What the letters tell you
H05RN-F and H07RN-F are harmonised European type codes, and each position means something. The first letter H marks a harmonised type. The digits give the rated voltage: 05 for 300/500 V, 07 for 450/750 V. R stands for rubber insulation, N for a polychloroprene rubber sheath, and F for a fine-stranded flexible conductor. The family is standardised in EN 50525-2-21, part of the EN 50525 series that replaced the older HD 22 framework, and it sits alongside the wider IEC 60245 family for rubber cables. The same code logic produces the PVC cords and building wires compared in our post on rubber vs PVC flexible cables.
In practice the digits matter most. H05RN-F is a 300/500 V cord for light-duty equipment; H07RN-F is a 450/750 V cord for heavier duty and longer service outdoors. Everything else - conductor, rubbers, core colours - is built from the same system, which is why the two types are usually quoted together and stocked side by side.
Construction layer by layer
From the centre outwards: a flexible copper conductor, Class 5 to IEC 60228, bare or tinned per datasheet; thermoset rubber insulation on each core, an EPR-type compound designated EI4 or EI7 depending on the plant, to EN 50363-1; the cores laid up with fillers; and a polychloroprene rubber sheath, compound EM2 to EN 50363-2-1, in black. The sheath is the outdoor workhorse: it resists oil, weather and abrasion better than PVC, which is why rubber cords earn their premium on construction sites, docks and farms. Core colours follow the harmonised scheme covered in our post on cable core colour codes: a 3G cord carries blue, brown and green-yellow, where G marks the protective earth core. Core counts run from two to five, with G or x versions of each.
| Type | Rated voltage | Size | OD (mm) | Weight (kg/km) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| H05RN-F | 300/500 V | 3G1.5 | 8.2-8.9 | approx. 118 |
| H07RN-F | 450/750 V | 3G1.5 | 9.3 | approx. 125 |
| H07RN-F | 450/750 V | 3G2.5 | 11.1 | approx. 185 |
Where each type belongs
H05RN-F covers light-duty portable equipment in wet and outdoor locations: garden and workshop appliances, small tools, short extension leads. Its size range stops early - datasheets list it mainly up to 1.5 mm2 - because the 300/500 V rating and the thinner walls are aimed at small loads. From 2.5 mm2 upwards, mobile supplies are normally specified as H07RN-F, whose size tables extend to multi-core formats for three-phase equipment. Where the duty is fixed wiring rather than a cord, the comparison changes again; the constructions on our flexible cords page cover the PVC equivalents.
H07RN-F is the general-purpose outdoor cord: motors and pumps on farms and sites, submersible pump leads where the datasheet declares an immersion rating, construction site distribution, stage and port machinery. Two ordering details prevent most mistakes. First, state G or x explicitly: 3G includes the green-yellow earth core, 3x omits it. Second, state the delivery format; black 100 m coils are the common form, and cut lengths are a distributor service rather than a factory default.
Distributors and marketplace sellers usually hold the two or three sizes that cover most demand - 3G1.5 and 3G2.5, plus a five-core format for three-phase equipment - and cut shorter lengths to order. Because both types share one construction system, a mixed pallet is easy to assemble once cores, sizes and coil lengths are fixed. That flexibility is one more reason rubber cords travel well in general merchandise assortments alongside PVC cords and reels of building wire.
Temperature, bending and the diameter question
Datasheets for H07RN-F typically declare a 90 C maximum conductor temperature, a 250 C short-circuit figure, use down to -25 C for mobile applications and -40 C for fixed protected installation. Minimum bending radius is commonly given as 3x overall diameter for cords under 12 mm and 4x for larger sizes - typical manufacturer values, consistent with the limits explained in our post on cable bending radius. None of these figures is universal, so the datasheet of the ordered construction governs, and the desk pins the values into the spec sheet. Cold flexibility is a rubber advantage worth naming: the cord stays workable at temperatures where PVC jackets stiffen, which is why site reels keep paying out through winter.
One property varies more than buyers expect: overall diameter. Published values for the same nominal size can differ by two or three millimetres between plants, because rubber wall thicknesses and compounding differ. That spread matters for everything the cord has to fit: gland seals, strain reliefs, plug bodies and crimp lugs. Select accessories from the actual diameter on the datasheet, not from a generic table, and verify the diameter on the sample before the balance of the order runs.
HAR, fire documents and the European market
For European sales the usual route is the HAR mark, the CENELEC harmonisation mark: the manufacturer holds it for the specific type after third-party type testing and factory surveillance, and the desk checks the mark against the plant's licence for that construction on every order. Without HAR, the same construction can be supplied to markets outside Europe against the IEC 60245 description, so the route should be fixed before quotes are compared. Reaction to fire is a separate document: cords in this family are commonly declared in class Eca under EN 50575, stated on the declaration of performance, and single-cable flame retardance is shown by test to IEC 60332-1-2 per test report. Confirm which documents your importer or market surveillance regime actually asks for before production starts, not after the drums land. Keep the licence scope and the printed type in step, too: a mark printed beyond the licensed construction is one of the classic counterfeit cable signs an inspector looks for.
Ordering checklist
- Type and voltage: H05RN-F for light duty up to 1.5 mm2, H07RN-F from 2.5 mm2 and for heavier duty.
- Cores and earth: 2, 3, 4 or 5 cores, stated as G (with green-yellow) or x (without).
- Conductor finish: bare or tinned copper, per datasheet and order.
- Print: type, voltage, standard and metre marks, plus HAR where the plant holds it for that type.
- Packing: coil length, usually 100 m in black, confirmed with the order.
The reference constructions are on our rubber flexible cords page, typical minimums on the MOQ and lead time page, and the desk confirms construction, print and packing in writing before production; start with the quote form.