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Rodents chewing through cables

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Yagonyonok

Yagonyonok

Mechanical
Apr 23, 2008
110
I am having problems with mice/rats chewing through wires. Our unit sits flush with ground level, and has several sealed, removable compartments. The wiring harness running between these compartments is being chewed through. Rigid conduit is not an option since we need to be able to disconnect the various components.

As for other pertinent information; the cables range from CAT5e cable to #6 AWG four conductor cables. The run lengths are 2-6ft, and space if very limited, so flexibility of the wire is important.

I know this is not a unique problem, but haven’t been able to find a feasible solution that fits our applications. Right now I’m looking for some sort of armored cable. The problem will be trying to transition from this to our water tight connectors.

Short of completely redesigning our entire system so that the mice can’t get, is there anything that you have used or could recommend?

Thanks in advance.


Engineering is the art of modelling materials we do not wholly understand, into shapes we cannot precisely analyse so as to withstand forces we cannot properly assess, in such a way that the public has no reason to suspect the extent of our ignorance.
-A R Dykes
 
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From looking up cable sheath rodent protection I get:




Surely there is a product a bit like the flexible tubing/houses often used on domestic sinks etc? Maybe you could even use that if you need to retroit.

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A few underfeed cats could do the trick for you.
 
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Tabasco mightn't work if they are South American rats.
 
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Our natural gas engines for oil rigs are wired with aluminum braid armored cable and epoxy sealed gastight connectors.

Relatively flexible.

Probably rat- resistant.

Bring your wallet.




Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
 
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A determined Rat will chew through a surprisingly thick piece of aluminum, this is an issue with the cones they use on ships mooring lines to stop them.

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Well, then it's back to stainless braid, I guess.

Buy some braided hose, pull out the hose, use the braid.



Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
 
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Right now we are debating between stainless braid and Kevlar braid. Has anyone used either of these specifically for rodent gnawing? If so, what were your results? The hardest part will be testing. I'm not sure that I could swing the straight forward test of getting a few test subjects from the pet store and putting their food inside the braid, and waiting to see if they get in or starve.(the boss may not like that approach).

My first suggestion was a snake (Middle Eastern desert environment), as the cat may not do well in the desert.

The Tabasco sauce may work, but then I would have to figure out how often they need to reapply, and what if the rats developed a taste for it. I did read somewhere that dielectric grease seemed to turn them off, but then it comes back to constantly having to put more on, and as soon as you forget, the system is down.


Engineering is the art of modelling materials we do not wholly understand, into shapes we cannot precisely analyse so as to withstand forces we cannot properly assess, in such a way that the public has no reason to suspect the extent of our ignorance.
-A R Dykes
 
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In my opinion, SS will substantially outperform aramid fibre (Kevlar is DuPont's brand name for aramid, but there are other suppliers) in this application as aramid is prone to fibrilation on compression.

I feel nothing short of SS braid will work. I would retain the liner as an extra layer to better spread the point pressures over the cable or the occasional tooth penetration between the braid fibres.

Waterproof by encapsulation inside and out with epoxy or polyurethane "potting resins" at the joints.

Regards
Pat
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Stainless, for the same reason many 'bullet proof vests' aren't knife proof I suspect the same will be true of aramid & rats teeth. For this application hardness, not just strength, is important.

As to the testing. Try and find out the bite strength of your suspected rodents, Bite force measurement in awake rats for instance. Then go from there.

You could build a simulated rats jaw with hydraulic ram or similar (maybe pneumatics) and cycle it a few times to simulate gnawing (I've seen this on discovery channel etc when they compar different animals bit force etc). Or you could just do a single test with a rat tooth sized 'chisel' or similar and see how much force it takes to penetrate, if this is a lot higher than a rats force you may be onto something. You also may want to take the relative hardness of the rats teeth into consideration. You may be able to calculate or simulate some of this but where's the fun in that.

(Mike - braided hose that's what I meant in my first post, couldn't remember the name)

Another idea, you oviously have power so how about one of those ultrasonic pest deterant devices?

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We had a mouse problem after remodelling. The rodent control expert we hired plugged holes/gaps in the floors with copper wool. Surprisingly effective. Dunno if it would work for rats, esp. if they are already chewing through copper wires...
 
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I've heard steel/wire used for the samae.

Another use of steel wool is in rodent control. Small holes are plugged with steel wool which if gnawed on by rodents causes sharp pain in the mouth, and if ingested, severe internal damage, leading to death.
I did think yesterday of suggesting he wrap the cables in wire wool but that didn't sound right somehow. I got the impression plugging the equipment may not be practical either.

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Might be squirrels... My next door neighbor had much of the wiring eaten out his old clunker pickup truck. They have eaten through my lead bathroom roof vents, outdoor aluminum light fixtures and even the inground lawn sprinklers.

Not sure why the baby squirrels don't have six legs or two heads --- but they keep coming as much as I shoot or poison them..
 
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