Low voltage lighting in a slab?

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mltech

Senior Member
Location
Ft. Lauderdale
Help!
How to wire 12 v landscape lighting in an existing slab?
ENT would be very hard to do.
Is there a way or a wire that can be direct buried in concrete for a low voltage application?
 

mltech

Senior Member
Location
Ft. Lauderdale
Low voltage lighting in a slab.

Low voltage lighting in a slab.

We would core for the fixture, channel for the wire or conduit and re-pour the concrete over the installation.
Problem is the slab is only 6" thick and I don't have the bending radius for terminating ENT, EMT or ? into the fixture.
A directly buried cable in the concrete would be perfect.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
 

iwire

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Massachusetts
My only suggestion is to put the thought of direct concrete cable right out of your mind.

Code compliant or not that is a horrible way to go.

It will break and it won't be repairable.
 

mltech

Senior Member
Location
Ft. Lauderdale
agreed!

agreed!

Is there a jacketed MC type cable that would meet code?
I'm leaning to ENT, just have to figure out how to make the connection to the fixture.
 

hbiss

EC, Westchester, New York NEC: 2014
Location
Hawthorne, New York NEC: 2014
Occupation
EC
I don't understand. What's under this slab? How much do you have to do? What's wrong with saw cutting through the slab and trenching deep enough to run PVC conduit? You are going to channel anyway so the end result is going to look the same and saw cutting has got to be easier and allows you to do the job right.

-Hal
 

JFletcher

Senior Member
Location
Williamsburg, VA
Interesting to note that the minimum bend radii for 1/2", 3/4", and 1" ENT are all 6" (Carlon). I'd be willing to bet 1/2" can be bent a fair bit tighter if for some strange reason you cannot cut down further than 6" as Hal suggested (1/2" PVC has a bend radius of 4" I think). Also, you could run conduit as a sleeve (to protect the cable from the concrete repour) right to where it comes in under the fixture, then pull the wire up thru your core drill hole, no 90* there, no concrete repoured there - fixture will cover it. The cable can be bent far tighter than 6" radius and would be protected.
 

petersonra

Senior Member
Location
Northern illinois
Occupation
engineer
I don't understand. What's under this slab? How much do you have to do? What's wrong with saw cutting through the slab and trenching deep enough to run PVC conduit? You are going to channel anyway so the end result is going to look the same and saw cutting has got to be easier and allows you to do the job right.

-Hal

I like this idea. you can put DB cable under the slab.
 

iwire

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Massachusetts
why would it be any more likely to break down under the slab than just buried somewhere?

I don't think it is more likely to fail under or in a slab. It might even be less likely.

But when it does fail repairs will be disruptive, extensive and costly.

To each their own but direct bury cables under hard surfaces is a bottom of the barrel method.
 
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