BS5308 Cable

BS-5308-cable-standard

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Instrumentation cables manufactured in accordance with British Standard BS5308

Whilst this British Standard was superseded by the Harmonised Standard BS EN 50288-7 in 2005 it is still widely referred to because the Harmonised Standard does not account for the higher voltage ratings and cable dimensions. A publicly available version of the Standard was published as PAS5308 in 2009.

British Standard BS5308 covers specifications for a range of instrumentation cables which we supply. These are available in a multitude of variants including Polyethylene (PE), Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), Cross-Linked Polyethylene (XLPE), and Low Smoke Zero Halogen (LSZH) insulation materials, and armoured instrumentation cables.

BS5308 Part 1 - PE insulated instrumentation cables - British Standard BS5308 Part 1 specifies both the requirements and the dimensions of PE insulated cables in pairs with or without screen(s). It provides the option to incorporate a single wire armour or single wire armour with a lead sheath. Part 1 is further categorised as Types 1, 2 & 3.

BS5308 Part 1 Type 1 - Unarmoured - collectively screened (CAM) and individually & collectively screened (IAM/CAM or ICAT). PE insulated and PVC oversheathed.

BS5308 Part 1 Type 2 - Armoured - collectively screened and also individually & collectively screened. PE insulated, PE bedded, single wire armoured (SWA) and PVC oversheathed.

BS5308 Part 1 Type 3 - Armoured - collectively screened or individually & collectively screened. PE insulated, PVC bedded, lead alloy oversheath, single wire armoured and PVC oversheathed.

BS5308 Part 2 - PVC insulated instrumentation cables - British Standard BS5308 Part 2 specifies requirements for PVC insulated cables, in multicore and multi-pair construction, with or without screens. It provides the option to incorporate a single wire armour. Part 2 is further categorised as Types 1 & 2.

BS5308 Part 2 Type 1 - Unarmoured construction - PVC insulated and PVC oversheathed.

BS5308 Part 2 Type 2 - Armoured construction - PVC insulated, PVC bedded, single wire armoured and PVC oversheathed.

Construction comparison of BS5308, PAS5308 and BS EN 50288-7

	BS5308-1	BS5308-2	PAS5308-1	PAS5308-2	BSEN 50288-7
Conductor	Plain annealed copper, solid or stranded (BS6360)	Plain annealed copper, stranded (BS6360)	Plain annealed copper, multi-stranded (BS EN 60228)	Plain annealed copper, multi-stranded (BS EN 60228)	Plain annealed or metal-coated, solid or stranded (IEC 60288)
Conductor size	0.5mm² to 1.5mm²	0.5mm² to 1.5mm²	0.5mm² to 2.5mm²	0.5mm² to 2.5mm²	0.5mm² to 4.0mm²
Voltage range	300/500V	300/500V	300/500V	300/500V	90V, 300V, 500V
Insulation	Polyethylene (PE) Type 03	Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Type TI1	Thermoplastic PE or Cross-linked Polyethylene (XLPE)	PVC Type TI51	PVC, PE, XLPE, Polypropylene or Halogen-free flame retardant compound
Formation	Core pair twisted quad	Core pair twisted quad	Core pair twisted quad	Core pair twisted quad	Twisted core pair, triple or quad
Individual and/or Screen	Aluminium foil laminate tape (PET)	Al/PET	Al/PET	Al/PET	Al/PET
Drain Wire	Solid or stranded tinned annealed copper	Solid or stranded tinned annealed copper	Solid or stranded tinned annealed copper	Solid or stranded tinned annealed copper	Solid tinned copper
Braid	Not defined	Not defined	Not defined	Not defined	Tinned copper wires
Covering	Not defined	Not defined	Not defined	Not defined	Lead sheath to EN 50307
Inner Sheath	Extruded Polyethylene (PE) compound Type 2C or Extruded Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Type TM1	Extruded PVC Type TM1	Extruded PE compound Type 2 or Extruded PVC Type TM51	Extruded PVC Type TM51	PVC, PE or Low Smoke Zero Halogen (LSZH) compound
Armour	Galvanised steel wire armour (GSWA)	GSWA	GSWA	GSWA	Steel wire armour (SWA)
Moisture barrier	Not defined	Not defined	Not defined	Not defined	Water-swellable tape, water-swellable non-toxic powder, filling compound, laminated sheath of a longitudinally overlapped metallic foil, or a combination of all
Outersheath	Extruded Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Type TM1	Extruded PVC Type TM1 (type 1 & 2)	Extruded PVC Type TM51	Extruded PVC Type TM51	PVC, PE or Low Smoke Zero Halogen (LSZH) compound

BS5308 cable colour coding

BS5308 cables are manufactured with colour-coded insulated pairs or with numbering and black/blue insulated pairs. For information on the pair colours, please see the BS5308 colour code chart in our FAQs.

Our technical team has a wealth of experience with the design, manufacturing and testing of instrumentation cables to BS5308, PAS5308 and BS EN 50288-7. Please contact us for technical support with your application's design and with cable selection.