What Are Type G and Type G-GC Cables?

Type G cable and Type G-GC cable are classified as portable power cables, straddling a gray area between power cables and portable cords. They are grounded power cables that are suitable for use in temporary portable power applications in industrial fields.

Construction

Type G and Type G-GC cables have a fully annealed stranded bare copper conductor. The high strand count combined with EPDM insulation and CPE jacket makes these cables flexible at both high and low temperatures, with a rating of -40°C to 90°C. The CPE jacket also makes these cables heat, oil, weather, ozone, and abrasion-resistant. They are also suitable for submersion in water and are rated at 2000 volts.

Applications

Typical application uses for Type G and Type G-GC cables include mining equipment, miner pumps, shuttle cars, conveyors, and heavy-duty service power supply cable. They are especially useful as power supply cables when grounding is required or where a ground check conductor is required for ground monitoring.

Differences

Although Type G and Type G-GC cables are identical in most ways, there is one defining characteristic that sets them apart. Type G cables have 4 conductors and 4 ground wires. Type G-GC cable has only 2 ground wires and ground checks in addition to its 3 conductors.

The ground check is a built-in safety mechanism which "checks" that the equipment is completely grounded. To easily make sense of the difference between the two, just remember that it’s all in the name of the cable. The "G-GC" in Type G-GC cable stands for "ground with ground check”, while the "G" in Type G cable means it only has ground wires.

To learn more, view our full listing of Type G-GC Cable and Type G Cable.