Sharing a cable tray???

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jmargolis79

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Can non-electrical piping be in a cable tray?
I have a outdoor open ladder style cable tray that will have tec cable of varing voltages, 24v -480 volts. For the cables i have and extra spacing i only need 18" of a 30"tray. The owner of the site would like to run his piping for infloor heat in this tray aswell. It consistes of 2 pex pipes inside 1 corragated 4" pipe. The extra space inside the large pipe is foam filled.
I couldn't find any code article that won't allow this.
 
jmargolis79 said:
Can non-electrical piping be in a cable tray?
I have a outdoor open ladder style cable tray that will have tec cable of varing voltages, 24v -480 volts. For the cables i have and extra spacing i only need 18" of a 30"tray. The owner of the site would like to run his piping for infloor heat in this tray aswell. It consistes of 2 pex pipes inside 1 corragated 4" pipe. The extra space inside the large pipe is foam filled.
I couldn't find any code article that won't allow this.
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Take a look at 300.8 - It's not allowed.
 
In most cases, any mechanical application has their own requirements for strapping and supporting... It does not include using what's a convience of what's available...
 
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Your talking Dynamic (fluid) vs electrical (static); the answer as others have point out is NO.
 
The rule says you can't run non-electric items with electric conductors. This installation uses cables and not conductors and would not be a violation.
 
jmargolis79 said:
Can non-electrical piping be in a cable tray?
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No, you can't if you want to be NEC compliant.

jmargolis79 said:
I have a outdoor open ladder style cable tray that will have tec cable of varing voltages, 24v -480 volts. For the cables i have and extra spacing i only need 18" of a 30"tray. The owner of the site would like to run his piping for infloor heat in this tray aswell. It consistes of 2 pex pipes inside 1 corragated 4" pipe. The extra space inside the large pipe is foam filled.
I couldn't find any code article that won't allow this.
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Sounds like you should run two parallel trays or maybe even just a channel for the pipes, depends on the distance between the support points. You may need to put a divider in your electrical tray unless you run all voltages in 600V rated cable trays.

Some may argue that since the NEC does NOT prohibits it piping may be supported FROM the cable tray.
 
don_resqcapt19 said:
The rule says you can't run non-electric items with electric conductors. This installation uses cables and not conductors and would not be a violation.
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A cable is a group of conductors covered in an outer sheath so I still think this would be a violation. Have you seen an install as described pass an inspection?
 
eric9822 said:
A cable is a group of conductors covered in an outer sheath so I still think this would be a violation. Have you seen an install as described pass an inspection?
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The code takes care to not use the terms cables and conductors interchangeably, and if they intend that this section applies to other than individual conductors, they need to add the words "or cables" to the rule.
 
weressl said:
A divider is intended to separate different voltage(insulation) levels, it is still the same cable tray. An AHJ still can approve it but it remains a violation of the NEC.
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At first I thought I agreed with Don, thinking he was right based on a technicality (the best kind of being right). However the cable has conductors in it and I still consider them being "contained" by the cable tray...
I can't start thinking that the rules regarding conductors don't apply to cable conductors....

references using the word "conductor", IMO, must apply no matter the wiring method....
 
Don, I would like to ask what a "Single-conductor cable" verses a "Multi-conductor cable" is? Both terms are used in the NEC. So both are cables and both are conductors one is a group of conductors whereas the other is a single conductor but now they are both cables.:confused:

Roger
 
don_resqcapt19 said:
The code takes care to not use the terms cables and conductors interchangeably, and if they intend that this section applies to other than individual conductors, they need to add the words "or cables" to the rule.
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I understand that the terms are not used interchangeably. I still struggle with the use of cable making this install OK but the use of individual conductors makes it not OK. Roger raises an interesting question, maybe thats why I assumed the section was meant to cover cable and individual conductors. If I install 3 1/C500 Kcmil Medium Voltage cables would it be OK?
 
roger said:
Don, I would like to ask what a "Single-conductor cable" verses a "Multi-conductor cable" is? Both terms are used in the NEC. So both are cables and both are conductors one is a group of conductors whereas the other is a single conductor but now they are both cables.:confused:

Roger
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Roger,
That is a good question and I don't have an answer to it.
If conductors and cables are the same, why do some sections, like 725.136(A), use the words "cables and conductors"?
In my mind a single wire with only dielectric insulation is a conductor. A number of these conductors, in a factory assembly, with or without an outer jacket, becomes a cable.
I have no idea what a single conductor cable is, other than an oxymoron:roll:
 
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