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#111721 02/08/07 08:30 PM
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 7,520
P
pauluk Offline OP
Member
One thing I'm surprised nobody else has commented on yet:

The open splice on the ground clearly has red/yellow/blue phases on both cables, but the cable running up the outside of the lamp post appears to be older, with a white B-phase.

So is there another open splice somewhere between these two photos?

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#111722 02/09/07 02:07 PM
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 38
T
Member
Optical illusion. Probably the flash from the camera has 'flared out' the yellow colouring. I can say this without fear of being wrong! How does he know this 'for a fact', you may well ask? Because it runs on the surface along the 'median' for a distance of about 4 metres!!!...and you can trip over the entire length of it and take a dive into the oncoming traffic. The traffic here only has one speed and I don't mean that in a good way.

#111723 02/09/07 03:53 PM
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 161
G
Member
Looks like five electrical contractors had a go at this, judging by all the different colours of insulating tape... [Linked Image]

#111724 02/09/07 05:23 PM
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 38
T
Member
I don't think an Electrical Contractor has been near it! [apart from me with my camera, and I wasn't getting too close!!]

#111725 02/09/07 06:05 PM
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 8,443
Likes: 3
Member
Hi there Trimix,
Welcome to the group!. [Linked Image]
This looks really bad IMO, a live 400+V cable with no protection and it also looks like there is nothing holding those cable joints together apart from the twists of the copper strands of the wires.
What I can't work out, is why there is a mid-span joint in the run between posts?.
Quote
4mm? yeah, right!!! If memory serves me correctly it is about 25 or 35mm may even be 50mm! I aint getting hold of it to check though!!! NOTE the lack of fuses as well!
Street-lighting conductors here in NZ measure anything from 10mm up to 35mm copper, above that Aluminium conductors would be used.
Regarding the fusing, a lot of street-lighting circuits I've come across aren't actually fused at each pole, there may be a fuse up at the actual fitting itself, but the distribution side of the circuit is usually only fused at the originating end (or in some cases, the circuit may be one large ring-circuit).
Has anyone been notified of this shambles?.
Regardless of who did this in the first place, this constitutes a real public safety hazard!. [Linked Image]

[This message has been edited by Trumpy (edited 02-09-2007).]

#111726 02/09/07 09:31 PM
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 8,443
Likes: 3
Member
One other thing,
As Ragnar pointed out, that is NOT SWA cable,
it looks like a cable that has a plastic filler in the cable, it sort of looks to me like some sort of XLPE cable.
If it was SWA, there would have to be clamps and links between the seperate sections of the cable run, with repect to continuing the earthing/bonding.
Why this cable hasn't been installed correctly and hasn't been joined correctly, is anyones guess.
I would be ashamed of anything like that in my PoCo area, hence my dismay that this has been like this for so long.
I would sack an employee on the spot if they did this sort of "work". [Linked Image]

#111727 02/10/07 09:05 AM
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 2,498
T
Member
I thought the second and third picture show the armor of SWA hanging down... however, I've never seen SWA in real life, so it's hard to judge.

You're right saying to do it RIGHT the armor would have to be connected, but look, is there anything in those pictures that has actually been done right? I.e. do you actually think those hacks would have cared about grounding?

#111728 02/10/07 12:33 PM
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 7,520
P
pauluk Offline OP
Member
Quote
Optical illusion. Probably the flash from the camera has 'flared out' the yellow colouring.
Ah, O.K. It really looks as though they're white in that photo.

Quote
I thought the second and third picture show the armor of SWA hanging down...
It kind of looks that way, although the armor in SWA consists of steel strands spiral wrapped around the cable. This stuff looks more like tangled braid, as you'd find on some coaxial (R.F.) cables.

Maybe it's the optical effect again, making plastic strands appear to be metallic.

Here's British SWA in close-up:

[Linked Image]


[This message has been edited by pauluk (edited 02-10-2007).]

#111729 02/12/07 04:13 AM
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 97
J
Member
I wondered if it looked a bit like black steel tubing with singles in. The plastic looks rather like a poor attempt at waterproofing. It just all looks rather straight for cable.

I have never seen cable with so much plastic filler so it does make me wonder. The braiding at the other end does look unusual, a bit like SY flex cable. but that usually has a clear jacket.

Texas, if you want some SWA, PM me and I can send you some.


I took my time, I hurried up, The choice was mine, I didn't think enough
#111730 02/12/07 02:08 PM
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 5,445
Likes: 2
Cat Servant
Member
If I had to make a wild guess,,,,

In the first pic, the lower cable looks like American "SO," a heavy duty rubber jacketed extension-cord type material. Such cors often have stringy plastic filaments used for filler material.

The top appears to be ordinary black irrigation tubing, used as 'conduit,' and all that shiny stuff is clear silicone caulk used to seal the end.

American products? Irrigation tube? Arabic? Israel comes to mind...

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