Stolen!

[Glyn Edwards]

I've just received news of a break in at my family's warehouse, which occurred at about 1330 today. Apparently all the socapex and other mains multicore present has been stolen. The list below shows most of what was taken. Most of the cable is marked with address labels covered with heatshrink.

 

If anyone hears of cheap cabling being offered around, especially in Manchester and the north west then please contact either Philip L Edwards Theatre Lighting on 01457-862811 or your local police.

 

4 50’ 4 way multicore cables, 15amp male/female

2 100’ 4 way multicore cables, 15amp male/female

Above in Black PVC cable, 4 plugs & sockets on each. 50’ have two green tape rings at each end. 100’ have one blue tape ring at each end.

 

8 30’ 6 way multicore cables, socapex male/female

2 45’ 6 way multicore cables, socapex male/female

2 45’ 6 way multicore cables, 15amp male/socapex female

7 50’ 6 way multicore cables, socapex male/female

6 60’ 6 way multicore cables, socapex male/female

3 100’ 6 way multicore cables, socapex male/female

4 100’ 6 way multicore cables, 15amp male/socapex female

 

Above are in pale grey PVC cable, (18 core YY in 1.5sq.mm)

Majority of 15A plugs are believed to be duraplug, socapex are mostly genuine "Socapex" brand.

Cables have tape rings at each end as follows. 30’ single yellow, 45’ one red & one green, 50’ two green, 60’ 2 yellow, 100’ one blue.

 

6 8 way socapex spider pairs

12 6 way 15amp male/socapex female spiders

11 6 way socapex male/15amp female spiders

Spiders have a socapex connector (see above) with six or eight leads about 3’ long with 15amp plugs or sockets

 

2 6 way metal socket boxes, socapex inlets

Black sheet metal boxes with six 15amp rubber socket outlets and socapex connector with locking ring on one end.

 

Various quantities of cable in various sizes (0.5 sq.mm to 16 sq.mm), various materials (PVC, Rubber and Sillicon) in various colours.

 

1 Lighting stand column, dark green steel outer tube with threaded base & clamp at top, galvanised inner tube with loose collar clamp & fixed clamp at top.

 

Any help gratefully received.

 

Regards

 

Glyn

[pritch]

Sorry to hear about that, Glyn. Hope the insurance company are kind to you.

 

Frankly, I'd be surprised if the thieves tried to sell the cables on as anything other than scrap. If I were you, I'd have a word around the local scrap metal dealers and ask them to give you a yell if anyone comes in offering a load of Soca.

 

The railways are having the same problem, and we're also having issues with copper going missing from remote sites at my day job. All of it completely useless outside of the industry for which it's intended, but worth a few bob as scrap.

[Pete McCrea]

With the Chinese appetite for copper, it's probably had the insulation burnt off and is loaded on the slow boat to china....

 

It really angers me when people do this. Grrrrrrr. Not only have they broken in, probably causing damage to their building, but then knicked the backbone of a lighting hire company. And that'll cost a shed load to replace. And I'd be sure that they'll need the cable before they see the insurance cash.

 

I've heard stories round here of JCB's being driven through the walls of electrical wholesalers simply to lift the copper cable.

[bassman]

Sorry to hear the bad news Glyn, especially as it is a local business (less than a mile down the road from us) and particularly as I know Philip quite well. I will keep my ears open for any 'bargains' that are offered but as others have said I fear they may not be cables for much longer...

[Ike]

Yeah sorry to hear the news, I've still got a few contacts at a number of local scrap dealers so I'll do a quick phone round and of course I'll keep an eye out for anything up for sale.

 

:(

 

 

Edit:Spelling

[JPSTechie]

It was reported last week in the local Derby rag that the copper pipes that supplied a house with gas where stolen, and they didn't turn the gas off. The reporter said that it was assumed that they where going to be sold to the scrap industry.

 

This shows the lengths that people are going to to get there hands on copper.

[Ynot]

Bad news - sorry to hear it.

But unfortunately, as has already been said, copper cable is a pretty hot target - has been for years, in any sort of bulk.

 

Not that long ago, when I was still on a fault handling control, one of our regular calls was to have replaced a 3km length of comms cable bewteen two manholes near a CEGB site. The thieves just hoisted the covers on the holes, went down with big bolt cutters and chopped the cable runs, did the same the other end, tied off onto the tranny van and pulled!

 

Never was sure what we finally did to combat the losses, but it was a pretty regular occurence.

[Dmills]

Never was sure what we finally did to combat the losses, but it was a pretty regular occurence.

 

That's easy, just replace the comms cable with a similar looking 11KV one, problem solved in a flash!

 

Regards, Dan.

[MarcT]

Never was sure what we finally did to combat the losses, but it was a pretty regular occurence.

Replace it with fibre?

[Ynot]

Never was sure what we finally did to combat the losses, but it was a pretty regular occurence.

Replace it with fibre?

There's some things that you just can't do with fibre!!

(We certainly did consider the high voltage option, tho.....:) ;) )

[handyandi]

In my day job, we have had three break ins even with a monitored alarm system, (even before that they walked in, in broad daylight & borrowed a pallet truck to get a pallet load to their transit. The third time they lifted the gates off the pins & took a reel of 250+ metres of 7 core 10mm squared which was on a wooden drum weighing nearly half a ton. Amazing. Hence we know have a security guard & a very big dog!

 

It beggars belief! :)

[bruce]

Not that long ago, when I was still on a fault handling control, one of our regular calls was to have replaced a 3km length of comms cable bewteen two manholes near a CEGB site. The thieves just hoisted the covers on the holes, went down with big bolt cutters and chopped the cable runs, did the same the other end, tied off onto the tranny van and pulled!

 

A friend of mine who works for Scottish Power tells a similar story, but this time it was with several hundred metres of freshly-installed power cable in the East End of Glasgow, which was live at the time.

 

They lifted the covers, stuffed down some paper and rags, added petrol and lit it. Eventually the insulation burned through, cables shorted, breakers tripped, they then cut the cables, hauled them out and were offsite by the time the emergency repair team arrived 20 mins later.

 

My friend says that they were unsure whether to report it to the police, or to employ these guys as subcontractors...

[Paul TC]

Replace it with fibre?

Back in the early 90's I was working for a mobile phone network. We lost one of two links between two sites that was diverse routed, one via BT and one via Mercury.

The Mercury link was routed over fibre. This fibre was for part of its route laid in the same duct as copper signalling cables by the side of the railway in those concrete ducts. Just another black sheathed cable to cut and pull.

Had to wait for a track possession until it could be replaced a few weeks later.

 

quote fixed

[greenalien]

At least you're not as badly off as the inhabitants of West Papua - in order to get their copper (and gold), the Indonesians have stolen their whole country!

 

http://www.channel4.com/news/microsites/U/.../westpapua.html

[c33kay]

That's easy, just replace the comms cable with a similar looking 11KV one, problem solved in a flash!

 

Regards, Dan.

 

You'd be surprised... having worked for EDF over the summer and heard that certain people will do anything for copper. It it means earthing a live 11kV line... hacksawing a 33kV cable or climbing on live 132kV apparatus!!