Connecting High Voltage Motor in Class 1 Div 1

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I'm an I&E Tech getting training on the electrical side in our refinery, and came across a question as I was working with a journeyman electrician while reconnecting a 1000HP motor in a Class 1 Div 1 area. The journeyman didn't know the answer because she had little industrial experience.

This may be a bit long winded:

The power for this motor is 2400V and it comes to the motor in a yellow flexible conduit, in a cable tray. The conduit looks plastic or maybe fiberglass, and the journeyman referred to it as CLX.

As we manipulated the fitting to get it to attach to the terminal box we separated the fitting in a few places to make the attachment. As I relayed this to a second journeyman electrician, some time later he asked if we broke, or damaged the putty (epoxy like) substance that should have been applied between the conductors inside the yellow conduit. This second electrician said it was essentially a "chico" seal, and that if it was damaged we would need to replace it because of the potential for vapors to travel through this conduit.

So, then as I'm turning over to the night electrician (yet a third journeyman) that we didn't reapply the "chico" like substance and that it still needed to be done, he informed me that the second electrician was making a bigger deal than necessary and that it wasn't needed. He said there is no chance for vapors to pass through the yellow conduit because it is packed with insulation of some type.

I am trying to find clarification (preferrably code or industry standard related) on this issue.

Thanks
 

rbalex

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Location
Mission Viejo, CA
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Professional Electrical Engineer
Without actually seeing the cable and the seal fitting, I can't tell too much.

I can say that if the sealing compound was damaged your "third journeyman" is incorrect. If the cable is legal at all, it is Type MC-HL.There is no filler in MC-HL that would guarantee a proper sealing compound wasn't necessary; especially if the source was Class I, Division 1.
 
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