The picture below shows an electrical cable lying on the ground, alongside a composite material deck. The end of the cable terminates in an electrical outlet. Note that there's not much working space (8" or less) for the last few feet of the cable run. My intent is to conceal the cable and not have it hanging loose. What are my options?
While most cables are marked along their length, this cable doesn't have such markings. What I can tell you is that within the exterior plastic sheathing is contained 3 insulated wires - white, black and green. I've also attached a pic of the cable terminating into an outlet pair, which is mounted on a deck pillar.
My thinking is to pass the cable through a 6' x 1/2"conduit and hang the conduit on the fascia, secured by straps, utilizing existing fascia screws to fasten the straps to the fascia board. As an example, see attached pic.
I would guess that the cable type is NM or NM-B (commonly known as Romex) and the marking has faded from exposure to sunlight. Neither of those cable types is rated for outdoor use, including in conduit. If you sleeve it, be careful sliding the conduit over the wire; you con't want to damage the sheath on the cable.
Thanks for the caution. In reality this cable is an extension cord (see picture, orange plug) that runs from the basement out to the deck. It is not hard-wired to the main electrical panel. It had been in place for many years with the cable stapled to the side of a wooden deck. There had been no issues with this arrangement, with the ability to unplug it at any time. After the deck was converted to composite material, I don't consider the use of staples a good option. All I'd like to do is tuck it away so that it doesn't become a tripping hazard and looks half-way neat even if not completely concealed.
In the first and last pictures.... that is UF cable. It's designed to be used outside.
Most UF cables have a bare ground wire. Some have an insulated one but that is rare.
You can use 1/2" PVC pipe as a mechanical holder.
Plugging the UF cable in to a receptacle using a plug is not code acceptable.
Ideally, the cable should have been run between the joists before the decking was put on, and then PVC conduit up the post to the receptacle. At this point, the best option might be just fishing the cable between the joists over to the post location.
I have dug a trench in the ground open right now to run a PVC conduit from the house to the front gate area in order to provide 120V power for a sliding gate motor.
Funny thing is, I don't think this is the first trench, because I kept running into previous wires along the same path, just shallower. My trench is about 20" so the conduit can sit below 18". Previous wires were just cables buried 4", 8", 10" etc...
I ran into multiple cables, a set of 18/2 wires which I think was probably used for an intercom system for guest to press and announce their arrival. I then ran into two other sets of 18/2 (could be 20/2) and I am pretty sure one set goes to the pedestrian gate electronic door strike (which has been replaced with regular key entry some time later but I can still see the wires tucked back in the door strike plate. I have no idea what the third set of /2 wires was for. On top of that there is a phone cable going from house to the gate but was cut off when it got close. So four sets of cables for whatever they needed back in 1992.
So that got me thinking, I may need some additional wiring in the future at the gate, may be for a security camera, may be a video door bell, I may need two way audio or video, I am not sure what I may need, and I think may be it's a good idea to lay down some generic cable into the trench before closing up the trench for whatever need I may have in the future?
What is the most versatile cable I can lay down for this purpose when the actual device(s) is not known at this time? Would a set of 18/5 be a good idea? How about a CAT6 cable? Just trying to think ahead (but not too much).
I'm trying to figure out how to do a grid interconnect with a hybrid inverter. I can get things to work electrically, but I'm having problems getting the job done in a code compliant method.
Currently the utility feed comes up through a cement floor into an inside wall to the garage as 4/0 Al in PVC conduit. We have an 11kW Generac and the ATS is the first box in line. The output of the ATS then goes vertically into the bottom of the main service panel. When that wall was finished, the drywall crew built a false wall to cover the electrical components, the main service panel and ATS are flush mounted in the false wall.
The hybrid inverter accepts the generator output and does the 2 wire start function. So I will be removing the ATS. I'm considering using interior and exterior gutters to help route wiring. I don't have enough wall space inside the garage, so some of the equipment will have to be mounted on the garage wall exterior.
The wall cavity is 3.5" deep and 13" wide. I can't figure out a code compliant way of getting the service conductors into the exterior gutter without violating some part of Articles 312, 314 or 376 of NEC 2020. I've been hung up on this aspect for several days.
Anyone have any ideas that would work?
Thanks,
Lowell
05-20-23, 02:21 PM
