Splice 220 volt 6 gauge line outside- is it safe?

[gfretwell]

The OP said

Then he posted a picture of the box. I am not sure how else you read that.

[dpb]

Exactly as written -- but what he didn't show is where the cut was or say anything at all about what the original route was...all we see is the junction and the two panels.

He MAY have done what you say, there's no way to know.

I'm just curious is that is what was actually done or not.

[bruce2bowser]

Ask for the contractor's insurer phone#, remember the guy's name and the date of the work done and hope for the best.

[gfretwell]

The real question is whether this "contractor" actually is one (licensed and insured) and if he had permits for the work he was doing. If you hired an unlicensed handyman and you did not get permits, it is pretty hard to get the municipality interested in sending an inspector out there unless you want to be liable for the fines and fees.

[Mark]

[trader_4]

He may have been licensed and had permits for the work he started out to do, but seeing what we saw, I'd put money on that he's not licensed to do electrical work.

If you hired an unlicensed handyman and you did not get

Best thing to do to fix this is give the contractor a choice. Either he gets a licensed electrician in to straighten it out or you will, at his expense.

[Ralph Mowery]

Licenses are mostly a way for the government to make money, they tell nothing about the quality of the person doing the work.

I worked with a man that was a licensed electrician. I would not let him change a battery in a one cell flashlight.

Around 1972 I took a bunch of tests for a Federal Communications license. I thought I wanted a 2nd class one to work on two way radios. At that time it costs about a dollar more for the 1 st class to work on commercial radio and tv stations.

I decided just to pay the extra dollar just to see what was on the 1 st class. Wound up passing that test and I have not to this day even seen a TV transmitter, but was licensed to work on them.

However looking at the box where the splice was made, that is sure a shoddy and probably not safe way to do things. If I recall correctly the screws go through the box and are at the same time connected to the connectors putting them at the full line voltage.

I don't know how the licenses systems work for plumbers and electricians. Looks to me that if they fail so many inspections in a year the license should be revoked.

[gfretwell]

The fix for that box is about $15 in parts and 15 minutes.

[trader_4]

Which doesn't have anything to do with the two choices, from what I see.

[gfretwell]

Explain. If he makes the splices compliant and puts some locknuts on the conduits it should pass any inspection. The same guy who made up the box in the first place could make it up right faster than arguing about it. I have seen plenty of licensed electricians who would need a tune up about why that box failed. That is far from a panacea. I even know inspectors who might say "no problem" with what he has.

[trader_4]

What inspection? You said previously that unless a permit is pulled, there is no inspection. It's unlikely that this hack pulled an electrical permit. And when someone shows they are incompetent to do something, as this contractor demonstrated, then why should a homeowner who doesn't know what's right or wrong allow them to fix it? If you hit my car and damage it, I don't have to allow you to fix it. Here the contractor did have a chance to fix it, they botched it with serious safety violations. To follow the car analogy, that's like having you hit my car, allowing you to try to fix it, finding serious safety problems that shows total incompetence and then allowing you to continue? No thank you, I want a professional, And IDK about FL, but unless that contractor was a licensed electrician, which given what we saw is extemely unlikely, doing that work here and in many other states is illegal. So he can't go get a permit and inspection anyway.

The same guy who made up the

Wow, that's stunning. How exactly is he going to make it up right, when clearly it's all wrong, he didn't know how to do it right? What do you suggest the homeowner do? Tell him to read this thread and then carry on? Wow.

I have seen plenty of licensed electricians who would need a

IDK what goes on down in FL, it's obviously a pretty weird place, but around here from my experience with inspectors, no way in hell that thing would pass.

[Ralph Mowery]

Would you think it would have been ok to use something like split bolts or equivilent and covering them with something like that rubber tape you were giving away and maybe a layer or two of Scotch 33. Then burrying the wire.

[gfretwell]

You were OK until you said "bury". That tape is not a listed direct burial method. There are direct burial splices tho, crimped and full of silicone. Most people do not have the required crimping tool tho. This isn't a "squeeze it with pliers" thing.

The method the OP's guy used is OK, he just needs better splices. The practical part of me says it will "work" forever the way it is, it is just not legal. If I did nothing else, I would screw a red wirenut down on those twisted #10 grounds.

[trader_4]

You're not that concerned about metal screws through energized terminals going through the box and into a wood fence?

[Jim Joyce]

Things would have been even more interesting if the box was attached to a steel pole instead of wood. :-)

[Ralph Mowery]

So it would be ok to just splice and burry with proper crimp and tape that is designed to be burried ? I thought it would be possiable to use a butt splice on the wires if done in a way that water proofs them.

I would probably do that anyway if it was just my stuff. While not legal, I wanted a place to plug in my 5 kw portable generator on the outside of the house. I put in a 30 amp breaker and used # 10 wire with

2 hots, neutral and ground. That went to a box on the outside wall that has the 'water proff' cover. I am sure it does not meet code as probably needed to be agound fault or something.

I worked in industry with lots of 480 3 phase and other 'high power' circuits. So I know the dangers of what I did even the use of what I refer to as a 'double sucide cord' (the kind with males on both end). If I was doing the work for someone else, I would make sure it was done to the code.

[Jim Joyce]

Was it here in AHR that someone called that cord a "Jesus cord"? If not here, I wonder where I heard that.

[trader_4]

The proper way is with one of the connectors designed for underground burial and those are silicone filled and no tape is required. AFAIK there aren't any that use tape because tape isn't going to do much if anything. I suppose if you had some special tape and it was applied perfectly, eg by a machine in a factor, that could work. But relying on a human to wrap it perfectly would make it not likely to have a high success rate.

An inlet box that has a male connector that mates with the female end of an extension cord is rated for outdoor use and legal. Interesting question about GFCI, I never heard about it being required or if code says anything about it.

[gfretwell]

I mentioned that splice method was troubling right away, all of it. I doubt it rises to the level of life threatening tho. The ground failing is more serious. If I was looking at the job I would also want to know where the ground rod was in that shed but it appears that was a violation before the contractor cut the wire. Like most AHR threads, this has gone far astray of the original question.

[gfretwell]

No it would just be a literal "bolted fault" and trip the breaker on the feeder. Exciting, maybe, when you reset the breaker but not that interesting.