B-Line Eaton series imperial cable tray and ladder, 6" Height, 39" Length, 24" Width, Series 2-5 vertical tee down, Aluminum, 36" Radius

A vertical tee down joins a straight cable tray run to a branch that drops away from the plane of the run, so cable can leave the main path downward while the run continues through. The B-Line 6A-24-VT36 is built for 24 inch wide, 6 inch deep tray and turns the drop on a 36 inch radius, which is the bend radius the cable follows through the fitting.

It matches 24 inch wide tray with a 6 inch side rail height, in the B-Line Series 2 through 5 imperial ladder line. If your run is a different width or a 3, 4 or 5 inch rail depth, this fitting will not line up at the splice plates and you need the vertical tee down sized to that tray.

Allow for the fitting's 39 inch overall length along the run plus clearance below for the drop leg, since the 36 inch radius is the sweep the tray takes as it turns down. That radius is the largest of the common tray bend radii, so tight shaft or ceiling spaces often force a 12 or 24 inch radius fitting instead.

Bend radius is driven by the cable, not the tray. Large power and fiber cables carry a minimum bending radius, and a 36 inch radius fitting keeps the cable sweeping gently through the drop rather than kinking it. If everything in the tray is small control wire and the space is tight, a shorter radius fitting does the same job in less room.

Aluminum. It weighs 40.584 lb, which is light enough for a two-man overhead set compared with a steel fitting of the same size, and aluminum is the usual pick for corrosive or damp environments where galvanized steel would suffer. Aluminum tray is also non-magnetic, which matters on some high-current single-conductor runs.

It carries CSA certification, which is what most Canadian jurisdictions and many US institutional specs ask for on tray and fittings.

Eaton B-Line part number 6A-24-VT36. Read it as 6 inch rail, aluminum, 24 inch width, vertical tee down, 36 inch radius, which is how the rest of the family is numbered too.

Use the vertical tee down when the branch leaves the run downward, out of the horizontal plane, such as a drop to equipment below. A horizontal tee is for a branch that stays level and goes off to the side. If the main run itself simply changes elevation with no branch, you want a vertical elbow instead of a tee.

The 6A-24-VT36 is supplied as the fitting itself. Splice plates, bolts and any hangers or supports for the drop leg are ordered separately, so count the connections at both the run side and the branch when you build the material list.