I would appreciate any guidance on splicing a shallow direct-bury cable
that feeds an outdoor 120v lighting fixture.

The wire got cut in two places by a backhoe. (This was not a surprise
- the lines weren't marked, their route wasn't obvious and the hand dig
would have cost a fortune.)

My current plan is as follows. Please ding me if I've missed
something.
1. Hand dig trench about one foot deep
2. Cut old cable back to non-backhoe-damaged section and strip
3. Cut two new sections of two conductor plus ground cable
4. Two new sections times two splices = four (4) splices
5. Seal splices against moisture with [not sure] (Heat-shrink?
Rubber cement?)
6. Drop mended cable in trench
7. Fill trench half way
8. Mark trench with [not sure] (Tape? 2x4?)
9. Complete fill of trench

wrote in message
ups.com...
I would appreciate any guidance on splicing a shallow direct-bury cable
that feeds an outdoor 120v lighting fixture.

The wire got cut in two places by a backhoe. (This was not a surprise
- the lines weren't marked, their route wasn't obvious and the hand dig
would have cost a fortune.)

My current plan is as follows. Please ding me if I've missed
something.
1. Hand dig trench about one foot deep
2. Cut old cable back to non-backhoe-damaged section and strip
3. Cut two new sections of two conductor plus ground cable
4. Two new sections times two splices = four (4) splices
5. Seal splices against moisture with [not sure] (Heat-shrink?
Rubber cement?)
6. Drop mended cable in trench
7. Fill trench half way
8. Mark trench with [not sure] (Tape? 2x4?)
9. Complete fill of trench


Your trench is too shallow and the cost of waterproof connectors exceeds the
cost of a complete new run. You would be REAL mad if you find a wiring
fault after a change of seasons.

Bill

The best way to do it involves replacing the whole cable yes. However
if it were mine, I'd crimp and then solder the wires, then seal it in
something waterproof. I have no idea what that would be but yes they
make kits for that. If they are too expensive and you happen to have
some epoxy laying around I might try to find a way to encase the
connections in that (essentially that's what the kits do, I think).

Make the splice long enough to fit the two ends into a glass or plastic
jars. Fill jars with spray in foam insulation. Bury with top of jars up.
Worse case it fails in tens years and you redo it.

wrote in message
ups.com...
I would appreciate any guidance on splicing a shallow direct-bury cable
that feeds an outdoor 120v lighting fixture.

The wire got cut in two places by a backhoe. (This was not a surprise
- the lines weren't marked, their route wasn't obvious and the hand dig
would have cost a fortune.)

My current plan is as follows. Please ding me if I've missed
something.
1. Hand dig trench about one foot deep
2. Cut old cable back to non-backhoe-damaged section and strip
3. Cut two new sections of two conductor plus ground cable
4. Two new sections times two splices = four (4) splices
5. Seal splices against moisture with [not sure] (Heat-shrink?
Rubber cement?)
6. Drop mended cable in trench
7. Fill trench half way
8. Mark trench with [not sure] (Tape? 2x4?)
9. Complete fill of trench

On 21 Apr 2006 07:47:34 -0700, wrote:

I would appreciate any guidance on splicing a shallow direct-bury cable
that feeds an outdoor 120v lighting fixture.

The wire got cut in two places by a backhoe. (This was not a surprise
- the lines weren't marked, their route wasn't obvious and the hand dig
would have cost a fortune.)

My current plan is as follows. Please ding me if I've missed
something.
1. Hand dig trench about one foot deep
2. Cut old cable back to non-backhoe-damaged section and strip
3. Cut two new sections of two conductor plus ground cable
4. Two new sections times two splices = four (4) splices
5. Seal splices against moisture with [not sure] (Heat-shrink?
Rubber cement?)
6. Drop mended cable in trench
7. Fill trench half way
8. Mark trench with [not sure] (Tape? 2x4?)
9. Complete fill of trench


HomeDepot sells a UF splice kit, something like this:
http://www.urlbee.com?2687

Might want to look into that quick fix.

hth,

tom

The easiest and U.L. approved method is a direct burial wirenut, like King
one step, I believe Ideal also makes one


wrote in message
ups.com...
I would appreciate any guidance on splicing a shallow direct-bury cable
that feeds an outdoor 120v lighting fixture.

The wire got cut in two places by a backhoe. (This was not a surprise
- the lines weren't marked, their route wasn't obvious and the hand dig
would have cost a fortune.)

My current plan is as follows. Please ding me if I've missed
something.
1. Hand dig trench about one foot deep
2. Cut old cable back to non-backhoe-damaged section and strip
3. Cut two new sections of two conductor plus ground cable
4. Two new sections times two splices = four (4) splices
5. Seal splices against moisture with [not sure] (Heat-shrink?
Rubber cement?)
6. Drop mended cable in trench
7. Fill trench half way
8. Mark trench with [not sure] (Tape? 2x4?)
9. Complete fill of trench

Try one of these:

http://www.uraseal.com/electric/index.htm

If you can't find them at your local electric supply place you can order
direct from the company.

