ELECTRICAL help.....if u can, thanks.

[MainePellethead]

Hey everyone.... I had a quick question and this site never fails to provide answers

I am running electricty to my shed approx. 30-40' from my house. I have installed the line in the ground no problem....my question is.... when place my ell fitting to go in the house for service and when I run my ell fitting to go into the shed....whats the proper install for that? Do I run conduit out of the ell into the wall to the inside?


Thanks in advance for the help....

 

[drdoct]

I ran some for my dad and ran the conduit to the box in the house. I realize that you normally don't have to run conduit in residential jobs, but I didn't feel like fishing it through the wall. Conduit keeps the rats/tree rats/kids from chewing on the lines, and gives a neater appearance and if you're running pvc conduit it's cheap... well EMT is cheap too really.

 

[MainePellethead]

Maybe I wasnt clear in my question lol.... I ran conduit too...I have complete underground wire and conduit under ground and at each building.... my question is.... the "Ell" fitting that allows to to bend and go into the building and to the box in the basement....do I put a short piece of conduit on the fitting to go through the wall from the Ell fitting?

I ran some for my dad and ran the conduit to the box in the house. I realize that you normally don't have to run conduit in residential jobs, but I didn't feel like fishing it through the wall. Conduit keeps the rats/tree rats/kids from chewing on the lines, and gives a neater appearance and if you're running pvc conduit it's cheap... well EMT is cheap too really.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I would, just to keep it looking clean. I can't see how it wouldn't be more weather tight too.

Matt

 

[MainePellethead]

That was exactly my thought as well..., thanks, appreciate the help.


And thanks Dr. as well....

I would, just to keep it looking clean. I can't see how it wouldn't be more weather tight too.

Matt

 

[nshif]

underground you want a sweep to turn verticle then conduit then a pulling ell. Ill see if i can get a pic

 

[nshif]

lets see if these will post, probably much larger then you need but the same applies
well that didnt work lets try again

 

[drdoct]

Yes, I ran conduit from the L to the box inside... just like nshif shows going into the house. I think it looks much neater than just wires. Be sure to silicone around the holes too

 

[Highbeam]

I've done it both ways depending on the siding material and also on how tight you can get the pull ell to the siding. If I can get the pull ell right against the siding I will actually screw the pull ell to the siding and the small snout of the ell is embedded into the siding sufficiently that there is no risk of exposed wires. Once inside I staple the wire within 6" and run as normal. Of course, with stranded conductors you need to carry on with conduit until you hit a j-box. If the siding is lap siding and/or the pull ell is away from the building then I will stub in a small piece of conduit. Again, the goal is no exposed wires and for a watertight hole in the home.

 

[MainePellethead]

Thank you all very much for the help...thanks for the pic nshif. All of what u all said is what I was thinking but wanted to back it up.

Thanks again..... this site is the greatest!

 

[Gooserider]

The other thing to remember, though it doesn't sound like you'll have a problem with this, is that code says no more than a total of 360* worth of bends in a single pull - more than that you must have an intermediate pull-box and do the pull in segments.

If you are doing data cables, you should not have more than 180* worth of bends, with the exception that they won't count a bend at the very beginning of a pull.

Gooserider

 

[MainePellethead]

Thanks goose....yeah, it doesnt apply to my situation as its just a basic line from house to shed/shop area.

Thanks again...

The other thing to remember, though it doesn't sound like you'll have a problem with this, is that code says no more than a total of 360* worth of bends in a single pull - more than that you must have an intermediate pull-box and do the pull in segments.

If you are doing data cables, you should not have more than 180* worth of bends, with the exception that they won't count a bend at the very beginning of a pull.

Gooserider

 

[jebatty]

Isn't practice/code to also leave a loose loop underground to allow for expansion/contraction without pulling on the cable into the structure or at a connection?

 

[Gooserider]

Isn't practice/code to also leave a loose loop underground to allow for expansion/contraction without pulling on the cable into the structure or at a connection?

Can't really do that in conduit, as no place to put the loop. However the wire shouldn't be stretched tight, and there should be some slack at the ends. Just the natural bends in the wire should give enough slack otherwise, we aren't talking a lot of expansion / contraction after all...

Gooserider

 

[burnham]

Isn't practice/code to also leave a loose loop underground to allow for expansion/contraction without pulling on the cable into the structure or at a connection?

If you are using conduit you are supposed to allow for ground settling by using an expansion fitting. It's a slip-fitting that basiclly keeps the conduit from pulling out of the LB or male connector at the house.

If you are going to direct burry the wire and then use conduit at the house for physical protection you are supposed to allow for settling by making an "S" loop with slack in the trench.

I'd have to open the book for exact wording, but this is pretty much how I remember it.

 

[Gooserider]

One other thought - while you have the trench open, consider whether you would ever want to have low voltage stuff going to the shed - ethernet or other such signals. If so, then you might want to bury a second run of conduit while you are at it - low voltage can't share the same conduit as AC, both for code reasons and because it will cause excessive signal degradation.

Gooserider

 

['bert]

I would agree to putting some LV cable or an empty conduit or two in a run between the shop and house. Direct burial cat 5 is cheap and so is tel cable. I tossed in a couple of runs of coax too in mine.

 

[EL DRIFTO]

if you can still get it in there
you ought to put a "slip riser"
in to the bottom of the "LB"
or over time the ground will appear to "settle" & rip it off the house
there's a chart in the NEC with pvc expansion per degree

 

[fbelec]

it's definitely a nec code to put a expansion fitting in on pvc pipe installs. up here in the north east almost every pvc pipe i see installed from the ground going up to a receptacle box or LB fitting even a meter socket gets pushed up or pulled down and breaks either the fitting the pipe or a knockout on a meter and most times the meter gets ripped of the side of the house from the expansion.