With some foresight I had put empty 1-1/2" PVC pipe under the driveway and capped it, in case I ever had to run wire -- and now I do.
My question now is how to reasonably seal the ends of the conduit once I've run wire into it. It's bury-able wire, but I don't want to leave the ends of the conduit open and have it fill up at the ends with mud and dirt, thereby creating a problem if I want to run more wire in the future.
Thanks in advance to anyone who offers ideas or solutions.
Spray styrofoam.
That's a big pipe under a driveway. We normally have 1/2 - 3/4 inch for wire/irrigation.
If the caps are still on, drill a hole on the cap top/end large enough for the wire, pulled the wire and caulk with silicone around the exit.
2 cents :)
Oren
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Hi,
Keep the caps and drill a hold through them. The when installing the wire, thread it through the caps. Replace the caps. Then seal with caulk. Let the caulk dry out. Then cover up with earth.
Best, Mike.
I would use butyl caulk, before this foam!
Oren
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Andy writes: I did the same thing.....
I didn't do any of the things listed here to seal the ends--- I just crumpled up some Walmart plastic bags and stuffed them in each end. A couple years later, when I wanted to add a small water line for a sprinkler system, I just dug up a hole around each end and pulled the plastic bags out and ran my pipe thru. Then I stuffed the plastic bags back in each end and covered them up again...
Another year later, I wanted to add some outdoor lighting.... I dug around the ends again, pulled the crumpled plastic out from each end, and ran my 20-2wg UF wire thru it. Then I stuffed the plastic back in each end.....
No point getting exotic about this. All you want to do is keep the ductway from filling up with dirt.. My way is simple, cheap, and works perfectly.
Andy in Eureka, Texas
Don't forget to add (or replace) the pull string with whatever you put in there. Adding a wire to an existing conduit that already has one wire is a bitch, otherwise. One of those polypropylene yellow ropes from the discount store works great- cheap,small diameter, strong enough, doesn't rot.
aem sends...
take two new caps and drill them to just fit your cable. Then, you can silicone the caps partway full and glue them back on.
s
S. Barker wrote: > take two new caps and drill them to just fit your cable. Then, you can > silicone the caps partway full and glue them back on. >
Non continuous conduit should terminate in a ground box. They're made from very thick plastic or concrete. Before installation you excavate a large hole underneath them and fill it with small stone. That gives any water a place to drain away. You run the cable to the box, then through the conduit, then out of the other box. What you seal up is were it enters the ground box.
-- Tom Horne
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Yup.
And even if the conduit does fill with dirt, it is not difficult to use water from a hose to clear out 20-30ft of 1-1/2" pipe.
sdb
replying to Newser, Brooks Coleman wrote: I did the same, but want to not only keep dirt out, but water from flowing thru the lines. The pvc houses an electrical cord that powers an artificial stream.. I don't want underground dirty water running into my clean water artificial stream. Help??
Normally PVC electrical conduit is not plugged to keep water out. It's brought out at both ends into electrical boxes and the conductors are rated for wet locations. With the ends open you get some air movement, but you still can get some condensation.
Duct seal. It is a modeling clay like material and HD may have it. Otherwise you are at an electrical supply.
That used to be known as 'monkey shit' in the trade but that may be politically incorrect these days.
I was being polite ;-)
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