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Should you trust the UL Listing printed on your cable
| You've just bought a roll of cat-6 cable from your local distributor. Man, it was cheap. A real lifesaver for increasing the margin on the current job. It almost seems too digestible to be true, but it's got the UL mark on it, so you know it's good product, right? Wrong. At least according to the Communications Cable & Connectivity Association. The CCCA says the cabling market is being flooded by manufacturers, largely based overseas, who have a UL listing, however once the listing is achieved, decrease price materials are derived for the mass-production run, according to Frank Peri, CCCA director director. Peri reports that the UL label can be affixed, but the dash is not present. nnKevin St. Cyr, president of cabling manufacturer Berk-Tek, and a past chairman of the CCCA reports that once manufacturers acquire their approvals, they substitute the cheaper materials in, either through sloppiness or through planned intent, while still maintaining the listing. This is how the defective product winds up in the U.S. market.nNeither Peri nor St. Cyr would designate specific manufacturers who engage in this practice. However, the CCCA recently completed tests on after-market cabling for the second year in a row that found a distinctive amount of overseas cabling manufacturers could not meet NFPA safety regulations. nFurther, Peri reports that the testing was done by an independent agency. It's not the CCCA doing the testing. An independent agency is used and the agency runs the same tests on the CCCA member products.nnUL says they are listening to CCCA's concerns. John Drengenberg, consumer safety director at UL, said UL has opened a field study upon hearing of the CCCA's findings the previous year and initiated its own global review of communications cabling. Following that review, UL decided to start developing new elements to be implemented in order to appraise the cable in an after-market fashion, Drengenberg said. For example, UL is in the process of initiating new fingerprinting tests on communications cabling, whereby, in addition to manufacturer site visits, samples of cabling coming right off the line will be sent back to UL labs for testing to ensure the product is the same product that was submitted for initial testing. Further, UL will be instituting a holographic brand for this product classification now, instead of the paper UL label, making it harder for purely counterfeit cabling to enter the market. nnIn the meantime, yet, how can installers be sure about the UL mark? This is a difficult question to answer.There's a definite angle of buyer-beware, and using one's knowledge to lead him or her to the right answer. If one comes across a severely inexpensive cat-6 product bearing the UL mark, with a plenum rating, signifying that it's made for enclosed, between-wall spaces, you can usually assume there is a material problem with that cable. Perhaps the wrong materials were used in that design.nnHowever, Dregenberg says that his advice to installers is that they should ultimately rely on the UL mark. UL has a 115-year history and a robust follow-up system that is ever evolving and enhancing. So trust the UL mark. UL is committed to making sure that their product continues to signify the safety of their product. In the same token, an installer must be smart and use their instincts. As with any other product or service on the market, if it seems too great to be true, it probably is and you might be jeopardizing the safety and reputation of your company. If you see cable that's 30 percent cheaper than everyone else, think of yourself a wise installer when that raises a red flag. nnn |
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Progressive Technology has protected hundreds of homes and businesses with their San Diego home alarm system services for over ten years. Their security systems are recognized in the burglar alarm field, and specifically around California. Ethernet Cabling is another area of expertise.
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