Life expectancy of underground wire
Life expectancy of underground wire
(OP)
Any data on expected life expectancy on underground cable? (460/3/60)
INTELLIGENT WORK FORUMS
FOR ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALS Come Join Us!Are you an
Engineering professional? Join Eng-Tips Forums!
*Eng-Tips's functionality depends on members receiving e-mail. By joining you are opting in to receive e-mail. Posting GuidelinesJobs |
Life expectancy of underground wire
|
RE: Life expectancy of underground wire
Should easily be 50 years.
RE: Life expectancy of underground wire
Old Dave
RE: Life expectancy of underground wire
If the circuit is not abused (overloaded) it will last those fifty or more years.
RE: Life expectancy of underground wire
RE: Life expectancy of underground wire
A cable in a underground ductbank, concrete encased would afford greater protection to phycial damage than the direct burial ones.
Also cable buried deeper (at least code recommended depths), and below frost lines would last longer than shallow ones.
Cable buried in more hostile enviornmnet like desert may not last as long as ones in cooler (but not wet) terrains.
In short, too many variables. But if installed properly, opinions stated above are as good as any.
RE: Life expectancy of underground wire
Sure, National Electrical Code allows direct burial but by the time I remove rocks from the trench and the backfill it is easier to stick in a conduit (preferably oversize) and put direct burial cable in it.
Also, 2-legged gophers never ever see the warning ribbons that we install. When that happens we make the 2-legged gophers pay through the nose for repairs.
RE: Life expectancy of underground wire
Provided that the burial site is very stable so that no mechanical damage will occur to the insulation, the major factor influencing the life of the cable is thermal and it must be rated to the worst case thermal conditions of the ground in which it is buried.
Best regards,
Mark Empson
http://www.lmphotonics.com
RE: Life expectancy of underground wire
The last time that I changed out an underground electrical service Verizon's technician paid out a length of underground telephone cable about 1.5 times the length of the trench.