another do it yourselfer story

[PCN]

Went to look a job awhile ago, new spec house being built, foundation was in, floor was poured in the basement. The HO was the GC. I went to measure the underground service to give him an estimate. So I meet the guy there and we walk into the basement, and I see this white 4" plumbing pipe poking up thru the concrete floor. I say is that your sewer pipe? He proudly states "no that's the underground conduit for the service." (1st red flag). I explain that we really can't use plumbing pipe for electrical work. So I shine a flashlight down the pipe and sure looks like he used an elbow to 90 in under the foundation. (2nd red flag) Sure enough he used a plumbing elbow at the slab for the padmount xfmr as well! (which is about 500' from the house) Imagine pulling 350's thru that. At this point I'm ready to run, but I just had finish the tour with him just for sheer entertaiment, he had a conduit going out to a detached garage, 2" in the house, out in the foundation of the garage it was 1 1/2", ????? He said he ran out of 2" so he "stepped down to 1 1/2" somewhere under the driveway! I think I lost his phone # on the way home .

My point of this rant is I see more and more GC's and developers taking care of the underground power. How is this done legally? Maybe less so now that the building boom is over. It does not seem right. Even though most of them aren't as clueless as this guy.

 

[stickboy1375]

I went to a job to pull some #12s thwn to a receptacle in a garden, the guy that installed the pipe had about 810 degree's worth of bends, he only thought pre made fittings counted. had to install a ground box in the middle of the run, it was still a hell of a pull. 1" pvc too.

 

[Hoofhearted]

if you got rid of the plumbing elbows would a direct burial URD work in that pipe. i know it's not the right way but would it be legal?

 

[wawireguy]

Spec house? Pad mount xfmer? 350kcm? Bid it with the cost to fix it. Re dig the trenches. Run appropriate conduit. Profit : )

 

[PCN]

Spec house? Pad mount xfmer? 350kcm? Bid it with the cost to fix it. Re dig the trenches. Run appropriate conduit. Profit : )

The owner was pretty adamant that you could do it this way, he got very defensive when I said " We wont do it this way". Actually I think I'd need to parallell 250's according to the POCO handbook. 200a service.

This guy is tighter than bark on a tree with his money. He'll probably try to do it himself and try to get somebody to sign off on it. He said he wanted to do everything but the service himself.

 

[PCN]

if you got rid of the plumbing elbows would a direct burial URD work in that pipe. i know it's not the right way but would it be legal?

UL listing.

 

[480sparky]

The owner was pretty adamant that you could do it this way, he got very defensive when I said " We wont do it this way". Actually I think I'd need to parallell 250's according to the POCO handbook. 200a service.

This guy is tighter than bark on a tree with his money. He'll probably try to do it himself and try to get somebody to sign off on it. He said he wanted to do everything but the service himself.

The stingiest person spends the most.

 

[Podagrower]

The company I used to work for got an emergency service one night. Local restaurant, no power, power company turned off transformer becouse one of the three phases had shorted to ground. 500 MCM copper, 31/2" PVC, no problem. Until we tried to pull out the old wire, it would not move. We hooked up an excavator and started pulling on the wires at the building end. When they finally came out of the ground (still in the pipe) there was that beautiful plumbing 90, so it can be done, and sometimes it will pass inspection..........

 

[electricalperson]

tell him if he wants to save money he can pull the conductors while you feed them :grin:

 

[SEO]

If it's the POCO's job to approve it have a planer make an inspection of the installation. Also have the local AHJ inspect it as well. Job should not have been covered until approval was made.

 

[brantmacga]

give the guy a ballpark to correct his mistakes. if he balks, offer to have the inspector look at it for a second opinion.

 

[LarryFine]

He said he wanted to do everything but the service himself.

Someone should have told him the conduit is part of the service.

 

[Lcdrwalker]

A good friend of mine is an inspector. One evening he took me over to look at a service riser that he had turned down several days before. All white PVC. He explained to HO thatit was a no-no and he would have to use gray electrical PVC. When he reinspected it the gray paint was still wet...

 

[brantmacga]

When he reinspected it the gray paint was still wet...

wow; sounds like they got it fixed just in time.

 

[petersonra]

I don't have a problem with it if you are using UF.

Went to look a job awhile ago, new spec house being built, foundation was in, floor was poured in the basement. The HO was the GC. I went to measure the underground service to give him an estimate. So I meet the guy there and we walk into the basement, and I see this white 4" plumbing pipe poking up thru the concrete floor. I say is that your sewer pipe? He proudly states "no that's the underground conduit for the service." (1st red flag). I explain that we really can't use plumbing pipe for electrical work. So I shine a flashlight down the pipe and sure looks like he used an elbow to 90 in under the foundation. (2nd red flag) Sure enough he used a plumbing elbow at the slab for the padmount xfmr as well! (which is about 500' from the house) Imagine pulling 350's thru that. At this point I'm ready to run, but I just had finish the tour with him just for sheer entertaiment, he had a conduit going out to a detached garage, 2" in the house, out in the foundation of the garage it was 1 1/2", ????? He said he ran out of 2" so he "stepped down to 1 1/2" somewhere under the driveway! I think I lost his phone # on the way home .

My point of this rant is I see more and more GC's and developers taking care of the underground power. How is this done legally? Maybe less so now that the building boom is over. It does not seem right. Even though most of them aren't as clueless as this guy.

 

[PCN]

I don't have a problem with it if you are using UF.

I guess I'm just being too nit picky. I know it would work w/ UF but when a guy slides 1 1/2" pvc inside a 2" pvc to "reduce it" it gives me instant heart burn. My instinct says runaway man..... runaway. It just ain't right.

 

[petersonra]

I guess I'm just being too nit picky. I know it would work w/ UF but when a guy slides 1 1/2" pvc inside a 2" pvc to "reduce it" it gives me instant heart burn. My instinct says runaway man..... runaway. It just ain't right.

whats wrong with it? how can it possibly hurt anything? its cheesy, and maybe unnecessary, but nothing really wrong with it.

 

[LarryFine]

I guess I'm just being too nit picky. I know it would work w/ UF but when a guy slides 1 1/2" pvc inside a 2" pvc to "reduce it" it gives me instant heart burn. My instinct says runaway man..... runaway. It just ain't right.

Isn't that how the new PVC riser connector works? I'm talking about the 2.5" connector that fits a 2" KO.

 

[growler]

whats wrong with it? how can it possibly hurt anything? its cheesy, and maybe unnecessary, but nothing really wrong with it.

Maybe and maybe not. The most common mistake made when a homeowner runs conduit has not even been mentioned. The fact that he used plumbing pipe and may have used different sizes is one thing but what is the burial depth of any of this conduit that's already installed and not inspected.

Most homeowners think that about a foot ( measure 9 inches) is plenty deep enough for a conduit run. Under a drive way you are lucky if they scratch a 6" trench.

It doesn't matter what type of cable that gets pulled in the conduit you still have to meet correct burial depth.

 

[satcom]

whats wrong with it? how can it possibly hurt anything? its cheesy, and maybe unnecessary, but nothing really wrong with it.

What? nothing wrong? am I missing something.