Hope this helps!

wrote in message
oups.com...
The best way to do it involves replacing the whole cable yes. However
if it were mine, I'd crimp and then solder the wires, then seal it in
something waterproof. I have no idea what that would be but yes they
make kits for that. If they are too expensive and you happen to have
some epoxy laying around I might try to find a way to encase the
connections in that (essentially that's what the kits do, I think).

Actually that spray foam absorbs moisture so it would be doubtful that it
will last that long....

"Jeff" wrote in message
...
Make the splice long enough to fit the two ends into a glass or plastic
jars. Fill jars with spray in foam insulation. Bury with top of jars up.
Worse case it fails in tens years and you redo it.

wrote in message
ups.com...
I would appreciate any guidance on splicing a shallow direct-bury cable
that feeds an outdoor 120v lighting fixture.

The wire got cut in two places by a backhoe. (This was not a surprise
- the lines weren't marked, their route wasn't obvious and the hand dig
would have cost a fortune.)

My current plan is as follows. Please ding me if I've missed
something.
1. Hand dig trench about one foot deep
2. Cut old cable back to non-backhoe-damaged section and strip
3. Cut two new sections of two conductor plus ground cable
4. Two new sections times two splices = four (4) splices
5. Seal splices against moisture with [not sure] (Heat-shrink?
Rubber cement?)
6. Drop mended cable in trench
7. Fill trench half way
8. Mark trench with [not sure] (Tape? 2x4?)
9. Complete fill of trench

I've been using them for about ten years. I've never had a failure. You do
tape the area where you've removed the UF jacket. I've dug up splices
several years old to find them in perfect condition.






"Bud--" wrote in message
...
RBM wrote:

The easiest and U.L. approved method is a direct burial wirenut, like
King one step, I believe Ideal also makes one


I've used epoxy potted splices and have seen adds for direct bury wirenuts
but never used one.

Looking for further information, it looks like King direct bury is CSA
[Canadian] rated but not UL
www.kinginnovation.com

Ideal is UL listed for direct burial
http://www.idealindustries.com/IDEAL...nderground?Ope
nDocument
datasheet
http://www.idealindustries.com/pdf/wp&ugsellsheet.pdf

I am a little surprised UL doesn't want some strain relief and something
to replace the protection provided by the jacket of UF cable.

They sound really easy to use. Had any problems with them?

bud---

Bud, here is the one I use. It shows UL and CSA
http://www.kinginnovation.com/pdfs/5...%20Rev%20B.pdf

Roy


"Bud--" wrote in message
...
RBM wrote:

The easiest and U.L. approved method is a direct burial wirenut, like
King one step, I believe Ideal also makes one


I've used epoxy potted splices and have seen adds for direct bury wirenuts
but never used one.

Looking for further information, it looks like King direct bury is CSA
[Canadian] rated but not UL
www.kinginnovation.com

Ideal is UL listed for direct burial
http://www.idealindustries.com/IDEAL...nderground?Ope
nDocument
datasheet
http://www.idealindustries.com/pdf/wp&ugsellsheet.pdf

I am a little surprised UL doesn't want some strain relief and something
to replace the protection provided by the jacket of UF cable.

They sound really easy to use. Had any problems with them?

bud---

dig new trench, install flexible conduit with wire inside.

now go relax and know it cant happen again and new cable can always be
pulled thru conduit

No problems with ground faults. These are large nuts filled with some type
of silicone, which even after years doesn't break down, and prevents water
entry


wrote in message
news
On Sat, 22 Apr 2006 07:47:55 -0400, "RBM" rbm2(remove
wrote:

I've been using them for about ten years. I've never had a failure. You do
tape the area where you've removed the UF jacket. I've dug up splices
several years old to find them in perfect condition.

Will they hold a GFCI? If so they work.

"RBM" rbm2(remove wrote in message
news
No problems with ground faults. These are large nuts filled with some type
of silicone, which even after years doesn't break down, and prevents water
entry


wrote in message
news
On Sat, 22 Apr 2006 07:47:55 -0400, "RBM" rbm2(remove
wrote:

I've been using them for about ten years. I've never had a failure. You
do
tape the area where you've removed the UF jacket. I've dug up splices
several years old to find them in perfect condition.


Just curious- why did you dig them up again if they didn't fail?


Will they hold a GFCI? If so they work.

One common situation I've had is replacing broken or rotten residential lamp
posts. Invariably the existing uf feeder gets destroyed in digging out the
old post. I use these wirenuts in the ground to splice on a new length of
cable to feed into the new post. I've had occasion to replace the new posts
as well, or adding a second fixture in some instances


"jackson" wrote in message
...

