Fulthrotl
~Autocorrect is My Worst Enema.~
- Occupation
- E
i have a customer, amazing as that is in this day and age.
the customer has a basement in a commercial occupancy,
and that basement has three 2 inch and one 4 inch conduits
entering the wall of the basement, about 6' below grade.
for communications.... fiber, 50 pair, all low voltage stuff.
assorted things, making a transition to flex, above a t bar
ceiling.
the conduits leak, not from the outside, but from the inside,
of the pipe, after a strong rain. not continuously,
so it's not groundwater.
so there is either a cracked conduit, or a pulled apart coupling
allowing water in when the rainwater percolates past the conduit
on it's way to groundwater.
now, short of digging it up, my first thought is to cut back the
flexes, remove the flex fitting, use key lock on the threads from
the gal. rigid nipple penetrating the wall, and then pack cotton
around the individual conductors, the same way you'd pack a
seal off, and then fill the coupling with silicone aquarium sealant,
about 2" thick. in addition to that, i will take a three foot piece
of 3/4" vinyl tubing, put a foot up the conduit, seal it the same
way the conductors are sealed, and put a plug in it. this allows
for inspection to see if there is any standing water, and a means
of removing it, if necessary. i'm suspecting that the water entering
the conduit will be less than 2 foot of head pressure, and the
sealant should be ok with that.
whatchoo guys think? anyone got a better idea? i'm open to
suggestions.
plan "b" is to dig it up and fix it. the conduits run underneath a 30'
palm tree, which will have to be removed and replaced. in addition,
the excavating will have to be done by hand, due to the location.
total cost on the thing will on the sunny side of $40k.
thanks in advance...
randy
the customer has a basement in a commercial occupancy,
and that basement has three 2 inch and one 4 inch conduits
entering the wall of the basement, about 6' below grade.
for communications.... fiber, 50 pair, all low voltage stuff.
assorted things, making a transition to flex, above a t bar
ceiling.
the conduits leak, not from the outside, but from the inside,
of the pipe, after a strong rain. not continuously,
so it's not groundwater.
so there is either a cracked conduit, or a pulled apart coupling
allowing water in when the rainwater percolates past the conduit
on it's way to groundwater.
now, short of digging it up, my first thought is to cut back the
flexes, remove the flex fitting, use key lock on the threads from
the gal. rigid nipple penetrating the wall, and then pack cotton
around the individual conductors, the same way you'd pack a
seal off, and then fill the coupling with silicone aquarium sealant,
about 2" thick. in addition to that, i will take a three foot piece
of 3/4" vinyl tubing, put a foot up the conduit, seal it the same
way the conductors are sealed, and put a plug in it. this allows
for inspection to see if there is any standing water, and a means
of removing it, if necessary. i'm suspecting that the water entering
the conduit will be less than 2 foot of head pressure, and the
sealant should be ok with that.
whatchoo guys think? anyone got a better idea? i'm open to
suggestions.
plan "b" is to dig it up and fix it. the conduits run underneath a 30'
palm tree, which will have to be removed and replaced. in addition,
the excavating will have to be done by hand, due to the location.
total cost on the thing will on the sunny side of $40k.
thanks in advance...
randy
Last edited:
