4 Questions to Consider When Buying Cable Protectors
- By Dan Carver
- Jun 9, 2023
Depending on your industry and specific applications, buying cable protectors can be confusing. Here we provide a general overview to better determine the type of cable protector that suits your needs and help you with buying cable protectors.
First, it is important to consider a product’s primary function. The sole purpose of a cable protector is to provide a safe crossing for vehicles and/or pedestrians for a wide variety of environments, including heavy industrial such as mining or construction, an entertainment venue, or an office to name a few. Some questions to consider include:
- How many cables do you need to cover?
- What is the outside diameter of these cables?
The answers to these two questions offer a great start. This will narrow down the number of channels and channel sizes that will best suite your needs. For instance, you may need something as simple as a Fastlane 1 channel drop over cable protector for cables 1.5″ or less. The Fastlane® is most commonly used for pedestrian traffic in hospitals, churches, and small events. On the other hand, you may need a Linebacker® 5-channel heavy duty cable protector for cables 1.3″ or less. The Linebacker® brand is frequently used for vehicle and pedestrian traffic in oil drilling and military applications. Now that all your exposed cables are covered, consider this next set of questions.
As a quick tidbit, many people would assume that as the number of channels decreases so does the size of the cable protector. In reality that is actually the opposite in most cases. As a general rule when the number of channels on the cable protector decreases, the channel height increases.
- What kind of traffic will be crossing over these cables?
- Do you need to consider the connector style for compatibility reasons?
You will need to consider different brands of cable protection for regular foot traffic as opposed to heavy vehicle traffic. The key focus here is to determine the load bearing capacity per axle or weight per tire. Different brands are built to meet the needs of a variety of load capacities. It is important to determine the critical differences between a cable protector for general and heavy-duty purposes.
Another important factor to consider is the connector style. Checkers’ branded line of cable protectors offers three different connector types such as T-Connector®, Dog Bone Connector®, and Gripper Connector®. You want to make sure that the connector is compatible with your needs, as this can also impact the load bearing capacity.
Safety is no longer an issue once the proper number of channels, the load bearing capacity, and the connector style are determined. However, there is one more concern that may seem trivial but can make a big difference on your project. We’ll save that for another post, so stay tuned.
Our main concern is making sure you receive the safest product for your needs. We have a variety of products to best suit your needs. Feel free to contact us with any questions!