I am not an electrician and with that said. Isn’t the reason for Romex in conduit because of the heat generating in the enclosed space? Couldn’t you just us a over sized piece of conduit? Also that is direct burial cable and if I was going under a gravel or concrete driveway I would definitely put it in conduit. That way it could easily be replaced. And again I am not an electrician just an average DIY guy.
Also would like to add I have seen where someone spliced a cable in the ground and over the years the ground movement separated the cables.
First, it does not look like what you have is Underground Feeder wire.
Condensation almost never happens in a buried pipe that has UF cable in it as long as it is sealed at both ends.....I'm talking from real experience. Also, the conduit provides extra protection from rocks and varmits..
If he can read the markings on the wire, if it says "NMW" it's direct burial rated (Canada) but in the US it will be called UF instead. Depending on the supplier, it might have *both* labels on them. Standard household romex (NMD and NM) is not burial rated.
It is not UF wire! Ut is therefore not rated for ground contact nor UV exposure. Thus it needs to be replaced. Aside from NEC violations, it is a major major major safety issue.
There have been many posts so it would be understandable if maybe you missed a few.
My best guess with the limited information available is that whoever put that in ran 1 ‘romex’ as a hot power from the breaker then a second ‘romex’ run from a switch yo control the light. A few years ago this was an acceptable practice even by NEC. There were potential problems with this and as such most electricians did not like this. One biggie was that on the switch runs, the white (neutral wire) became a hot wire when the switch circuit was completed. By NEC both ends of the white and any junctions that allowed access to that white wire were to be marked with tape of an known hot wire color (typically black, most common, or red next most common). The reality was this marking seldom happened. Later some would tie into that white wire believing it to be a neutral and put power to often the neutral wire in that entire electrical panel.
If the ground is also wrapped it probably is UF wire. With a bit of wiping the exterior sheathing you should be able to find a UF marking on the sheathing. Your photo of exterior sheathing removed looked dis not look like UF. Check carefully if not marked UF, I would replace to a point it is above ground level.
I tested both UF cables yesterday. One is always hot and one is switched. I only tested each UF cable independently between blk, wht, and ground. No testing from to the other.
If it is not marked UF, any inspector (including a fire or insurance inspector) will put in their findings it is non UF wire. You would like then have issues collecting on your homeowners insurance for any claim. One of the problems is it could run and overload to the electrical panel and involve the entire home.
If they are both connected to the same breaker, why does that breaker not cut off power to 2nd??????
It depends on how it is set up, if the wire out of the panel goes into the switch in the house and then the switched and unswitched wires both go from there to the outside, white should be neutral on both and black should be hot on both.
I have used many of these splice kits. They are designed specifically for UF Romex. They are excellent when installed properly.
I never saw anyone post anything that said this. Certainly not me.
