strip and terminate Mineral Insulated Copper Clad fire alarm cable that week too... #flashback

[@ashleygainard4978]

Top video. I usually slide a piece of outer sheath over the dust cover, then make the cut a couple mm above, it makes for a spot on cut and a tight fitting glad cover

[@garrywiseman2870]

Very helpful video from someone who knows what they're talking about... and a dry sense of humour as a bonus. Thank you.

[@markvreeken]

Here's a tip : At 19:30 when you have the wires pushed up as far as they will go mark it with a marker on the cable insulation to ensure that you don't "lose" the armour shielding out of the gland as you tighten the nut. Same concept as when you glue up PVC ensure you are fully home

[@lesliem5394]

Brilliant...... very good teacher/demonstrator. I understood everything and you were very specific and concise, thank you. Great camera work where I could follow your narrative, top bloke.

[@viperfrank]

nice video, good to see you using all the correct practice when demonstrating how to connect the cable. the amount of times i see this done wrong, it pisses me off, when i see these installed and the person has decided not to use a ring crimp terminal on the earth tag, just wrap the wire around the screw and tighten it up. you pull on the wire and it just untwists off the screw. I know someone who uses pop rivet to secure the ring terminal onto the earth tag, no no no. these rivets are mate of aluminium and they corrode very quickly in any type of moister, I measured Zs on a cable like this and got 4 ohms. because the rivet had oxidised and caused loads of white powder between the connection. and probably my least favorite is when you see the use of a plastic IP gland on swa cable and just taken one strand of the wire armour and put in into a terminal block, very poor. and it really gets on my nerves.

[@tensor131]

Quite simply superb. Far from superficial .. this video covers everything that you will need to know about terminating SWA; the level of detail is immaculate. I wish it had been available when I put swa to my garage 15 years ago!! (wrongly, but I am about to upgrade the installation following this tutorial)

[@beststatus0202]

Hello Sir, We are manufacturer of these Brass cable glands from Jamnagar, India. Range 20 S/L to 90 S/L. BW 2 PT Cable Gland BW 4 PT Cable Gland CW 3 PT Cable Gland CW 4 PT Cable Gland A1/A2 Cable Gland E1W Type Double Compression flame proof Alco Type Cable Gland Stop plugs Reducers Adaptors Lock nuts Earth tags Let me know if you are looking for good quality of glands. My email address is [e-mail] Regards, Nayan

[@scousesean9623]

Excellent tutorial, this guy is a natural ! his voice sounds like the BBC from the 70's. Brilliant, have installed a SWA to my shed, thanks A+++

[@fafhrd0023]

I noticed a recent installation where banjo is fitted on outside and the drilled hole + thru brass bolt used to feed to internal earth on plastic consumer unit. This strikes me as giving better conduction path than clamping using the steel gland nut but maybe OTT given this is all connecting to the steel armor. Excellent video BTW - very clear.

[@PeterCooper-d5z]

A very thorough and extremely well explained video. Excellent.

[@normanboyes4983]

JW - thank you for this video and in fact all of them, they have enabled me to proceed with confidence in running power to my new wooden workshop (which has no extraneous metal parts) which is 30 metres from the house consumer unit. Fortunately, my consumer unit had spare ways but on the downside is a plastic unit. I have fitted a BG consumer unit in the workshop with an RCD, one 32A MCB (Type C) and one 6A (Type B) MCB. I watched this SWA cable video a few times and most recently after running the 3 core 6mm2 SWA cable which took a whole day (a circuitous route!) - by the time I got to the workshop I had 2 metres spare so had an opportunity to have a practice SWA gland termination. It all went swimmingly well and I now have a really good ‘pattern’ to ensure I make a perfect termination for the final assembly, where there is little room for error.😳 I have reservations about terminating the SWA at the supplying consumer unit as it is a plastic one - is it worth using an aluminium backing plate to spread the mechanical load of the gland and cable - I will of course be clipping the cable well -but there is still a residual mechanical load particularly while manipulating everything into place.

[@jwflame]

Metal plate would do, or the more usual method is to fix a small metal box next to the consumer unit and fix the gland into that, such as www.toolstation.com/shop/p15062

[@normanboyes4983]

Got it - simple when you know how - I will get one of those. Thanks JW - perfecto :-)

[@J111EDC]

Thank you, would not have managed this task without your excellent video. Used this SWA cable for fish pond, may have over speced using this cable. But following your video, at least I know it is correct and safe.

