What do the manufacturer's instructions say?

Here is a quick PDF.

see

Sometimes I think contractors imagine that swa covers all the considerations in Section 522. I have seen the gland plate, enclosure and wire armour completely corroded at a water treatment plant in Belfast, a relatively new marina in Portaferry, connections to plant below a public swimming pool, a concrete plant near Lisburn. All that in the first three months of 2024 and hundreds of times in the many years previous since I started the inspection wing of my business. 

Sergio Fernandez said:

1. If required fit shroud over the cable outer sheath

I see. I was going to say that if the manufacturer's instructions included fitting the shroud, it should be fitted.

I was always told bottom entry is better than top entry so the moisture does not track into the enclosure and then cut the shroud and put it on first.  Apparently many a person has done a SWA gland and then looked down at the floor to see they forgot to put the shroud on.

Maybe they need some kind of breather plug for the enclosure and the gland.  It would be good to get the opinion of others on this.  Lets hope this become a lively debate and as engineers we suggest improvement for the industry as a whole. 

Sometimes the shroud is wanted to prevent contact with the brass gland (e.g. TN cable into an TT outbuilding). I agree though that the whole box, gland and shroud arrangement isn't always ideal though (too many dissimilar metals for one thing). Maybe the gland could be filled with waterproof gel (wiska box style). Or perhaps a completely different approach - e.g. use copper rather than galvanised steel for the armour, then just pig-tail it into a suitable terminal - DNO concentric cable style (but with a separate core for N of course) - with just a simple stuffing gland if needed to seal between the cable sheath and enclosure.

   - Andy.

Ok, Sergio,

I live in a Ex world! You are quite correct good working practice then cables enter from the bottom elevation as on the top water can run down the cable then pool on top elevation and possibly enter the enclosure. Now even if gland does enter the bottom, liquid can run down face of enclosure along bottom elevation and Im sure we have all seen it the shroud ends up full of water and you get your hands wet removing the shroud!

A shroud is only as good as the person fitting it, so it really doesnt offer any formal IP rating thats down to the type of gland you fitted.BW/CW and what is IP rating is, you construct gland as per manufacturers instructions taking into account cable type and size of conductor/s and your correctly selected and fitted CW gland will provide the IP rating equal to or higher than enclosure it was fitted into.

Agreed Shroud can keep gland clean/ish, but you may and will still get condensation and liquid/water entering the gland.

Go forwards into a Ex or chemical world and instead of rainwater inside the shroud you now have acid/alkali due to chemical in the atmosphere or indeed liquids from the process itself, not been the first where a unsuspecting technician pulls down the shoroud and lets out a scream due to the acid/alkali liquid collected in the shroud.  

In vast majority of cases shrouds in a Ex world are just not encoraged at all. The gland itself does the IP Rating thru its parts and correct assesmbly by a competant person and any IP washer that may be needed depending of type of entry into the enclosure e.g clearance hole or threaded entry  and what the enclosures certified IP rating is.

So Ex glands typically are rated IP66 some IP67, again select the right Ex gland based on the Ex method of protection of the enclosure, cable type and size and fitted by a competent person.

Ex glands can be purchased as Brass, Nickle Plated, and two diffrent grades of stanless steel, so its the deisgner and installer selecting material suitable for the environment. In majority of these glands its the "Back Nut" that does the job of the shroud plus depending on manufacturer of gland internal "O" rings.

In fact if any shrouds were to be fitted installers are told to cut them off.

Look at https://www.hubbell.com/hawke/en/Products/Electrical-Electronic/Cable-Glands/Hazardous-Location/501453UNIV-Ex-d-Ex-e-Cable-Gland/p/3913696

Yes, gland manufacturers will sell you shrouds, of course they will, may even be in the packet with the glands, but doesnt mean you fit them.

The above link takes you to a pretty common make/type of gland, it even goes as far as being IP68 rated, The black coloured ring in middle of gland is the deluge seal, so that is an option if your installation has a deluge fire fighting system, so the 501/453 UNIV glands can be ordered without that seal.

I hope the above helps, but 99% of Ex Glands we never fit shrouds.

Cheers GTB

I always thought the shroud was for cosmetic purposes only. If it was important, it would have a better attachment mechanism than a vague friction fit - which can can be pulled back without a tool.

I am sure a lot of people think the shroud is just cosmetic but as this thread has shown in SOME cases the shroud can cause a danger to a human or conceal/encourage corrosion.