The Draw of Trays and Tray Cable over Conduit

Back in the day, when cables needed to be laid out over (moderately) long distances to supply power to a location, conduits were used. First the conduit was set up, and then the cables were drawn through it. Truthfully, it wasn’t just back in the day, as there are still many situations today where conduits are used.

However, more and more places are getting in tune with the use of trays and tray cable instead of conduits. Here are some of the reasons that trays are more attractive than conduit, especially in some situations.

Laying tray cables is less labor intensive

When conduits are laid, the cables have to be pulledthrough them, often in very large sections. As you might imagine, great lengths of dense copper or aluminum conductors are very heavy and difficult to pull. With a tray, it is easier, faster and less labor intensive to lay the wires or cables.

A tray can be accessed from more than point, making it much easier to install and remove cables as is necessary, given the application or the setting. Therefore it saves time and money when trays are used in situations where they are appropriate. Additionally, less training is required to do so effectively.

Maintaining tray cables is much less difficult

As has already been mentioned, you can access a tray cable at any given point since the wires are mostly all out in the open on the tray. That means if some wires need to be removed, replaced or serviced, it can be done with much greater expediency than would be possible with conduit.

With a conduit, the entire length of cable would need to be drawn back out at one end in order to service or replace it, but that is not the case with tray or tray cable. Again, this saves time and money as compared to situations in which conduit has been used.

Trays let heat dissipate much more easily than conduit

This can be a serious consideration in some applications where a buildup of heat can pose a risk of fire or adversely affect the performance of the cables, especially if they are carrying information.

Since a conduit is fully enclosed, it will not allow heat to dissipate readily, which can pose certain risks. This stands in contrast to trays which are open and freely allow heat to dissipate, which can be safer in some scenarios.

Despite these comparative advantages of trays over conduits, conduits are still appreciated in some situations because of their own suite of strengths. For example, conduits protect the wires and cables within them much better against the environment than a tray does. In addition, conduits also have the ability to better protect the cables within from electromagnetic interference, if this is a concern. This is only to serve as a glimpse into why trays are becoming more popular.

If you’re looking for tray cables or simply want to learn more about why and where tray cables can be used, visit EWCSWire.com. They provide a wide range of electrical wire and cables for a variety of specialty uses, including but not limited to tray cables, power cables that are suitable for use in industrial applications, sunlight resistant PV cables, alarm cables, marine cables and more.

Check out their blog to learn more about these types of cables and their uses, and if you need to get the insight of a real person, reach out to their team. You can get them by phone at 800-262-1598 or by email at [email protected].

For more information about Electrical Wire and 4/0 Welding Cable Please visit : Electrical Wire & Cable Specialists.