[RE-wrenches] raintite box mounting angle

Max Balchowsky max at seesolar.com
Mon Aug 24 14:27:44 PDT 2009


We use a high voltage coating to water proof splices, whether they be wire nuts (which I don't like to use on DC circuits) or the plastic coated terminal strips, which I prefer. That's left over from my days as a traffic signal technician and splicing loop detectors in below grade pull boxes, which, more often than not, fill with water in the rain. Joel, I used the metal boxes (with the weep hole ) in the desert, but here on the coast the plastic boxes seem to work fine, and I've had some installs that are 10 years old (back to the beginning of the ladwp program). What I saw to be a problem in the heat was the jobs I was called in to fix (other contractor's installs) where they used the plastic PVC conduit on the roof - always came loose in the heat. It's designed for underground, not surface work.

Max Balchowsky
SEE Systems
760-403-6810




________________________________
From: Joel Davidson <joel.davidson at sbcglobal.net>
To: RE-wrenches <re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org>
Sent: Monday, August 24, 2009 1:25:36 PM
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] raintite box mounting angle


I always drill a 3/16-inch weep hole in boxes that could fill up with water. Even properly vertically mounted boxes can get water in them. In Sacramento, I had some metal conduit homerun from the roof and then down a 25 ft north wall. The conduit was like condensing tubes that dripped water into the DC disconnect boxes at the bottom of the vertical conduit runs.
 
Joel Davidson




________________________________
 From: Peter Parrish <peter.parrish at calsolareng.com>
To: RE-wrenches <re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org>
Sent: Monday, August 24, 2009 1:11:49 PM
Subject: [RE-wrenches] raintite box mounting angle

 
Max,
 
A cautionary tale. We used those puppies for a while until we had a call back from a customer with a ground fault / off line condition. We found that the box had warped, the seal rendered ineffective and the splices sitting in 0. 5” of water. After thinking about it, we decided that the 140+ deg F summer roof temperatures probably caused the plastic to warp under thermal stress. They probably would work just fine off the roof, but I can’t personally vouch for them.
 
- Peter
 
 

 
Peter T. Parrish, Ph.D., President
California Solar Engineering, Inc.
820 Cynthia Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90065
CA Lic. 854779, NABCEP Cert. 031806-26
peter.parrish at calsolareng.com  
Ph 323-258-8883, Mobile 323-839-6108, Fax 323-258-8885                                                                                                   
 

________________________________
 
From:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org [mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of Max Balchowsky
Sent: Monday, August 24, 2009 12:48 PM
To: RE-wrenches
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] raintite box mounting angle
 
We've been using the 6x6x4 plastic boxes with a gasket (electrical section of most home depot stores)- mount them on their side at the edge of the array. They are rated for electrical wiring and are water proof and have been accepted and passed by every electrical inspector we've had over the last few years. They are used alot by landscape contractors for j-boxes in the ground.

Max Balchowsky
SEE Systems
760-403-6810
 

________________________________
 
From:Bill Brooks <billbrooks7 at yahoo.com>
To: kirk at vtsolar.com; RE-wrenches <re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org>
Sent: Monday, August 24, 2009 9:08:34 AM
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] raintite box mounting angle



Kirk,
 
I’m fairly confident that if the manufacturer does not specify an angle for NEMA 3R (rainproof) that the default is vertical. In special cases (e.g. Outback PSPV), the NEMA 3R tests are requested at an angle, but this is fairly rare. Upshot is that NEMA 3R boxes normally cannot be mounted in the plane of the roof, while NEMA 4 and up can be mounted in the roof plane since many of these boxes can be mounted from vertical to horizontal.
 
Bill.
 
 
From:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org [mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of Kirk Herander, VSE
Sent: Monday, August 24, 2009 8:26 AM
To: 'RE-wrenches'
Subject: [RE-wrenches] raintite box mounting angle
 
Hello,
 
Can anyone give a recommendation for a minimum mounting angle of a raintite box? Ideally 90 degrees, but in this case I may be forced to mount it at the same angle as the panels – about 25 degrees, mounted off the roof about 6 inches. I don’t think there is any reference in the NEC to this. It will be off the roof about 6 inches in a mild climate, where they only get about 20 inches of snow a year. Thanks.
 
Kirk Herander
Vermont Solar Engineering
802.863.1202
NABCEP(tm) Certified Solar Installer
NYSERDA-eligible Installer
VT Solar Incentive Program Partner
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