[TowerTalk] Conduit in trench

[Keith Dutson]

I have worked with some tight joints.  It required a helper to twist the
inserted section during assembly.  I found the electrical conduit (gray)
cement is different from the standard PVC cement.  It seems to take a bit
longer to set.  You can always cut out the short section and re-cement.  I
like to de-burr the ends, after cutting with a saw, with a rasp before
assembly.

73, Keith NM5G

-----Original Message-----
From: TowerTalk [mailto:towertalk-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of
Zivney, Terry
Sent: Friday, November 3, 2017 5:03 PM
To: towertalk at contesting.com
Cc: n4tz at arrl.net
Subject: [TowerTalk] Conduit in trench

I am trying to join sections of 2 inch (nominal) PVC conduit for burial in a
trench.
This is schedule 40 electrical conduit, not water or drain pipe.



I cannot get the sections to mate.  The belled portion of the conduit is too
snug on the main body.  Even with the proper primer and cement, it is so
snug that I cannot manhandle two pieces together, much less dozens!



I found that the sweeps I  bought would go on with some difficulty.
The short couplers, about 3 inches long will fit, but give very little
overlap, only about an inch if fully seated.



I notice that the electrical drops down the power poles around here have
the same PVC conduit, but instead of using the built-in bell ends, the crews
apparently just use the short couplers on the straight end ( I guess they
cut off the bells?). 



I am worried that the short couplers may not provide adequate
strength when the conduit is   stressed to drop in  into the trench.



Any experience?



Terry N4TZ
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