Can I put the cables straight through with their jacket?

[rangewider]

NEWBIE here. I have a 4.5 mm microphone cable. Can I put it straight through a wetlink penetrator with its jacket on, or do I need to cut the jacket off at the bulkhead and pull just the conductor wires through? All illustrations I see have you taking off the jacket, which is fine if I need to. I planned to use a WetLink penetrator, but maybe you can come straight through with the potted ones? I think I’ve seen an example of that.

Thanks for any advice.

[EliotBR (Eliot)]

Hi @rangewider, welcome to the forum

@rangewider

Can I put it straight through a wetlink penetrator with its jacket on, or do I need to cut the jacket off at the bulkhead and pull just the conductor wires through?

In our WetLink Penetrator Installation Guide, we specify:

@WetLink Penetrator Installation Guide - Installing Into the Bulkhead

The cable jacket should be seated against the cable jacket seat.

…

WARNING! Failure to seat the cable fully against the jacket seat will compromise performance of the watertight seal.

@rangewider

I planned to use a WetLink penetrator, but maybe you can come straight through with the potted ones? I think I’ve seen an example of that.

The same applies for potted penetrators. Both types may work to some degree without proper seating, but they won’t be operating as designed, because there’s no direct outwards support against the jacket, so all the resistance is from radial friction against the seal / epoxy.

I asked about this internally for confirmation, and was told

@rjehangir

If it’s not seated, it will push in a little bit each time it is taken to pressure, so the cable on the outside keeps getting shorter, [which we consider] a failure.

Because that’s not our tested setup, and doing so would require drilling out the conductor bore to fit the jacket diameter, it wouldn’t be covered by our official depth ratings. That said, assuming you’re ok with the cable getting pushed further into the enclosure over time, and replacing the seal and penetrator as necessary when the cable gets too short, at least anecdotally

@rjehangir

it will probably work.

I wouldn’t recommend trying it with potted penetrators though - the extra strain on the epoxy could cause it to tear or delaminate, which could definitely compromise the seal and cause leaks.

[rangewider]

Thanks so much! I’ll follow the directions and leave my jacket at the door.