[@johnschlesinger2009]

An excellent demonstration. I would add one point. If terminating into a steel enclosure such as a distribution board, it is usually necessary to carefully remove any paint around the entry hole, exposing clean metal, to ensure good earth continuity between the enclosure and the gland. Coarse emery paper is probably the easiest for this.

[@robjenkins9450]

Brilliant explanation. Thanks John, I love learning from your videos. For those saying it's difficult to make the hacksaw cut, why not use a junior hacksaw with a sharp blade, surely has to be easier than a full size frame.

[@SuperVitz]

Excellent video. I personally no longer install SWA into anything plastic, but I do fit the brass banjo regardless. Many metal junction boxes do not have an earth terminal, and relying on just the gland alone to ground the box seems inadequate. By using the banjo you are able to link the earth core, the metal box and the armouring all together.

[@chriserby237]

Excellent video. Very clear from beginning to end with all points covered.

[@Brougham2007]

Thank you for this, very useful. It would be a good idea to highlight the fact that the ring or olive must be fitted the correct way around, it's not like a plumbing compression olive which can be fitted either way around.

[@zhangcheng5535]

Hello Neil!

[@grahambio4110]

Great video, very concise. I do find using a hacksaw on site a little cumbersome and fiddly and so I use a 'Plumbers Adjustable Copper Pipe Tube Cutter' that will cut the plastic outer and score the wire accurately in a matter of seconds. Keep up the good work John, I look forward to each new video and particularly the Teardowns. I'll be making a contribution via Patreon. Cheers.

[@warrengray610]

Hi John, something very satisfying about working with SWA it's also tricky to get it right every time, You showed how to make a strong reliable connection Good job Kind regards Warren

[@chrisinfidel]

Very informative and professionally presented, thank you John.

[@ratty6847]

I like this guy he explains things properly

[@FZeffarelli]

Excellent explanation and instruction - patiently goes through whole sequence, covering each step in detail. Thank you very much.

[@tonycastro9997]

Just watched this for the second time as a refresher for doing some outside work. It’s ‘steel’ an excellent well explained step by step video, why can’t other college school video be made this simple. Cannot understand why a few would give you thumbs down. Is there a vid on testing and inspecting. Thanks again.

[@jwflame]

Testing series: kzbin.info/aero/PLVsHvs2SuqmrHBQ0PDDHzq2LXkssRBp4Q All videos arranged by category: kzbin.infoplaylists?view=1&sort=dd&shelf_id=0

[@OlyLowe]

Great video. Good to know that the normal practice is black becomes earth (green&yellow) and grey becomes neutral (blue)

[@bluechip8840]

Excellent video, clear, concise and informative. Good sound and picture quality. Many Thanks for going to the trouble to pass on your knowledge and experience.

[@melvynlee144]

Excellent Guide to terminating SWA cable

[@Bodragon]

The black "plastic cup" or "dust cap" that you show at (6:38), we always used to call them "boots". I don't know if this is a common term amongst other sparkies but was certainly common to us lot in the fire alarm industry. Another enjoyable vid. Thanks, JW. Also, at (7:55), we called that brass ring an "olive". I guess not a strictly accurate moniker, the ring not being symmetrical like a proper olive you might find in a Pyro compression gland. (Or in a plumbers' copper pipe fittings, for that matter). I suppose it's like, half an olive.

[@BadBackBeast]

Mate you should be doing the news with a voice like that. Very clear and concise

[@philjordan1749]

Very thorough video. Might have been worthwhile expanding on the use of the BW glands, as they're not provided with an olive and could lead to people thinking they're missing from the kit.

[@shoh888]

thanks John for the great video. it`s always fun watching you work

[@ade7163]

Excellent video John, just what I was looking for. Thanks.

[@markfindlay8636]

Good video ,clear and not rushed!

[@yessman78]

Another really informative video - thanks John.

[@johnhooper8832]

Agreed- an excellent and easy to follow demonstration

[@MienKraft4u]

Superb instructional video - recommended !

