Hi All, I have an outside electrical box that I need to move about 10 feet further away. I used direct burial cable when installing this box. I can't seem to find those elusive cable stretchers anymore. : ) Anyhoo, how do I make a connection that will be underground that will not corrode the wires? Any suggestions would be appreciated. hm
I would use a buried outdoor box to make the splice in, and I would use the waterproof, silicon-filled wire nuts. I would then seal the box lid and the cables entering and leaving the box with more clear silicon.
According to Curmudgeon :
Silicon? That's purty difficult to work with stuff. How do you get it to flow? Oxy-Acetylene torch? How do you get it to bond to PVC boxes without turning the whole thing into a bonfire?
Oh, _silicone_ ;-)
No, seriously. Electrical code doesn't like underground splices. However, sometimes you can do it. Go to the nearest _real_ electrical supplier (not hardware store or Home Depot) and ask them how to do buried splices. It's not _that_ expensive to use the right stuff.
Burying generic "outdoor boxes" and screwing around with silicone caulk is a recipe for disaster.
Indeed, underground splicing without checking codes and permits isn't much better.
Use a UF slice kit. HD or similar place usually has them.
Ideally, if you can do it, just leave the existing outlet, run another piece of UF cable out that box and to your new one. Or remove the present outlet, but keep the box and make your connection in there (above ground). If you MUST splice underground, they make a special connector kit. This is probably not approved, but I did it once when I had to fix a underground wire that some idiot who was working for me, cut with a rototiller. I stripped, twisted each wire together, soldered them, taped each wire, then taped the whole bunch. Before I made the splice, I slipped an 8" piece of auto heater hose over the wire. After splicing, I slid this piece over the splice, and pumped it full of 100% pure silicone caulk. I never had a problem with it for the next 2 years before I moved.
Just use the underground splicing kit that is available from any electrical supply house and many home improvement centers.
-- Tom H
cut it with a roto tiller ? That would be the fault of the idiot that didn't bury it deep enough>
cut it with a roto tiller ? That would be the fault of the idiot that didn't bury it deep enough>
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.