R U S Acceptance Procedures for Grounding Connectors
(Item me)

In addition to requirements shown under the general acceptance procedures, the following information is required in a request for initial acceptance of grounding connectors.

Product Description

The letter should include a description of the connector including the type of materials used (citing appropriate American Society for Testing and Materials or other recognized standards to which the product complies) and the utility of conductors, etc., that it can accommodate. In addition to the categories of grounding connectors currently listed in Item "me" of the List of Materials, RUS will consider the following categories:

Conductor: Connected to this conductor

*.081"(#12 AWG) Copper .104" Copper Pigtail

*#12 AWG Copper #6 AWG Copper

*#12 AWG& #6 AWG Copper #2 AWG, #4 AWG, and #6 AWG Aluminum
*#12 AWG Copper #4 AWG and #6 AWG Aluminum

#6 AWG Copper #4 AWG Aluminum

#6 AWG Copper #6 AWG Aluminum

*#12 AWG Copper #4 AWG Aluminum

*#12 AWG Copper #6 AWG Aluminum

*As this connector may be used to attach a station protector grounding conductor to an acceptable National Electrical Code (NEC) grounding electrode, it should be approved/listed by an organization such as Underwriters Laboratories which satisfies the NEC Article 100 definition for "Listed."

Other categories/sizes of grounding connectors may be entertained by Technical Standards Committee "A" (Telephone) as demand and other pertinent considerations warrant.

Conformance to Standards

Where the connector is required to meet "Listing" provisions of NEC, photocopy(ies) of the Underwriters Laboratories or other NEC acceptable "Listing" organization which details such agency's approval of the product, including the actual text identifying the approval conditions related to approved uses, i.e., indoor, outdoor, buried and metal-to-metal compatibility should be submitted. The entire listing agency report, however, need not be submitted.

Samples

One sample should be submitted for each type of connector for which acceptance consideration is requested.

Questions regarding acceptance of grounding connectors should be addressed to:

 

Norberto Esteves
norberto.esteves@usda.gov