Do you think splicing 100' of wire onto a GTO exit wand would work?
in [Repair]
|
From: Robert Macy on 3 Feb 2010 14:28 On Feb 3, 6:57 am, Jeff Liebermann <je...(a)cruzio.com> wrote: ....snip... > There are currently 47 messages in this thread, which is a bit much to > read. I've only read about half, with nothing really interesting > (except my own postings). > ....snip... > Jeff Liebermann je...(a)cruzio.com > 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com > Santa Cruz CA 95060http://802.11junk.com > Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558 LOL! Thanks. I needed that today.
From: Robert Macy on 3 Feb 2010 15:43 On Feb 2, 10:10 pm, Elmo <dcdraftwo...(a)Use-Author-Supplied- Address.invalid> wrote: > On Tue, 02 Feb 2010 14:55:51 -0500, mm wrote: > >>she said the problem is that it will eventually break. > > > No, it won't. Not if it's soldered correctly. > > Have you soldered much? > > I have a propane torch, a smaller butane torch with soldering tips, and the > Weller soldering station. I'm not all that good (I always seem to melt the > solder instead of heating the wires) but I'd consider myself ok with > solder. > > > Of course you'll know where it is. It will be 50 feet from where you > > buried the wand. And about 100 feet from where the controller is. > > I could also look for an electrical connection type box (like the ones > used with the water sprinklers) and that way it would be obvious to all, > even any new owners. > > > Now, if you don't have an connector on the end of the wire, > > you could use heat-shrink tubing, > > I think the scotch 23, silicone tape will do a much better job. > > I think I'll solder in a compatible wire after finding that scotch 23 in a > local hardware store. My home depot didn't have it. > > > BTW, are you near powerlines? Most places aren't but a few are. > > Yes There are overhead power lines. Why do you ask? The overhead power lines provide a voltage disturbance [shorted out by shielding] and a magnetic disturbance, as a result of how much current is carried [most utilities companies provide free EMF surveys] but if those lines are low voltage, they are close together, so the magentic fields won't be as strong as from those 115kV lines, which are separated by more than 15 feet. If you measure more than 1 microtesla at your cable, I would be surprised. And, you can calculate the effect of such a field. Don't worry about it. But as you know, make the shield a complete 'opaque' wrap, completely enclosing all wires. Do NOT break the shield and use a single wire to 'jump the gap' for any distance. From reading the manuals, it appears GTO has active circuitry inside the wand. Power is supplied to it. Plus, from your comments with them, it appears the ONLY difference in the wand/cable is length of wire. Note they know the problems of splicing cable underground and provide you with a 'trouble-free' long run of sealed wire. A splice violates that seal, and believe me an underground splice can be challenging. You have to retrieve your wand anyway, so I recommend trying the extra cable length. The cost of cable is small. And for this initial test, you can simply use any shielded cable containing more than two twisted pairs. Simply lay the cables out on the ground and test the system. Probably will work. If so, then as you reinstall underground, use a better cable and make sure your splice is placed inside a water-free zone, like in an upside down plastic tub covering the splice. Just picture how would you house such a splice if the whole system is underwater? That pretty much covers what rain soaking will do to you. Even so, still use amalgamizing coatings to seal the conductors, else they will deteriorate. Sadly, William has the BEST suggestion, but it is much less challenging. Go to the vendor and ask them to upgrade you to a longer cable wand for a small charge. Or, if you feel wronged, no charge. My bet says the buried part of the system will perform well for ten years spliced and for 25+ years with no splice.
From: PeterD on 3 Feb 2010 18:55 On Thu, 4 Feb 2010 02:16:19 +0900, "Michael Kennedy" <mike(a)nospam.com> wrote: > >"Elmo" <dcdraftworks(a)Use-Author-Supplied-Address.invalid> wrote in message >news:f092f721a034ccd5d2cf9cce687255db(a)tioat.net... >> On Tue, 02 Feb 2010 14:55:51 -0500, mm wrote: >> >> >>>>she said the problem is that it will eventually break. >>> >>> No, it won't. Not if it's soldered correctly. >>> Have you soldered much? >> >> I have a propane torch, a smaller butane torch with soldering tips, and >> the >> Weller soldering station. I'm not all that good (I always seem to melt the >> solder instead of heating the wires) but I'd consider myself ok with >> solder. ><Snip> > >Why not just replace the whole wire from the control box to the sensor wand? >Then theres no splices in the ground. > Considering the wand is burried, the only way that will happen is if you raise the splice above ground!
From: blueman on 3 Feb 2010 21:44 mm <NOPSAMmm2005(a)bigfoot.com> writes: > On Tue, 02 Feb 2010 12:14:22 -0500, blueman <NOSPAM(a)nospam.com> wrote: > >>mm <NOPSAMmm2005(a)bigfoot.com> writes: >>> If you're burying it when you're done, silicone tape, I think it's >>> called, is even better than heat-shrink tubing and doesn't slip on, it >>> wraps on. Stretch it to 2 or 3 times its length, then wrap while >>> streched and within a few days it merges into one big probably >>> waterproof blob. Hard to find though. >> >>HD has it in several locations in our local stores (plumbing and maybe also >>electrical areas) - may be hard to find cuz most people don't know about it. > > It seems we are talking about -- at least that's what's included in > his kit -- "Scotch 23 High Voltage Tape"**, but when I search on that > at the Home Depot site, I get 2 hits, regular vinyl electrical tape > and packaging tape. When I search on "Scotch 23", I don't get > anything. I don't remember it being called High Voltage Tape... > > Now HD and Lowes have the worst webpages I've come across, so maybe > that doesn't mean anything. > > The one easily visible thing I've noticed about this tape is that it > is wound on a white plastic spool, instead of a cardboard spool. It's > thick and has a backing layer that has to be removed to use a piece. I think that's right because otherwise it would stick to itself -- which is exactly what it should be doing when you apply it. > > Are we talking about the same thing? Do they really have it at HD. They do in our area. > I looked years ago but couldnt' find it. > > It's expensive. I think I paid 11 or 12 dollars a roll, but it's great > for special uses. I seem to remember more like $5-7.
From: Elmo on 3 Feb 2010 22:01
On Wed, 03 Feb 2010 18:55:44 -0500, PeterD wrote: > Considering the wand is burried, the only way that will happen is if > you raise the splice above ground! Right. The only place the wand and wires comes up for air is directly at the control box attached to the gate. |