PVC and RMC fittings for a Buried Polymer Concrete Pull Box?

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Installer

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pullbox2.jpg
I would like to run 1 1/2" PVC conduit into this Buried Polymer Concrete Pull Box and bring 1 1/2" Rigid Out for a Under ground Conduit Run.
  • I've seen some pull boxes and Electrical Boxes with Plates with cutouts for Conduit but Polymer Concrete boxes don't have them.
  • For a PVC box, I've used Box Adapters

I've never used a Polymer Concrete Box before

  • What fittings or adapters do I buy for a water tight connection for a Polymer Concrete box for the PVC conduit and the Rigid Conduit?
  • How do I make the 1 1/2" holes in the Polymer Box ? Will a standard Hole Saw cut through it?
 

jumper

Senior Member
Usually we route the pipes with a 90d elbow and come into the box from the open bottom.

Similar to this:

003ecmcbfig1.gif
 

hbiss

EC, Westchester, New York NEC: 2014
Location
Hawthorne, New York NEC: 2014
Occupation
EC
That box doesn't have a bottom, correct? So why would you be concerned about water tight connectors? Consider also that everything in the ground is a wet location and it's going to fill up with water anyway. Best you can do is use conductors suitable for a wet location as well as splices.

In this case I would stub-up into the bottom and not even use connectors.

-Hal
 

tom baker

First Chief Moderator
Staff member
Stub into the bottom with 90s, makes pulling much easier.
With 90s just set the box over them.
You will never be able to seal the connections and entries. Use good splice connection seals - heat shrink, scotch cast...
We put pea gravel in the bottom of our pull boxes, keeps them clean and cuts down on the condensation (IE moisture from the ground will condense in the gravel)
 

Installer

Senior Member
Last year we had to replace or run new the wire in thirty of these conduit runs and they were all clogged with debris , save one or two.
And we had to dig them up.

I was just imagining as to whether we could we fit up to these pull boxes with water tight seals and lids and at least keep water with debris (soil) from getting in and clogging them up.

Condensation, i.e only water, would be okay, but water infiltrated with soil turns into a clay that hardens up.

I guess it can't be done, it was just wishful thinking. But I will up size the conduits from 2" to 3.5" to give the next guy ten years from now a fighting chance.
 
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Installer

Senior Member
So to mate the PVC and RMC to the box, I just punch or drill a hole and let the PVC in on one side and the Rigid in on the other side?
No fittings, right? Capture2.jpg
 

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Installer

Senior Member
Stub into the bottom with 90s, makes pulling much easier.
With 90s just set the box over them.

I called the crew and the lead said he wants really big boxes deep enough to stand in. So if the conduit is at 24" I need to place 25" deep boxes at the pull box locations to get them so that an electrician can pull with his arms. (I'm figuring that would place the bottoms of the box at 40" down, which would be at a 6 footer's waist.
So they need to be 40 inch long and 30 " wide so someone could stand in them and move their arms. Its a 700 ft pull of Tray cable with 4 #4 conductors
I'm not going by NEC code, I'm going by practical considerations.
 

jumper

Senior Member
I called the crew and the lead said he wants really big boxes deep enough to stand in. So if the conduit is at 24" I need to place 25" deep boxes at the pull box locations to get them so that an electrician can pull with his arms. (I'm figuring that would place the bottoms of the box at 40" down, which would be at a 6 footer's waist.
So they need to be 40 inch long and 30 " wide so someone could stand in them and move their arms. Its a 700 ft pull of Tray cable with 4 #4 conductors
I'm not going by NEC code, I'm going by practical considerations.

Your crew is nuts. Way overkill.
 

Installer

Senior Member
Your crew is nuts. Way overkill.

I'll call them again today. The pull boxes sit down in the trench. Cable comes in one conduit and goes out the other. If the boxes were the way I had them sized 24" x 18" x 18", a person has to get on his knees and use his arms to push/ pull the cable which is maybe 30" below grade. That's not a comfortable position.
 

Adamjamma

Senior Member
Last year we had to replace or run new the wire in thirty of these conduit runs and they were all clogged with debris , save one or two.
And we had to dig them up.

I was just imagining as to whether we could we fit up to these pull boxes with water tight seals and lids and at least keep water with debris (soil) from getting in and clogging them up.

Condensation, i.e only water, would be okay, but water infiltrated with soil turns into a clay that hardens up.

I guess it can't be done, it was just wishful thinking. But I will up size the conduits from 2" to 3.5" to give the next guy ten years from now a fighting chance.

way back in eighties boss used sealant like in tiling, around the wires at the conduits, to keep junk out... dont know if allowed, but worked well... he also used vaseline at first till he saw the clear caulk...
 

Dzboyce

Senior Member
Location
Royal City, WA
Occupation
Washington 03 Electrician & plumber
way back in eighties boss used sealant like in tiling, around the wires at the conduits, to keep junk out... dont know if allowed, but worked well... he also used vaseline at first till he saw the clear caulk...


Isn’t this what duct seal is for?
 
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