SOOW cable in conduit

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busman said:
I would think the rubber insulation could be subject to degradation from anything that might be in the ground water.

Mark
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I happen to have a tremendous amount of experience with this and you are dead wrong. We used SOOW extensively for shore power cable in a dredging operation which is mining and thus legal not only because it doesn’t fall under NEC and MSHA doesn’t prohibit this but also because a floating system most definitely calls for portable cord. But obviously it’s going to occasionally fall in the water and be submerged for extended periods of time (months). We use SOOW a lot in mining and whether or not it should be, it often inadvertently gets buried, too.

We tried different methods but without a doubt if you use barrel connectors and heavy wall adhesive lined heat shrink it will outlast the SOOW. You have to cut out every bit of the sissal that gets wet though. Then once reinsulated it is serviceable even submerged for months. I did have problems with it dragging on the bottom or getting caught on work boats. I ran stainless aircraft cable as a messenger cable and tied the SOOW to it with I think soft drawn aluminum as tie wraps. This was hands down the most reliable shore power system we ever had.

Now this is in South Jersey a couple miles from the Delaware Bay. It’s just a big ancient sand bar there and fairly soft water bordering on brackish. So as far as corrosion goes this is about as bad as it gets. SOOW by far held up quite well. I don’t know if anything else is available and even most marine shore power systems for ship to shore use SOOW.

So as far as practical “safety” there really isn’t a problem here. As far as whether it meets Code it depends on jurisdiction and the Code to be followed but this sounds like it’s NEC so as others pointed out it’s a huge Code violation even if from a practical view it’s not. As a general principle everything in that duct should be permanent wiring and flexible cords should not be used as a substitute. It’s a wet environment so calls for RHW or THWN or similar wiring.
 
paulengr said:
I happen to have a tremendous amount of experience with this and you are dead wrong. We used SOOW extensively for shore power cable in a dredging operation which is mining and thus legal not only because it doesn’t fall under NEC and MSHA doesn’t prohibit this but also because a floating system most definitely calls for portable cord. But obviously it’s going to occasionally fall in the water and be submerged for extended periods of time (months). We use SOOW a lot in mining and whether or not it should be, it often inadvertently gets buried, too.

We tried different methods but without a doubt if you use barrel connectors and heavy wall adhesive lined heat shrink it will outlast the SOOW. You have to cut out every bit of the sissal that gets wet though. Then once reinsulated it is serviceable even submerged for months. I did have problems with it dragging on the bottom or getting caught on work boats. I ran stainless aircraft cable as a messenger cable and tied the SOOW to it with I think soft drawn aluminum as tie wraps. This was hands down the most reliable shore power system we ever had.

Now this is in South Jersey a couple miles from the Delaware Bay. It’s just a big ancient sand bar there and fairly soft water bordering on brackish. So as far as corrosion goes this is about as bad as it gets. SOOW by far held up quite well. I don’t know if anything else is available and even most marine shore power systems for ship to shore use SOOW.

So as far as practical “safety” there really isn’t a problem here. As far as whether it meets Code it depends on jurisdiction and the Code to be followed but this sounds like it’s NEC so as others pointed out it’s a huge Code violation even if from a practical view it’s not. As a general principle everything in that duct should be permanent wiring and flexible cords should not be used as a substitute. It’s a wet environment so calls for RHW or THWN or similar wiring.
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I wish you had read what I posted before calling me "dead wrong". I said nothing about salt water or corrosion or the outer jacket. What I said was, "the rubber insulation could be subject to degradation from anything that might be in the ground water." The insulation on SOOW is EPDM (a type of synthetic rubber). According to multiple internet sources, "EPDM has poor resistance to oil, gasoline and hydrocarbon solvents". I worked at a marina for 14 years and saw tons of gasoline, diesel and various oils spilled on the ground and adjacent waters. I'm sure most of this ended up in the ground water.
 
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