Can 1/0, 15kV, EPR cable w/ copper tape shield be spliced in a hand hole? Should it?

[Calrissian45]

The customer suggested providing manholes where splices will be required even though they currently have splices in hand holes. This is for a 12kV single phase system so there will only be two 1/0 cables spliced and a manhole seems like overkill to me.

I'm just a dumb engineer, though, so I'm curious if there's an installation best practice that I'm not aware of.

 

[don_resqcapt19]

It takes a lot of room to properly be be able to splice 15kV cables. You may need a lot bigger hand hole than you think, but there is nothing that says you can't make that splice in a hand hole.

 

[Calrissian45]

Are there any guides or rules of thumb for determining how much room is needed for splices?

 

[don_resqcapt19]

Are there any guides or rules of thumb for determining how much room is needed for splices?

I am sure there are, but I am not aware of what they may be. One would be ability to get the conductor out without bending it tighter then the minimum 12x diameter bending radius. Not sure how long the splice kit will be and you would have be able to get the cable where the electricians can work on it, and then be able to get everything back in the hand hole without exceeding the bending radius.

It is probably doable with a 36" to 48" long hand hole and deep enough to get to the burial depth. Maybe 24" wide to give a little working room.

 

[Calrissian45]

I was planning on matching the existing hand holes, which are 60" x 36" so it sounds like I'm on the right track. I'll stick with my plan and discuss it with the installers during the next design review to see if they see any issues with it. Thanks for the help.

 

[electrofelon]

I was planning on matching the existing hand holes, which are 60" x 36" so it sounds like I'm on the right track. I'll stick with my plan and discuss it with the installers during the next design review to see if they see any issues with it. Thanks for the help.

I dont see any issue with that size hand hole nor an issue with splicing in general. MV separable connectors are submersible. Take a look here page 36. I didnt see an length dimensions but I just glanced at it.

https://www.eaton.com/content/dam/eaton/products/utility-and-grid-solutions/separable-connectors/ansi-separable-connectors/Eaton-ANSI-Separable-Connectors-Brochure-EN-US.pdf