Warning Tape

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Hameedulla-Ekhlas

Hameedulla-Ekhlas

Senior Member
Location
AFG
Greeting all,
I have attached one duct bank detail please see it and advise me in regarding to its warning tape. I have shown in drawing the warning tape just above the conduit to be layed out.

The distance between earth's Surface and pvc conduit is 1220 mm.

I have seen others they are puting the warning tape just 300mm below the surface of the ground.

Is this right what I have dont or should I put warning tape 300mm below the surface of the earth.

Is there any code reference about warning tape position or not please advise me.
 
infinity

infinity

Moderator
Staff member
Location
New Jersey
Occupation
Journeyman Electrician
According to the NEC warning tape is not required over buried conduits but you may install it if you choose. If this is utility installation they may require it.
 
mivey

mivey

Senior Member
I'm probably paranoid but I put one a few inches above the conduit as well as about a foot down. Tape is relatively cheap.
 
drbond24

drbond24

Senior Member
Location
Barboursville, West Virginia
If this is a utility feed or something, the NESC would have the tape requirements. I used to run 4.16 kV and 13.8 kV feeds underground, and we always put red tape about 6 inches above the conduit and yellow tape about a foot below the surface.
 
Hameedulla-Ekhlas

Hameedulla-Ekhlas

Senior Member
Location
AFG
I have a feeder distribution from a generator room. The warning tape is required because there is also water piping distribution too. So, per NEC-2008 page 277, artical 300.5 D(3) it states as below.

Providing a warning ribbon reduces the risk of an accident, an electrocution, or an arc-flash incindent during excavationnear underground service conductors that are not encased in concrete. This provision requiring a warning ribbon does not extend to feeders and branch circuits, because these circuits contain short-circuit and overload protection.


According to red line which is written in NEC-2008, it means that feeder distribution does not required warning tape.

Am I right according to this statements.

please advise me
 
mivey

mivey

Senior Member
Hameedulla-Ekhlas said:
I have a feeder distribution from a generator room. The warning tape is required because there is also water piping distribution too. So, per NEC-2008 page 277, artical 300.5 D(3) it states as below.

Providing a warning ribbon reduces the risk of an accident, an electrocution, or an arc-flash incindent during excavationnear underground service conductors that are not encased in concrete. This provision requiring a warning ribbon does not extend to feeders and branch circuits, because these circuits contain short-circuit and overload protection.


According to red line which is written in NEC-2008, it means that feeder distribution does not required warning tape.

Am I right according to this statements.

please advise me
Click to expand...
That is correct. Anyone wanting to live by the minimum requirments would not have to put in the tape.
 
S

skeshesh

Senior Member
Location
Los Angeles, Ca
Hameedulla,

If you read the previous comments, they are expressing their opinion that they would use the warning tape even considering that it is not required when overcurrent/short circuit protection exists. I share their view also. In all the underground details that I've seen, I dont require seeing one without warning tape. A lot of people also show colored sand fillers or other methods of indicating there's something underground. Overall it's a good idea and pretty cheap also.
 
J

jghrist

Senior Member
You are right. The requirement only applies to direct buried service conductors. You have quoted from the NEC handbook, which is not part of the rule, but is explanatory only. The rule itself answers your original question. The tape must be at least 300 mm above the cable to meet NEC.
 
ohmhead

ohmhead

Senior Member
Location
ORLANDO FLA
Well in a concrete encased duct bank you really need chairs on conduits rebar as shown is not to touch conduit as it weakens the duct bank 2 inches from each conduit side up or down is normally done in commercial or industrial electrical work its on every detail we see on our drawns .

Rebar needs full contact with concrete 2 inches min completely around rebar conduit is supported but by plastic chairs and at the top i did not see a ground wire running with duct bank most details show this.

Rebar spaced evenly not offset and hoops not shown .


We always see 12 inches above on the warning tape per spec .

Most of our work also gets red die concrete.

And every 50 foot ground rod running the length of trench attach to ground wire above duct bank .
 
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