[@Simonsimps]

Big help for me thank you. You answered all the questions I had regarding the armour and earthing. Cheers.

[@willhughes99]

Just about the best instructional video I’ve seen, great job thank you

[@veronicathecow]

Excellent video, thank you John

[@rakeshjasoliya736]

Very nice video with step by step explanation. Thanks.

[@robeaton2191]

Fantastic video john, well presented. Has cleared up a few questions i had about wiring swa cable. Top job

[@bostedtap8399]

Excellent John. Thanks for sharing

[@SLRist]

Another great and very useful video John. If you're after ideas - how about one on wire stripping and wire stripping tools?

[@Nev36]

Thank you for this. I’ve looked high and low to see how to earth Swa cable.

[@Disciple_21]

Very clear, practical and helpful, thank you.

[@bigpunn132]

Fantastic video thank you, did my 1st swa connection today with glands

[@PJB71]

All of your videos are excellent & well explained. Cheers John

[@johnbower]

Excellent demonstration

[@danielphipps3655]

Just the right amount of information. Really good video. Thank you

[@knobbly69]

Very good, informative video, thanks. I choose to solder an earthing cable to the banjo (before fitting to the gland of course!)

[@alanmurphy2239]

Another great video!!! Thanks so much for passing in your knowledge

[@mikeonfreeserve2926]

Fred, Bunty, Jack and John would be proud!

[@scousesean9623]

My thoughts exactly, it was like watching an episode of how, brilliant !

[@craigjardine3989]

Superbly useful video. Great pace of delivery. Thank you 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@briwire138]

Very well explained. One thing though, I always use Banjo washers even on metal boxes.

[@PaulSteMarie]

Interesting. I don't think I've seen anything like that in residential wiring here in the US, aside from the mains coming in from the pole. I'm surprised UK code allows using structural parts of the cable as the sole grounding conductor. IIRC US code stopped allowing that some years back, and usually UK code is a bit stricter, eg socket shutters, which just started coming into the US.

[@CurvedSlightly]

Best of luck to you trying to do it neatly and easily as this in the field!

[@phantom0621]

John,Really enjoy your videos. In fact, if you'd have been one of my instructors/lecturers during my early years (in the 70's), I'd have probably opted for life as a Sparky as opposed to a Clanky. Really hope the videos bring you the commercial success you deserve, or the satisfaction that I and many others obviously derive from them.

[@neilharrison3960]

Hi John another method for outbuilding is to use two core and earth stake the end thus saving cost of running an earth cable all the way up the garden thanks for instructive videos. neil

[@russellfreestone8580]

Thanks for another excellent video. Very detailed useful. 👌

[@scaleheliguy]

Excellent video, great voice for presentation, clear and easy to listen to. Thanks

[@alunmorgan]

Great video, thanks! Also like the M102 in the background, I have one and also a RT3.

[@anthonyparker1193]

alun morgan iI

[@andrewchesney]

Excellent tutorial - thank you

[@davidjohnson4802]

Excellent tutorial confident now to wire up shed. Thank you.

[@colincampbell1113]

I have found that when you go back to so called water proof glands after a few years water has ingressed the gland a rusted up the steel armouring to the point of it breaking off (The shroud makes it worse because it helps hold the moister in)(not good if you using it as a cpc). So now I think it’s better if possible (you may have to fit an extra size pvc box and a large terminal earth bar to accommodate this) to run the SWA cable fully into the box with a pvc packing gland strip the armouring back and screw up tight to one side of the cable fit heat shrink earth sleeving and shrink on or wrap with G/Y tape and connect to large earth bar (you may have to split over two terminals) or bolt it with a crimp. This may only be done with lighting cables as the bigger cables are more difficult to do but not impossible an extra pvc box certainly helps. This method sounds and looks a bit amateurish but I think if it stops the water rotting the SWA away then it’s got to be a good thing.

[@srfurley]

John, can you do a video about mineral insulated cable?

[@paulbrown521]

Very well explained, Many thanks.

[@JohnSmith-ju4vw]

I've been caught short on a job before and must admit that I've used an earth clamp to earth this cable. Not ideal, but it does the job, and it's pretty hard to damage this cable. Sometimes we just have to improvise.

[@MatthewBester]

I'm not even an electrician and I find this very interesting.

