Anti-Short Bushing Blog

Stripping MC Cable & Inserting an Anti-Short Bushing

admin — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 19:06:00 +0000

Popular Mechanics has a great step-by-step article on stripping MC Cable and inserting a plastic anti-short bushing. Using a Roto-Split from Seatekco, the picture shows how to slice the metal cladding and how it’s good practice to then insert the anti-short bushing.

You have to scroll down halfway on the page to see MC Cable being stripped. To view the article, click here.

MC Cable

admin — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 21:45:00 +0000

There is a lot of talk in the discussion forums online as to whether or not anti-short bushings should be used for MC Cable installations. Since so many electricians use them as a safety precaution and as a matter of habit, it seems like a moot point as to whether or not they are actually required on MC Cable. Many contractors just see them as added insurance against shorts. What do you think? I’d love to hear your comments. Take a look at this recent forum posting, and you’ll see what they’re talking about:

http://forums.mikeholt.com/archive/index.php/t-75924.html

Anti-Short Bushings on Wikipedia

admin — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 20:27:00 +0000

A write-up about Anti-Short bushings is finally showing up on Wikipedia. Prior to now, they were considered a commercial product and any postings about anti-short bushings were promptly removed by the team over at Wikipedia. Because they are now so widely used given their obvious safety benefits and wide spread use for terminating both MC Cable and AC Cable, I guess the team finally recognizes them as mainstream. To view or add to the Wikipedia article click here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Short_Bushing

Anti-Short Bushing Sizes

admin — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 18:14:00 +0000

There are so many different sizes of plastic anti-short bushings that I thought I’d finally post them. If you know of any other sizes, please leave a comment on this post:

No. 0 - 5/16″ flexible conduit trade size
No. 1 - 3/8″ flexible conduit trade size
No. 2 - 7/16″ flexible conduit trade size
No. 3 - 1/2″ flexible conduit trade size
No. 4 - 3/4″ flexible conduit trade size
No. 5 - 1″ flexible conduit trade size
No. 6 - 1-1/4″ flexible conduit trade size
No. 7 - 1-1/2″ flexible conduit trade size
No. 8 - 2″ or 2-1/2″ flexible conduit trade size

National Electrical Code Diagram

admin — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 03:52:00 +0000

Parts of the National Electrical Code are now posted online. To view the NEC’s installation diagram for Insulating (Anti-Short) Bushings, as shown in the second edition of the Illustrated Guide to the National Electrical Code, click here.

You’ll have to scroll down on the page to view the whole diagram.

Using Anti-Short Bushings with MC Cable

admin — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 04:28:00 +0000

Here’s an animation showing the cutting of MC Cable and the insertion of a plastic anti-short bushing. You’ll notice the animation doesn’t use a roto-split. They use a bx cutter instead, which was used after many people stopped using a hacksaw. To view the animation, click here.

Installing an Anti-Short Bushing

admin — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 15:15:00 +0000

Here’s a handy guide to installing a plastic anti-short bushing (ie.Terminating AC & MC Cables). Of course, check with your local inspector first, but this shows an example from a cable manufacturer, with pictures, on page 22 of http://www.afcweb.com/pdfs/afcpocketguide.pdf . There is also another one under Learning Center at www.anti-shortbushing.com If you have a better picture for us to post, leave a comment or a link on this blog post.

IAEI News was established in 1928 as the official organ of International Association of Electrical Inspectors

admin — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 21:31:00 +0000

Here’s a great magazine that electrical inspectors read. Apparently it reaches authorities with power of product specification, approval and acceptance. Here’s an article they posted on MC Cable and a brief discussion about the use of plastic anti-short bushings with MC Cable.

To view the article, click here click here Of course, your comments are always welcome, so feel free to post a comment on this post after you read it.

Standards in Development

admin — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 15:47:00 +0000

According to their website, the National Electrical Installation Standards (NEIS) are “the first quality and performance standards for electrical construction”. They are often developed with expert groups in a joint effort. Because they are quality and performance standards, they also often exceed NEC safety requirements. Here is list of standards in development.

Nicknames for The Anti-Short Bushing

admin — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 16:19:00 +0000

You can’t really afford a short. So most electricians say they use plastic anti-short bushings on MC Cable because they see them as backup insurance against a short, even if they happen to be told they aren’t required on MC Cable for one reason or another.

Looking online, you can find many names for the anti-short bushing including “redheads”, “redeyes”, and even “red devils”. You can also find many ways to spell anti-short bushing, including antishort bushing, anti short bushing, and the correct way which is anti-short bushing. The red color of the anti-short bushing helps inspectors easily find the bushing. If you have any other names or uses for them, feel free to post a comment.