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AC90 armoured cable, the stuff most electricians still call BX, is 600 V building wire with its own mechanical protection. The aluminum interlocked armour does the job conduit would. That saves a separate pipe run.
Five sizes are stocked: #14/2, #14/3, #12/2, #10/3 and #8/3. Reels come in 75 m and 150 m.
Bare copper conductors, XLPE insulation, a bare copper bond in every cable. Certified to CSA C22.2 No. 51-20. Dry locations.
What does AC90 stand for?
Armoured Cable, rated 90°C. The AC is the armour, the 90 is the conductor temperature rating. On most Canadian job sites you'll hear it called BX instead.
Construction is simple. Bare copper conductors, cross-linked polyethylene insulation, a bare copper bonding conductor, and an aluminum interlocked armour wrapped over the lot. No outer jacket. That bare armour is what separates AC90 from the jacketed armoured cables.
AC90 or ACWU90: which one does your install need?
AC90 is dry locations only. Nothing outdoors, nothing buried, nothing damp.
If the run leaves the building or goes into the ground, you want ACWU90 instead. The code draws the same line: Rule 12-606 covers armoured cables "having an overall outer covering, such as Type ACWU and Type TECK". AC90 has no such covering, so it stays inside.
Get this one wrong and the inspector will catch it.
How many amps does each size carry?
At 30°C ambient: #14 carries 15 A, #12 carries 20 A, #10 carries 30 A, and #8 carries 45 A.
Read those as the cable's ceiling, not the circuit's. Rule 4-006 ties your usable ampacity to the lowest temperature rating in the circuit, and that's usually the breaker or the lug rather than the wire. Size to the termination.
Where AC90 earns its keep
Exposed and concealed runs inside dry buildings. Cable tray, ventilated or not. Anywhere you'd otherwise pull conductors through pipe and pay the labour twice.
The two-conductor sizes, #14/2 and #12/2, come black and white with a bare bond. The three-conductor sizes, #8/3, #10/3 and #14/3, add red. Every size ships on 75 m or 150 m reels.
Tell us the size, the conductor count and the total metres you need, and we'll come back with a wholesale quote and confirm reel availability. Ask for the certification sheet if your inspector or spec writer wants the flame rating and temperature range in writing.
