SER cable protection

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nizak

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Wondering if any here have been required to protect SER cable on the exterior of a residence from the point it leaves the disconnect down and through the bond and into the crawl/ basement.Usually a short distance, generally a foot.


I'm not talking about a location such as along a driveway rather the side of home that's simply yard.

I've never had an issue in past years with SER cable but recently have had two different inspectors fail the install citing "subject to physical damage ".

It's just not feasible to totally pipe the long runs to the other end of a house for instance if that's the panel location and the utility comes in the other end.

How do you protect a 4/0 cable ??

Putting it in an LB violates the bending radius.

Any suggestions?
 
It's common to have exposed service cable here in Virginia, but it's totally foreign in some places.

Inside the building, it's okay exposed. Outside, it depends on the conditions of the environment.

Simply being visible is not "subject to damage,", but an inspector can indicate specific hazards.

Technically, the outside portion (and penetration) could be SE with no disconnect at the meter.

As a sleeved cable, you can use 2" up to a point; also, a sleeve need not terminate at an enclosure.

In other words, leave the disconnect enclosure, bend the cable to the wall, then begin the sleeve.

At the bottom, cut away 1/4 to 1/3 of the sleeve, about 6" up, and bend the cable into the cutout.

If you must, make your penetration and enlarge the outside upward to fit an elbow against the wall..
 
LarryFine said:
Simply being visible is not "subject to damage,", but an inspector can indicate specific hazards.
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Yeah that really annoys me. I understand that subject to physical damage is open to interpretation, but when a cable assembly is permitted to be surface mounted/exposed then it seems pretty clear it's not subject to physical damage whenever it's surface mounted 🙃😠. These AHJ's should amend the NEC to delete the exposed/surface mounted provisions instead of just always saying it's subject to physical damage 😡
 
Well, if he thinks it needs a sleeve, give him one like I suggested above. A straight section, two 2-hole straps, and no fittings.

Added: Many inspectors inspect with a preference for how they would have done it, which is a design issue, not a code issue.
 
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