Raceways To drain

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ARIVERA

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According to article 230.53, 'raceways enclosing SE conductors shall be raintight and arranged to drain'. I understand that we have drip loops in accordance with Article 230.54, but that is prevent moisture from entering via the SE conductors. Why then do we not have some sort of low point drain on all SE risers? To be in compliance with the fore-stated article, would we not have to?
 
To be in compliance with the fore-stated article, would we not have to?
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Yes, all raceways that are installed on the exterior surfaces of buildings shall be arranged to drain. Take a look at 225.22 for a similar requirement to 230.53.

Chris
 
So what exactly does this mean? Are we too drill a hole in the lowest point of the raceway?
 
infinity said:
So what exactly does this mean? Are we too drill a hole in the lowest point of the raceway?
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That's what I do. One or two 1/8" holes, depending on conduit size.
 
Bob NH said:
Should we drill a hole in the bottom of a rainproof residential meter socket?
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They come with them - I tend to run a ground rod GEC through one of them, though...
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Bob NH said:
Should we drill a hole in the bottom of a rainproof residential meter socket?
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George is right there are holes or slots in the bottom for this purpose. I think that drilling a hole would invite the thing to rust out faster than normal.
 
Out of curiousity, what do y'all do if a piece of conduit, and in particular the smaller stuff -- 1/2" and 3/4" -- floods and winds up with dirt and crud in it? Any particular tools or techniques for cleaning out all the gunk?
 
Julie,
floods and winds up with dirt and crud in it? Any particular tools or techniques for cleaning out all the gunk?
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I have hooked a water hose to the conduits and flushed them out, but that was outside and I expect that you are talking about an inside conduit run.
Don
 
We install conduit to keep non pressurized water out.Plumbers install pipe to keep presurized water in.IMO they do a better job of there goal.How many times have we found pipes slap full of water ????

I also drill a weep hole where I think infiltrated water will collect.Also I drill weep holes in bell boxes to keep them from collecting water.Are these things listed to have holes drilled in them ???? Probably not.Does the hole lessen the quality of the install IMO NO.Does it help ??? In my experience yes.

Ul listings have a limited time that they conduct the tests.Time tells the tale.When you open a box and water runs out and the connections are corroded to no end.When I redo them I drill weep holes to stop this from reoccuring.

As far as raintite residential meter they are designed so as not to allow rain to enter the enclosure but they are not water proof.They drain from crevices on the cover.
 
don_resqcapt19 said:
Julie,

I have hooked a water hose to the conduits and flushed them out, but that was outside and I expect that you are talking about an inside conduit run.
Don
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More of a general sort of question. I've had to be fairly creative cleaning out conduits and I was wondering how people got them cleaned out if they happened to get gunked-up on the inside.
 
We install conduit to keep non pressurized water out.Plumbers install pipe to keep presurized water in.IMO they do a better job of there goal.How many times have we found pipes slap full of water ????
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Our conduit is designed to protect the conductors...not to keep liquids out. Our conduit does not make a seal at our couplings because the coupling is straight thread. With plumbers pipe both the pipe and the couplings have a tapered thread and when tightened solid metal to metal contact is created making the seal.
Don
 
don_resqcapt19 said:
With plumbers pipe . . . the couplings have a tapered thread . . .
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I'm not sure if that's true; I'll have to check next time I'm in an orange or blue store. There are both cast and machined couplings.

It seems to me that a tapered male thread would make an excellent seal into a straight female thread, because of contact pressure and not contact area.
 
LarryFine said:
I'm not sure if that's true; I'll have to check next time I'm in an orange or blue store. There are both cast and machined couplings.

It seems to me that a tapered male thread would make an excellent seal into a straight female thread, because of contact pressure and not contact area.
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When you do verify this, make sure it is a pipe coupling and not a so-called "thread protector", which has straight threads and essentially identical to an RMC coupling, with perhaps the exception of finish.

As to sealing at a threaded joint, male tapered into female straight thread relies initially on sealing at one point along the threads, where the staight thread and tapered thread have the same diameter. The gap between the threads gradually gets wider as you approach the small end of the tapered thread. So in effect not even one full thread is in ideal contact. This can somewhat be overcome by applying additional torque to the joint so as to deform the metal, but this is also inviting a greater risk of mechanical joint failure. A sealant would reduce the need for tightening, but will likely reduce the ability of the threads to withstand any substantial internal pressure.
 
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