RADIX Wire has announced the release of the Underwriters Laboratories (UL) certification listing for its DuraLife FPL two-hour fire resistive fire alarm cable systems under UL2196.
Radix Wire obtained UL certification on its DuraLife 16 AWG 2-wire and 14 AWG 2-wire cable.
The company has become the first to certify silicone fire alarm cable under the new UL2196 protocol. Its Radix DuraLife FPL cable ends the 17-month void of a flexible UL certified cable for fire alarm systems.
The UL certification covers vertical, horizontal, horizontal splice and pull box applications, providing a full array of installment options. The new UL2196 certification protocol requires that the full system be certified, including the make, type and size of the EMT conduit, couplings, clamps, inserts and boxes. Radix partnered with Wheatland Tube, utilising their ¾” diameter EMT conduit product, to complete the system solution.
In September 2012, UL conducted extensive research on cable products formerly certified under UL2196 tests for fire resistive cables. UL discovered inconsistencies in the various products ability to pass the two-hour fire resistive ratings test. The key concern focused on the presence of zinc in the conduit.
Circuit integrity, critical to fire alarm and emergency communication systems, was compromised by the reaction of the zinc with the copper conduct or forming brass and lowering the melting temperature of the conductor; effectively disabling the circuit.
As a result of these findings, UL decertified all UL2196 certified wires and cables that required conduit for the raceway and prohibited the use of electrical conduits and conduit fittings with a zinc interior. UL then established an updated UL2196-based interim test protocol.
Radix’s cable engineering team immediately took on the challenge of delivering a cable that met or exceeded the new testing criteria for this mission-critical cable. As a result, the Radix DuraLife FPL cable is the first flexible silicone-insulated cable to pass this new recertification requirement for low-voltage, power-limited applications (FPL) and receive the UL electrical circuit integrity system certification (FHIT.28A).
