talc powder 1

[amin jamal]

Hi everybody
I've just wanted to know whether we could use silicone oil instead of talc powder in electric cables?
is there any substitute to talc powder that we could use?

 

[libellis]

That’s quite a difference in choice. What kind of cable pull is this and what material is the cable jacket? Silicone lubricants seem to be used for heavy cable pulls, especially outdoors, even through water in a conduit. Talcum powder of course isn’t a “professional” solution, and it might not uniformly cover the cable jacket, so there can still be excess pulling stress. With that said, people use all sorts of “non-professional” lubricants, not just talc, and not always wisely. A variety of other lubricants are on the market that might be more suited to your cable pull, although I’m guessing that the two you mention are those to which you have ready access.

 

[libellis]

Forgot to add that if you do an internet search for cable pulling lubricants you'll see many companies selling products, some with decent enough information to help make a decision about what is right for your situation.

 

[amin jamal]

Thank you kindly Sir
I work in a electrical cable production company and for some cables we have to make wires go through talcum powder before sheathing them to prevent insulation sticking to sheath. this powder is added right before extruder machine and some of our employees had allergic reaction to it. so i was wondering since talcum and silicon oil is also used for cable pulling, can we use silicone oil instead of talc? have any companies ever done that?

 

[libellis]

For a cable production facility I wouldn’t know what is best. You should really contact a cable lubricant manufacturer and discuss what would be appropriate for your production process, and for the health of the people involved with it. There are a number of companies that make products, for example, Polywater,

https://www.polywater.com

I’d guess silicone oil might work fine from a lubrication perspective, but if you need to clean residual oil off the final product, that might be an issue. Also, from a human handling (and health) perspective silicone oil might not be a great choice, but I just don’t know.

(Incidentally, although I appreciate the star, I don’t deserve it because I haven’t helped you with an answer. Feel free to remove it.)

 

[amin jamal]

Thank u again libellis, both of your comments were very helpful. it may not have been the answer i was looking for but it's the crumb that lead us home. thank u again

 

[libellis]

If you settle on a solution different from talc, let us know what it was - good luck.