On Sun, 17 May 2009 08:13:20 -0500, "Karl Townsend"
wrote:

I sent the wife on a snipe hunt yesterday. She came home with the wrong
thing.

I need to splice underground romex 12-3 with ground. Four wires. I remember
a kit that had four brass tubes with set screws in a insulating holder with
a large gel filled heat shrink tube.

I couldn't find one in McMaster either, maybe I don't know the name. She's
off to the cites again today. Anybody know what to get to splice underground
romex? If you can get it at a big box store, I'll phone her. She needs the
exact name to tell mostly clueless help at these stores. Otherwise, I'll
order Monday. (I needed this yesterday already)

Ideal makes them. 46-400 The kit in the picture shows an
extra-long one to bridge the gap where you don't have slack.

I've seen them at Home Despot before, YMMV as they like to change
vendors every few years and they're doing it again...

http://www.idealindustries.com/produ...nk_splices.jsp

And the heat shrink overwrap tube isn't gel lined, it has hot-melt
glue coating the inside to make the seal - that trick is older than
the direct bury splice kits. And it works well if you clean the cable
sheath well before application.

Wouldn't use one myself, though - if I was rolling up on the
problem, the first choice solution would be the silicone filled direct
bury wire nuts and a 9" round underground HDPE handhole with a safety
locking screw on the lid to keep the kiddies out - the exact same
thing that the Power Utility uses on their underground splices, except
marked generic "ELECTRIC"with a standard hex-bolt instead of "EDISON"
with the Penta-head lockbolt.

Both the waterproof direct-bury wirenuts and the handholes are
available at the Despot too - marked ELECTRIC but not locking. Or
they can order them.

http://www.idealindustries.com/produ...er_db_plus.jsp

And if it's near a busy road or on a farm where tractors roam (not
just riding mowers), I go get the polymer concrete version with the
polymer concrete or steel traffic rated lid.

WARNING: DO NOT USE the handholes from the Sprinkler aisle marked
"Irrigation Control Valve" - some dummy will try to tap in, and that
ain't 24V Class III Current Limited wiring down there...

Eventually you are going to have to find the splice again because it
will be a problem. The handhole will be a lot easier to find than
digging around going "I know it's around here somewhere..." and
breaking the wire in another spot 5 feet away.

(If nothing else, plant a post or make some sort of a marker over/
next to the splice. You will need it later.)

When you give up finding the breaks, and trench and put in PVC
conduit for the run, you can save that Handhole for the tee splice
where the circuit for the garage branches off from the circuit to the
front gates.

Lawnmowers and errant trailers being backed up by novices go right
over handholes, but they break Bell Boxes where they stick up above
ground.

Oh, and if you might want an intercom or CCTV camera at the gate,
drop a second conduit in the nice open trench. The pipe now is a lot
cheaper than doing it again later.

-- Bruce --