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#183110 12/27/08 12:06 AM
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 613
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I have a problem with water entering a PVC conduit underground at a poorly glued coupling and it is following the pipe right to an LB in a basement and dripping excessively in the basement.

I was looking for ideas for stopping the water without digging the conduit up.

I thought maybe silicone or some sort of expanding waterproof foam.

Any Ideas?

Thanx,

shortcircuit

Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 8,443
Likes: 3
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Only way you are going to fix that properly is dig it up and repair the bad joint.
Gluing conduits is 1st year apprentice stuff, especially if they are laid under-ground.
I wouldn't go down the road of sealing the conduit up, it screams of handyman workmanship.
BTW, what size is the PVC conduit?

Joined: Jun 2004
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The conduit is 1.25...

Digging it up is not an option...

The apprentice is an asset to our industry...jus a PIA when they make a mistake...

I may dig it up outside at the foundation and bring it up and through the sill instead of straight into the basement below grade and arrange the conduit do drain outside.

I thought there may be a sealant that would work to keep the water from entering.

shortcircuit

Joined: Jul 2002
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With a 32mm conduit, this doesn't sound like a bad joint, leaking that amount of water.
If it was 4 or 6" that might be a different story.
It sounds like there might be a leaking pipe where you came through the wall.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not taking you to task, shortcircuit, it is easy to blame an apprentice, but at the end of the day, it comes down to the supervisor they have.
If you are going to bury something, make damned sure that all is well BEFORE the trench is back-filled.

Apprentice supervision 101. cool

Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 853
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whats on the street end? Pole riser with open conduit? It may be there,then duct seal would work.
Been a lot of water around here lately.I would stay away from "damning" it at the house, reroute may be best.

Joined: Jan 2005
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Cat Servant
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You have to separate what you KNOW from what you THINK.

Our usual glue procedure for PVC conduit does not make for a waterproof joint. We're electricians, not plumbers, so we don't worry about water entry.

This is because water can / does enter the pipe from many other sources ... condensation, boxes, etc.

Pipe should be "arranged to drain." This might involve even putting a weep hole in the side of the pipe at a low spot. Or, replacing that LB with a Tee, for a drain to direct the water whare it won't harm anything.

Mike raised a good point .. are you sure the water is in the pipe, and not just following the pipe through the wall? That is one area that might benefit from some manner of sealing.

Joined: Nov 2007
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I’ve seen this happen with an unsealed conduit in a handhole that was filling with water from rain and melting snow. Duct seal to the rescue?

Joined: Feb 2003
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One company I worked for had a rule: don't ever penitrate the foundation below grade. If the pipe was brought up above grade to penitrate the building it would not be an issue.


Joined: Feb 2008
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We wired a house in a development. While leaving one day I passed a outdoor plug on a short post. We had had lots of rain for several days and was raining now. What caught my eye was the water running out of the cover. The water was running out of the plug like a faucet.

I told the contractor/developer to let me know if they wanted it fixed. It would mean a lot of digging.

Like reno said, we're not plumbers. I do work at good connections though. However, this is why code requires wet location wire in conduit in wet locations. Do they make a wet location gfci outlet? smile

Joined: May 2005
Posts: 706
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Originally Posted by shortcircuit

I may dig it up outside at the foundation and bring it up and through the sill instead of straight into the basement below grade and arrange the conduit do drain outside.

I thought there may be a sealant that would work to keep the water from entering.

shortcircuit


Rerouting the conduit seems like the best option to me. The only decent water sealant I know is hydraulic cement & that's not a very good option.

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