View Full Version : Broken power line under ground
johnjam101
May 22, 2013, 06:37 PM
Can I repair 3 #2 Aluminum wires going from the main breaker box (200 amp) feeding a 100 amp sub panel 50 feet away in a garage shop. We accidentally broke all 3 lines while digging up a tree. Can it be patched and re buried?
It was not as deep as it should be.
stanfortyman
May 22, 2013, 07:45 PM
You would need to cut back well into good wire. Do not splice it right where it broke. The cable is most likely stressed and contaminated within a couple of feet of the break.
You'll obviously need six direct bury splices and heat shrinks, and enough wire to make up the difference.
Stratmando
May 23, 2013, 05:57 AM
If the Problem is close to one end, Maybe pull new wires on the short end and have 1 set of connectors.
donf
May 23, 2013, 08:05 AM
If this is a direct feed from your main panelboard to a downstream panelboard, you MUST have a four wire feed!
Also, within the downstream panelboard, Ground and Neutral must be isolated from each other.
stanfortyman
May 23, 2013, 01:23 PM
If this is a direct feed from your main panelboard to a downstream panelboard, you MUST have a four wire feed!An older feed to a detached structure could very well be 3-wire and be perfectly legal. In those cases the grounds and neutral are bonded just as they are in a main panel.
donf
May 23, 2013, 02:38 PM
I agree, but if the cable is severed as described above, and replaced. Wouldn't need to be replaced with a new 4 wire cable?
stanfortyman
May 23, 2013, 03:24 PM
IMO no. It is just a repair.