"RBM" rbm2(remove wrote in message
news
No problems with ground faults. These are large nuts filled with some
type of silicone, which even after years doesn't break down, and prevents
water entry


wrote in message
news
On Sat, 22 Apr 2006 07:47:55 -0400, "RBM" rbm2(remove
wrote:

I've been using them for about ten years. I've never had a failure. You
do
tape the area where you've removed the UF jacket. I've dug up splices
several years old to find them in perfect condition.


Just curious- why did you dig them up again if they didn't fail?


Will they hold a GFCI? If so they work.

Looking again only one of the 4 wirenuts in the direct bury series is UL -
seems odd. But thats all you need to know. Thanks for the information.

bud-

FYI - the Uraseal kit is UL listed and is a permanent solution.

http://www.uraseal.com/electric/index.htm

Anything with a 'gel' type protection will eventually fail meaning you will
be digging them up again.

"Anything with a 'gel' type protection will eventually fail meaning you will
be digging them up again. "

I'd take that statement a bit farther. Any wiring buried in the ground will
eventually fail, splice or not

I've been making buried splices for over thirty years, using practically
every approved method available. In my experience these things are the best
thing since sliced bread






"jackson" wrote in message
. ..

Looking again only one of the 4 wirenuts in the direct bury series is
UL - seems odd. But thats all you need to know. Thanks for the
information.

bud-

FYI - the Uraseal kit is UL listed and is a permanent solution.

http://www.uraseal.com/electric/index.htm

Anything with a 'gel' type protection will eventually fail meaning you
will be digging them up again.

RBM wrote:
One common situation I've had is replacing broken or rotten
residential lamp posts. [...snip...]

Thanks to all for the replies. The splices in question were in fact to
feed a light post, but not because the post is rotting.

Epilogue:
Since the two cuts were in the middle of a 70 foot underground run, I
decided to hand dig just for the splices down to 18" (about ten feet of
trench), trim the existing UF line back to cable unaffected by the
backhoe and splice in new UF wire using four of the ($11) Ideal UF
splice kits from Home Depot.

Materials cost was about $55 all-in. If the line were crucial, I
probably would have dug the 70' trench and replaced the line
end-to-end. As it is, the line is a seldom-used feed for the lightpole
and nothing else - failure wouldn't be a disaster - so I skipped the
70' hand dig.

In retrospect, I spent much more time cutting, stripping and splicing
the UF cable than I would have hand-digging the trench. I had never
worked with UF before, and managed to give myself a pretty nice gash
with a utility knife before I got the knack of stripping the solid
outer jacket. Lesson: hand-digging a trench to bury cable just doesn't
take that long. If I had done the hand-dig, I would have saved both
time and money and would have a better result in the ground right now.

I may have a chance to check this out later. As I said, I didn't
splice the cable because the lamp post is rotting, I spliced it because
a backhoe hit the cable in two places. Having said that, the lamp post
is, in fact, rotting.

Again, thanks to all for your attention and for sharing your knowledge.

On 24 Apr 2006 06:34:05 -0700, wrote:

RBM wrote:
One common situation I've had is replacing broken or rotten
residential lamp posts. [...snip...]

Thanks to all for the replies. The splices in question were in fact to
feed a light post, but not because the post is rotting.

Epilogue:
Since the two cuts were in the middle of a 70 foot underground run, I
decided to hand dig just for the splices down to 18" (about ten feet of
trench), trim the existing UF line back to cable unaffected by the
backhoe and splice in new UF wire using four of the ($11) Ideal UF
splice kits from Home Depot.

Materials cost was about $55 all-in. If the line were crucial, I
probably would have dug the 70' trench and replaced the line
end-to-end. As it is, the line is a seldom-used feed for the lightpole
and nothing else - failure wouldn't be a disaster - so I skipped the
70' hand dig.

In retrospect, I spent much more time cutting, stripping and splicing
the UF cable than I would have hand-digging the trench. I had never
worked with UF before, and managed to give myself a pretty nice gash
with a utility knife before I got the knack of stripping the solid
outer jacket. Lesson: hand-digging a trench to bury cable just doesn't
take that long. If I had done the hand-dig, I would have saved both
time and money and would have a better result in the ground right now.

I may have a chance to check this out later. As I said, I didn't
splice the cable because the lamp post is rotting, I spliced it because
a backhoe hit the cable in two places. Having said that, the lamp post
is, in fact, rotting.

Again, thanks to all for your attention and for sharing your knowledge.


Thx for the follow-up.

Have to admit, that sometimes getting overzealous with a knife to cut
uf's jacket has resulted in me damaging the individual conductor
insulations, so I understand why it took a while.

later,

tom @ www.CarFleaMarket.com