URD Direct burial cable near a pool

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Buck Parrish

Buck Parrish

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NC & IN
About ten years ago we installed a 90 amp circuit to a customers garage. ( The URD is #2 AL Direct Burial cable) From the house panel to the garage. It's URD in a 30 inch trench with caution tape above the cable close to the surface. Recently he called because the fence guy had hit the cable and he wanted me to repair it.

So it turns out they have installed a in ground pool. about 40 ft. away from the URD in the original trench. The pool pump is fed from the garage via the URD. (done by others).
Plus the pool equipment is right above and next to the URD and the original trench. A fence perpendicular to the URD. Another fence almost parallel to it. And a large propane tank on top and perpendicular to the URD.

My question is , What's the chance of getting some stray voltage over to the pool ? The neutral has nicks in it. Only one hot is cut in two. The customer said not to worry about repairing the white because its only nicked up a bit. My feeling is the nicks will become corroded over time.

When we made the original install we knew nothing about a future pool.
I have not made any repairs yet. I'm not real comfortable with the situation because of the pool.
 
We do a fair amount of DB aluminum repairs due to all the DB aluminum wire used for irrigation circles in this area, so I would agree. Nicks will eventually end up becoming a problem that will eventually corrode the wire into white chalk.

My first step would be to dig up the bad spot, clean the wire off very well where it was hit so it's good and isolated from touching anything else or passing any test voltage and then meg the wire. I'd do this before you waste any time repairing it. Every time I've megged an underground DB wire even AFTER I've repaired it, they still seem to test very low. I can only think they must have more nicks that haven't corroded completely through or haven't become a big enough problem yet to trip the breaker or blow the fuses.
 
The pool pump cannot be fed by URD; I believe the code section is 680.21.

That girl that was electrocuted in a pool a few weeks ago i n NC, the report stated the neutral was corroded thru, and there was a fault from hot to earth in the 3 wire cable.

Since it is a violation to have the pump wired the way it is, and the cable is damaged, I would retrench it, run CPVC from panel to pump room, and repull THWN-2.

ActionDave said:
Tell the customer that if he does not repair the scuffed wire along with the broken wire one day, which day is a mystery, but one day for certain he is going to loose a neutral and everything in his garage is going to fry. He can fix it now and have nothing to worry about or he can not spend the money and get up every morning and leave for work wondering, is this the day I come home to a burning garage? (It's a bit dramatic I know, but there is no doubt that knicked wire will fail.)
Click to expand...

eta: not dramatic:


http://forums.mikeholt.com/showthread.php?t=178844
 
I've almost always used a 4 wire URD Direct Burial to a detached garage panel. Did something change that I missed?
 
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Buck if that aluminium neutral is cut up where the aluminum is exposed then it won't be long before it is corroded. Yes, you need to fix it
 
I think there is a misunderstanding. The garage panel that was wired with urd ( probably USE) was done years ago and someone fed the pool pump from that panel. I am assuming the pump is not fed with urd.
 
Yeah that's correct. the pump appears to be in conduit. But you're still allowed to use direct burial cable to a detached garage, correct?



My high lighter ''reply with quote'' does not work. It shows the words in a format that is not wrapped or highlighted.
 
Buck Parrish said:
Yeah that's correct. the pump appears to be in conduit. But you're still allowed to use direct burial cable to a detached garage, correct?



My high lighter ''reply with quote'' does not work. It shows the words in a format that is not wrapped or highlighted.
Click to expand...


Yes you can run direct burial to a garage

Don't know why you can always add the [QUOTE][/QUOTE] AT THE BEGINNING AND END OF THE COMMENT AND IT SHOULD WORK
 
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