[RE-wrenches] question about pole mount interconnection

[RM You]

I use Teck a lot in my off-grid installations and I agree it is very cost effective and safe. It was originally designed for mining application and can even lay on top of the ground with vehicle traffic if necessary although I wouldn't recommend it as a practice. Two to three feet of supported Teck 90 between pole mounts is easily as safe as Teck 90 or conduited wire running down a pole then up the next and down, then up the next. I can think of scenarios where idiots could find a way to defeat either practice and electrocute themselves (William) but maybe that's just Darwin coming to the rescue. 

I'm still weighing the pros & cons but it's been a useful discussion for the most part, I respect and value the depth of knowledge here as being a small operator I don't get the opportunity to get nearly the experience represented. Thank you all!

Ron Young

On 2013-10-08, at 4:28 PM, Hilton Dier III <hiltondier at gmail.com> wrote:

> We just did a 4 pole installation using DPW top-of-pole mounts. We used Teck-90 armored watertight cable between the poles and from the poles to the house. The Teck-90 spiral wound metal flex conduit with an everything-resistant black sheath on it pre-stuffed with just about any combo of wires you might want. We cast 2" PVC sweeps into the 36" dia. sonotubes so the cable could enter underground and come up next to the pole. We put PVC end caps on the tops of the sweeps with cable holes in them, just for neatness.
> 
> Teck-90 is a revelation. We laid out and buried a double run of 100 feet of the stuff in the time it took the excavator to go along the trench. He never got out of the cab. We get it on a 500' spool and mount the spool in the back of a pickup. Then we just run off however much we need, cut it to length, and throw dirt on it.
> 
> We got it from Graybar for slightly less than the price per foot of the equivalent wire and PVC conduit. I had been meaning to write a post on here about it.
> 
> We also just did PV on a barn roof and did the spool-it-off-and-clip-it-up routine. Made the run from the roof to the inverter on the north side first floor in about 40 minutes. No conduit bending. The end connectors are kind of pricey, but the time saved is huge.
> 
> Hilton
> 
> -- 
> Hilton Dier III
> Renewable Energy Design
> Partner, Solar Gain LLC
> 453 East Hill Rd.
> Middlesex, VT 05602
> 
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