We did a job almost a year ago so its technically still under warranty. The project was a fuel/gas station. The project was delivered on schedule and everything working no issues since completed. Fast-forward 10 months The customer is having some added equipment in the fuel pad area. The EC tried removing the existing wiring so they could add some new wiring to conduit but the wiring would not budge. Upon further investigation it was determined that we the original EC, us, mistakenly, accidentally, but not neglect some of the compound got past the packing and got poured into conduit causing a blockage where wiring couldn't be removed or added. There was nothing wrong with installation until the new wiring needed to be added. We arent trying to get with anything I just have a different point of view that my PMs and Boss. We are in process of repairing at own/EC expense but would you as a contractor how would you handle a situation with customer and employees. This wasnt done on purpose its just something that happened.
warranty not warranty
- Thread starter mannyb
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Buck Parrish
Senior Member
- Location
- NC & IN
Was their anything in the original specs about leaving room for future wiring? If not, then I would not find you at fault.
mtnelect
HVAC & Electrical Contractor
- Location
- Southern California
- Occupation
- Contractor, C10 & C20 - Semi Retired
I consider myself as an "Expert" on construction legal matters. It took me five years, with five different law firms to reach a settlement on the day of the trial, outside of the courtroom, in the hallway.
- Location
- San Francisco Bay Area, CA, USA
- Occupation
- Electrical Engineer
Yeah, lawyers don’t like to settle, they like to prolong so that they can all feed off of the carcass as long as possible.
Fred B
Senior Member
- Location
- Upstate, NY
- Occupation
- Electrician
Not a lawyer and not legal advice, just another perspective.
Was the conduit larger than minimally needed for wire pull suggesting potentially being able to add to the conduit (fill room)? (Reasonable expectation.)
Was there a product failure or just failure with installation? (Shared liability potential.)
Never have used or been in a position to need to use sealing compound so don't know, but,
Is the compound, when only in place in proper location, designed to make for easy removal for adding to the conduit? Or under "normal" conditions would the probability of removing the material be slim at best without damage to the conductors? This would suggest that a better option for adding would normally be "just run a new conduit".
Does your company do regular work for this customer or looks to maintain a connection for a future work?
Was an inspection done? Would seem that if there was a substantial bypass of the compound either the installer would notice an above normal volume of material being used or it would be empty and not sealed upon inspection.
Watching video of chico application to me it seems that there could be a "reasonable expectation" for some bypass of sealing material and removal really isn't an expected result to add to the system after sealing.
Was the conduit larger than minimally needed for wire pull suggesting potentially being able to add to the conduit (fill room)? (Reasonable expectation.)
Was there a product failure or just failure with installation? (Shared liability potential.)
Never have used or been in a position to need to use sealing compound so don't know, but,
Is the compound, when only in place in proper location, designed to make for easy removal for adding to the conduit? Or under "normal" conditions would the probability of removing the material be slim at best without damage to the conductors? This would suggest that a better option for adding would normally be "just run a new conduit".
Does your company do regular work for this customer or looks to maintain a connection for a future work?
Was an inspection done? Would seem that if there was a substantial bypass of the compound either the installer would notice an above normal volume of material being used or it would be empty and not sealed upon inspection.
Watching video of chico application to me it seems that there could be a "reasonable expectation" for some bypass of sealing material and removal really isn't an expected result to add to the system after sealing.
all great replies. this forum always has the best responses. Where would you find the fill capacity for a seal off. I knew there was a fill but didint think of it as a reply. We currently have 4 #12 they want to add 4 more for a total of 8
I believe the seal off fill is based off the trade size of the seal off, unless specifically listed for a larger fill percentage. I’m without my code book at the moment, so take that with a grain of salt.
kwired
Electron manager
- Location
- NE Nebraska
- Occupation
- EC
Future wiring about has to have spares pulled when utilizing sealing fittings in hazardous location wiring. You aren't pulling those conductors out and re-using them in my experiences, and are likely to be replacing the seal fittings before the next pull as well.
kwired
Electron manager
- Location
- NE Nebraska
- Occupation
- EC
But you can use a larger seal fitting than the connecting raceway if needed to comply.
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