water in conduit

Status
Not open for further replies.

27hillcrest

Senior Member
I have heard of this before but never came across it until this week. The customer has a 1-1/2 PVC conduit feeding out to his new man town room. (Underground) Certain times of the year he notices water dripping out of his panel. After a little more research I notice the water was coming for the 1-1/2 PVC. Now the question what can be done about it? Is there any type of waterproof spray foam that can be put into the PVC?
Thanks!
 

iwire

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Massachusetts
Not an easy problem.

If you are able to seal it at the panel end you will trap the water, the water will build up against the back of the seal and likely burst out dumping a large quantity of water out into the panel all at once.

If there is no way to stop the water where it is getting in I suggest making a way to let it out before it reaches the panel.
 

tallgirl

Senior Member
Location
Great White North
Occupation
Controls Systems firmware engineer
What times of year and what environmental conditions? Air temperature (on both ends of the conduit), relative humidity (again, both ends), ground (soil) temperature.

If it's condensation, I'd assume it can be stopped by preventing air flow through the conduit. You should be able to do that at either end. Do you know the source of the water yet? Is it clear, like tap water, or cloudy like ground (soil) water?
 

mhulbert

Senior Member
Location
Chico, CA
If possible, the best solution is to install a "Christy box" ie handhole close to the building on the downhill end of the conduit. Put a few feet of gravel under this box, and the water will leak out of the uphill side into the box. It's best that this box be below the level of the panel, so that the water can never get higher than it.

Sort of the reverse of a plumbing trap.
 

bkludecke

Senior Member
Location
Big Bear Lake, CA
Occupation
Retired Electrical Contractor
There is a product that is designed for just this situation. It is a fitting that installed in the conduit just below the panel. It has a fitting on the side to divert the water to the outside or to the sewer system. They are listed and work great. I'll try to find the info later when I get to the office.
 

hey_poolboy

Senior Member
Location
Illinois
Bob, I would also be very interested in that info. I've had several occasions where such a fitting would be useful. Never did look or ask to see if anyone made such a thing.
 
Quick fix, drill a hole in the conduit at ground level or below and let the water escape. If you can get to the high end of the conduit you should be able to solve the water problem.
 

Billy B

Member
Location
Northern Va
water in conduit

I just joined this site and noticed your problem. In case you didn't get your water issue resolved, please check out the following Raychem product byTyco Electronics called Rayflate duct sealing system. It's basically a bladder. It does the job and it's comparatively inexpensive.

Check out http://energy.tycoelectronics.com
cat no RDSS-45 for 1.25" duct

Bill

ps I can send a cut sheet if you don't have luck on the site
 

A/A Fuel GTX

Senior Member
Location
WI & AZ
Occupation
Electrician
I've never heard of this before. Is the sub panel dramatically downhill from the source? Also, what is a Man Town Room?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top