Making electrical wire longer

[paulsharvey]

Well, ive done underground splices for over 30 years….never had a call back. Even the utility companies here do them, no issues.

It's certainly not preferred, but I have seen underground primary spliced without a box or conduit, direct buried. The issue with that, is, when dealing with larger wire (this stuff is about 2.5" cross section), then splice, and the water proof shrink wrap, the splice ends up doing like 12" around, 3 feet long, (that's 3 primaries), and it isn't as good as a continuous wire. It also attracts future damage, as when digging along it, you can snag the splice very easily with the hoe bucket.

 

[paulsharvey]

For a couple feet, any chance you can expose and straighten the run, and gain some slack?

 

[WinterDeere]

Well, ive done underground splices for over 30 years….never had a call back. Even the utility companies here do them, no issues.

I did them on one outdoor circuit, as well. The circuit was damaged by a dig, and I wasn't going to re-pull the 300 feet of wire just for a few outdoor receptacles I almost never use. I used well pump wiring splices, essentially a crimp barrel with a shrink wrap sleeve that contains a glue that seals to the wire insulation.

Heck, I guess I've done them on two circuits, if you count the well pump pigtail. Underwater splice.

But both were only AWG-10 or 12 stranded.

 

[grsthegreat]

Location is definitely a thing. Were mostly decomposed granite so drains easily. Not like clay. The patch kits i use are encased in epoxy.

 

[Drstrangeglove]

Well, ive done underground splices for over 30 years….never had a call back. Even the utility companies here do them, no issues.

All of my underground splice experience is communications. There is a reason we bring up all the cable in pedestals. Transport fiber optics gets buried to hide from the bush hog. Water doesn't hurt fiber, but a lot of those splices are full of mud and water when we have to go back.

 

[chim]

Late to the game, but have an idea that might be useful. There's not enough information as to the exact conduit run. Any chance one end goes inside and runs any distance? If so, you could install a splice box where it first enters / leaves the building. That would keep the splice inside.

 

[ultrarunner]

Well, ive done underground splices for over 30 years….never had a call back. Even the utility companies here do them, no issues.

My feeder in Washington has been spliced several times by PSE

As for in ground concrete boxes with splices all one needs to do is go to any of the older shopping centers here and each pole in the parking lot has one.

The biggest problem is copper thieves accessing and steeling the wire... happened to me.

 

[RayIN]

As far as https://www.amazon.com/Dutton-Lainson-400-Fence-Stretcher-Splicer/dp/B00004YK6HI know it has to be in a box. Unless this will work?

View attachment 2178915

I have one! However i loaned out the crimper, it's never been returned.
Mine however cost $15 at Harbor Freight about 30 years ago. Works great for splicing barbed wire.
They've gone up considerably.
AFAIK, every AC/high-voltage electrical wiring connection must be inside a junction box.
"In the United States, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) establishes nominal voltage ratings for 60 Hz electric power systems over 100 V. Specifically, ANSI C84.1-2020 defines high voltage as 115 kV to 230 kV, extra-high voltage as 345 kV to 765 kV, and ultra-high voltage as 1,100 kV.[2]"
source_Wikipedia
While not mentioned there, anything over 48VDC is also considered high-voltage, as it can kill.

 

[Sprinkler Fitter]

I have one! However i loaned out the crimper, it's never been returned.
Mine however cost $15 at Harbor Freight about 30 years ago. Works great for splicing barbed wire.
They've gone up considerably.
AFAIK, every AC/high-voltage electrical wiring connection must be inside a junction box.
"In the United States, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) establishes nominal voltage ratings for 60 Hz electric power systems over 100 V. Specifically, ANSI C84.1-2020 defines high voltage as 115 kV to 230 kV, extra-high voltage as 345 kV to 765 kV, and ultra-high voltage as 1,100 kV.[2]"
source_Wikipedia
While not mentioned there, anything over 48VDC is also considered high-voltage, as it can kill.

You do know I was joking don’t you?

 

[RayIN]

You do know I was joking don’t you?

Ya, I got it. but just pointing out the real ones work fine. I thought it funny, I was thinking of my fence stretcher when reading the OP's post. Read down and there was your's.
I do have to buy a new crimper and ferrules, I have 1,503'(¼-mile) of barbed wire fence to build next summer. Then begin repairing all the other fencing.

 

[WinterDeere]

While not mentioned there, anything over 48VDC is also considered high-voltage, as it can kill.

It probably depends on who is doing the classification. In the controls industry, it is possible some companies or societies may define 48VDC as "high voltage", but in the utility industry anything under 1000 volts is typically termed "low voltage".

