Looking for some direction. Was called to condominium complex today (built mid 1970's) to view the main service disconnect switch which had been leaking water over the course of a few days following heavy rains. The cabinet bottom and right side are seriously deteriorated / rotted. This obviously has been occuring for years. Interior fuse holders and mechanism is in good condition and no corrosion noted. Cabinet mounted in basement on exterior wall and encloses a 400 amp 3 phase service and has 2 4" conduits entering backside. Conduit and conductors enter from a pad mount x-former in yard. Past attempts have been made to seal conduit ends in cabinet with duct seal and what appears to be an entire tube of silicone. Water still pours in via these conduits. What are your thoughts on sealing out water and should I suggest replacement of entire cabinet / switch? Thanks!
What would you do?
- Thread starter moresi
- Start date
- Status
- Location
- Massachusetts
First I would get the power company to open up the transformer and have a look at that end of the conduit run.
I had one transformer pad that someone had run the conduits out of in a way that made them perfect drains for any water entering the pad.
The solution there was to add some more PVC to get the height above the water line.
I had one transformer pad that someone had run the conduits out of in a way that made them perfect drains for any water entering the pad.
The solution there was to add some more PVC to get the height above the water line.
- Location
- Massachusetts
I have seen a kit that had these bags of sealant you push back into the raceway then inflate.
They did not work in the application I saw.
It's just my opinion but I don't think you can have much luck sealing the conduits if a bunch of water starts pilling up behind the seal.
The job where the seals did not work we ended up placing a large hand hole outside the foundation, turning the raceways up into it then another set of raceways into the gear. This allowed the water to drain out into the hand hole.
It was a lot of work but did fix the problem.
They did not work in the application I saw.
It's just my opinion but I don't think you can have much luck sealing the conduits if a bunch of water starts pilling up behind the seal.
The job where the seals did not work we ended up placing a large hand hole outside the foundation, turning the raceways up into it then another set of raceways into the gear. This allowed the water to drain out into the hand hole.
It was a lot of work but did fix the problem.
brian john
Senior Member
- Location
- Leesburg, VA
OZ- Gendey makes a multi piece seal that goes in a conduit, I have used these numerous times they work great. But the conduits need to be clean, and they can be a bit difficult to install, lastly they are conduit cable specific..
As for the rotting gear, I would look in to the used market and buy a similar piece of equipment to replace this with. This would entail cleaning and testing of the replacement section, and of course approval of the AHJ. We have a good understanding with most of the local AHJ and we make repairs like this all this time with no issues.
As for the rotting gear, I would look in to the used market and buy a similar piece of equipment to replace this with. This would entail cleaning and testing of the replacement section, and of course approval of the AHJ. We have a good understanding with most of the local AHJ and we make repairs like this all this time with no issues.
I have been using a Ray Chem product for years with great success. The product name is Rayflate. It is a mylar bag that is sized for the conduit. You also need "clips" to go between the cables. Try this link. http://energy.tycoelectronics.com/page.asp?pag_id=2&prl_id=1&pls_id=1&prf_id=891&prr_id=1568
H.L.
H.L.
- Status