I need some #12 wire rated 125 degrees centigrade to use as supply conductors for inground Hadco 175 watt MH uplights for lighting a flagpole.They need to be rated for wet location for the inground application.

What should I ask for at the suppy house?

I also need to feed some MH wall floods by Hubbell with the same temp. rated wire.

What wire do I need?

Is this something new in the industry. I would use 90C wire in the past to feed these fixtures...

shortcircuit

Try Appliance Lead Wire but you may be at an appliance parts counter to get it ... at least in small quantities.

You can probably transition to THWN as soon as you get out of the light can.

Look here http://www.generalcable.com/NR/rdonlyres/C85E061B-E536-44F2-8F1E-0724F1296021/0/PolyradUltra600VSingleConductor125CPage8.pdf#search=%22conductors%20rated%20125C%22

Try Grainger, or an electronics supply store.

Thanks for the feedback...I only need about 300ft of black, white and green. It has to be suitable for wet locations because it is in PVC in ground...

shortcircuit

The only insulation I can think of that might meet your needs is made of teflon. When I last used it - 20+ years ago- it was only available in a pale greenish color.

310.13 lists several 250c conductors

The only conductor 125C or above that I see in 310.13 for wet locations is MI for special applications...

Bob..I don't believe that cable is acceptable for use in this application.?

Mil-spec shipboard cable can easily handle those temperatures and conditions. Unfortunately, NEC is silent so far as allowing them in structures, but they exceed code in every way and I'd bet your local local building inspectors would allow use if you ask up-front.

I think you need to talk to the manufacturer for as clarification on the instructions. I looked on the web site and I am not sure which light you have but the 125c part can't be far from the ballast. You should be able to use THWN for the circuit conductor beyond the hot spot.

Thanks for the feedback gfretwell.

I have contacted Hadco for tech assistance and they haven't an answer for me yet...in 3 days mind you...

You see...I don't see a answer myself.

These inground 175 MH fixtures feed directly into the fixture beneath the ballast...so where am I supposed to transition to THWN?

If I were to have a handhole 2 feet away...what would I use underground for the supply conductors from the fixture to the handhole?

There is NOT a conductor listed for the wet location except MI at above 90C in table 310.13...?

shortcircuit

The distance that the supply conductors need to be rated 125°C will still be an issue.
The PVC conduit is rated at 90°C, isn't it?

Short:
Another ltg mfg provides a 'shield' /'sleeve' to slip over your supply conductors entering the ballast compartment area.

Kind of looks like a mini chineese finger that you slip over your THHN. We also had to use it on some conductors for some machines that I worked on.

IF anybody has it now, probably McMaster Carr.

John

Thanks for the ideas guys. I'll talk to the manufacturer about the sleeves today Hotline1...

I am feeding the fixtures underground with PVC and changing to K-flex (LFNC) within 3ft for flexibility. I didn't want to install a handhole.

The label on the fixture only states the supply conductors need to be rated 125C electure.

The conduit entry into the fixture has to be sealed with a sealing compound that is provided with the fixture (3M 8882 encapsulant)

shortcircuit

Could you close nipple an FS box to the fixture and transition there?

Can I bury a FS box in the ground?

I guess it depends on the box. It this point we are just shooting in the dark. I think you need Hadco to tell you just exactly how you are supposed to install these things. It is their labelling that got us here in the first place. As in inspector I would certainly try to find a solution that didn't require you to come up with a spool of "Unobtainium" wire.

This thread raises an interesting question about a wet location rating.

Normally any underground location is considered a wet location.

But if you have a heat source that can actually heat the wire up to 125C, then it is quite unlikely that the wire will actually be wet In essence, the wire will be baked dry by the light.

So is this a wet location or not? It might very well be wet when the light is off, but dry by the time the temperature exceeds the wet rating of the wire

-Jon

This might be a dumb question, but what type of wiring is actually in the fixture itself, and can you get more of it? (Assuming the fixture is rated for wet location, and the heat it generates.)

Still waiting for an answer from the engineers at Hadco regarding this issue...

shortcircuit

Perhaps I could buy into that if the fixture runs 24/7 and we forget 300.5(D)

From my experience servicing underground light fixtures it is most definitely a wet location.

The heating and cooling continuously pulls in damp air which the heat than turns to vapor and corrodes everything in the fixture.

I don't have a solution for Short, MI could work but it is cost prohibitive.

[This message has been edited by iwire (edited 10-11-2006).]

Ahh, not merely _wet_ rated conductors, but _steam_ rated conductors

-Jon

I'm telling y'all, you just need to get some MIL-SPEC cable! What size OCP are we talking about? LSTSGU-9 or so would probably work here. The jacket is waterproof, oil-proof and good to well past the boiling point of water. You can get it armored, too, if you want. (I *think* it's tested for immersion in 400°C oil, but I can't find the test docs at the moment to verify that.)

http://www.generalcable.com/NR/rdonlyres/8044A740-8883-4F96-B4E5-50B6C4038960/0/M 24643_16.pdf

This stuff is ubiquitous on ships; they use it for power (no conduits either) to the complete exclusion of pretty much everything else.
[This message has been edited by SteveFehr (edited 10-13-2006).]

[This message has been edited by SteveFehr (edited 10-13-2006).]

Steve if the cable or conductor is not in the NEC it does not exist for our purposes.

It may be the best for the job but it has to be listed in the NEC for us to use it.

Hadco sent me high temp sleves to slip over the thwn supply conductors.

One for each wire. The sleves are 3/8in diameter and 9in long...

shortcircuit