The basic structure of voltage classifications remains consistent across most standards, though there can be slight variations in voltage ranges depending on specific documents or standards. The widely accepted classifications are as follows:

• Low Voltage (LV): ≤1 kV
• Medium Voltage (MV): >1 kV to <100 kV
• High Voltage (HV): 100 kV to <230 kV
• Extra High Voltage (EHV): ≥230 kV to <1 MV
• Ultra High Voltage (UHV): ≥1 MV

These classifications are used globally and provide a foundation for electrical systems design and equipment manufacturing. However, certain standards may vary based on regional or safety considerations.

Voltage Classifications Explained: What They Mean and Why They Matter | Mission Critical Engineers

Discover the basics of different voltage levels and how they impact safety and efficiency in everyday electrical systems.

missioncriticalengineers.com

 

[Oaktree]

While not mentioned there, anything over 48VDC is also considered high-voltage, as it can kill.

It probably depends on who is doing the classification. In the controls industry, it is possible some companies or societies may define 48VDC as "high voltage", but in the utility industry anything under 1000 volts is typically termed "low voltage".

Don't many jurisdictions require you to be a licensed electrician if you're working on voltages higher than 48V? ISTR recall reading something to that effect when hybrid cars first came along.

 

[ultrarunner]

I have knob and tube wiring and so far the 1922 work is holding up well... all soldered splices.

 

[WinterDeere]

Don't many jurisdictions require you to be a licensed electrician if you're working on voltages higher than 48V? ISTR recall reading something to that effect when hybrid cars first came along.

At least in PA, as far as I know, there is never any requirement to be licensed to work on any voltage. However, there are contractor licensing requirements if you call yourself an electrician or charge for services. And because only licensed contractors get to work on utility systems, that circuitously covers them at those voltages.

I've spent most of my career working on high voltage hardware, and while we as a company had training requirements, that was a matter of controlling our own liability and safety, and not a matter of licensing requirements.

Ever seen someone shock themselves on a 40,000 volt DC power supply? I have! And I'm not talking about wimpy low-current TV tube supplies, either... these were capable of delivering 50,000 watts or more.

 

[RayIN]

At least in PA, as far as I know, there is never any requirement to be licensed to work on any voltage. However, there are contractor licensing requirements if you call yourself an electrician or charge for services. And because only licensed contractors get to work on utility systems, that circuitously covers them at those voltages.

I've spent most of my career working on high voltage hardware, and while we as a company had training requirements, that was a matter of controlling our own liability and safety, and not a matter of licensing requirements.

Ever seen someone shock themselves on a 40,000 volt DC power supply? I have! And I'm not talking about wimpy low-current TV tube supplies, either... these were capable of delivering 50,000 watts or more.

 

[Oaktree]

Ever seen someone shock themselves on a 40,000 volt DC power supply? I have! And I'm not talking about wimpy low-current TV tube supplies, either... these were capable of delivering 50,000 watts or more.

Not quite to that extreme, but I've worked on plenty of broadcast transmitters. RF burns are nasty too, don't ask how I know...

 

[WinterDeere]

yep. Cooked myself a few times. I spent most of my career designing high power RF and microwave amplifiers, but more for testing applications than for broadcast. Similar power levels, since the military customers in particular wanted to test high field strengths over large areas (e.g. an entire flight squadron in formation). The test equipment is designed to work over broad frequency ranges, so they can test all the different threats in a given standard or protocol, whereas the broadcast equipment only had to work over the narrower range that was being broadcast from a given antenna.

 

[404nouser]

Not quite to that extreme, but I've worked on plenty of broadcast transmitters. RF burns are nasty too, don't ask how I know...

I never got burned but my wallet got microwaved and my cards quit working.
It was only a 2 megawatt burst for about 20-30 seconds from a disconnected waveguide on a s band radar.

 

[LD1]

Need a little more detail about the OP's situation to best answer. But in general....no dont splice it in conduit.

Direct burry secondary wire wire gets spliced from time to time if its NOT in conduit. They have special splices made for it. Basically a barrel/set-screw type splice with a seal patch that goes over it. Full of sticky sealing stuff. But not for use in conduit.

Lots of ways to probably do what the OP is wanting, but without further detail of the project, its hard to advise

 

[WinterDeere]

I never got burned but my wallet got microwaved and my cards quit working.
It was only a 2 megawatt burst for about 20-30 seconds from a disconnected waveguide on a s band radar.

That's a heck of a lot of power in S-band. Depending on distance and duty cycle, you were likely shooting blanks for awhile, and may have suffered some liver damage. Testes and liver are almost always the first to cook due to HERF exposure.