[@PetrosArgy]

Thanks for the vid. I kind of wish we had a cable like this here in the US. One thought... wouldn't it be easier to use a tubing cutter (rollers and cutting wheel type) to score the armor instead of a hacksaw? It would offer much better control and automatically give you a very even score around the cable.

[@jwflame]

+PetrosArgy There is a product like that, the Kew Technik Blade Runner. Never used one, but the blades apparently don't last long and are very expensive.

[@PetrosArgy]

+John Ward I checked that out on amazon.co.uk and it looks like a ripoff. From the comments it sounds like it has a toothed blade rather than a smooth wheel. I would look for a good quality plumber's tubing cutter with a smooth wheel. We've been using them here on rigid steel pipe for a hundred years and they work well. I have a RIDGID model 104 which is labeled for 5-24mm diameter tubes which would probably work a charm. Found it! It looks like the SACS tool is the closest, purpose made tool to what I'm thinking of. Not a hack saw version of a pipe cutter...

[@JohnSmith-ju4vw]

+PetrosArgy Scoring the armor with a hacksaw is actually a lot harder than it looks in this video. Normally you can't just turn the cable around as you score it. I tend to use a junior hacksaw which is a bit easier to maneuver, but I like the idea of some sort of cutter.

[@kh23797]

Many thanks to John for a clear and well-paced video tutorial. The _C.K T2250 ArmourSlice SWA Cable Stripper with 5-Blades_ is £27.73, or 40 USD approx., on Amazon's UK site, 28th May 2016. While it might be great for a frequent user, I'll get out my plumber's pipe cutter as suggested when I tackle this job next week. (FWIW, C.K make decent quality equipment in my experience.)

[@jodyburrows1253]

Strange why a lot use the banjos on metal boxes too

[@impactvision]

JW, fantastic video as always, In fact I shall be be marshalling apprentices to watch some of you media as I believe it is of sadly a higher quality than what they are taught at college. Of a personal opinion, I particularly enjoy watching your videos of old switchgear and cabling please keep it coming!

[@HolywellFilms]

Excellent mate. I've learnt a lot about SWA cable and fitting them now. 😁👌

[@russkirk77]

Thanks. Your videos are just the best ever!!

[@fishandreptileinfo]

explained very well, Thank You.

[@handwoundpickups6555]

Great demonstration thanks 👍

[@me231951]

Thank you. Great demo.

[@MS-yy2dh]

Great video. Are there regulations relating to how deep the cable should be buried (running to a garden) shed?

[@simonjepson3524]

Great video! He sounds like Terry Wogan!

[@Benzknees]

If you have a long run of armoured cable, does the electrical resistance of the galvanised steel wires compromise their ability to transfer current to earth?

[@SoundSoCollective]

Very therapeutic videos and & tutorials,, I Salute You :)

[@SHAMIM8063]

A really well presented tutorial. Thank you.

[@p4krypt201]

Really helpful video. Thank you for taking the time

[@crooksy88]

What an excellent tutorial.

[@jeffeloso]

The steel wire offcuts can be very useful in the garden

[@JNelson_]

You make really interesting and informative videos, thanks.

[@connchri]

Hi John, Seasons Greetings. And thanks for such high quality videos. Just a question if I may, regarding sleeving: You stated that if using three core 3-phase coloured SWA you’d use the black as earth and grey as neutral, all with the appropriate sleeving. Does it matter which you use for earth or neutral? Is there a reg or standard somewhere that states which is to be appropriated for what? Or is it simply just the case of ensuring you have sleeved it appropriately for its intended use? Reason being is I typically use it the other way: black for neutral and grey for earth; and as you say, this is probably the most common situation of sleeving 3 core.

[@jwflame]

When harmonised colours were introduced, neutral changed from black to blue. It was suggested at the time to use grey oversleeved blue for neutral, as that reinforced the fact that black was no longer neutral. However provided the cores are properly identified at both ends, it doesn't matter.

[@csmeinert]

Whilst much has changed in the Regs, since I served my apprenticeship in the early 70s (14th Edition), its nice to see some things haven't changed 😀

[@pete3929]

Hi John. Great video and well explained. I have 4 garden lights to wire up with SWA and will be “daisy chaining” them but how do I terminate the steel wire to maintain a continuous earth connection