Seal fittings on light poles

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Natfuelbilll

Senior Member
I said, "let's not put the site lighting pole in the C1D2 hazardous location". "Jump off a bridge", was the reply.

So here we go.

Pole is 30' tall and located in a C1D2 hazardous location due to LNG/methane process. The hazardous/nonhazardous boundary is 15 ft radious from source horizontal and above grade. The pole is a standard hollow pole with a handhole. The light fixtures are factory sealed but mounted outside the hazardous boundary. The wiring is standard THWN building wire and is not a cable.

I am suggesting installing the RGS conduit has to be run on the outside of the pole. LFMC will complete the connection to the fixtures. Install one boundary seal within 10 ft of grade and a second boundary seal between 5 ft and 25 ft above grade. 501.15(B)(2) Exception No. 4 aieliminating the second seal is ALMOST satisfied but condition (4) is not met. The overlap presents a bit of a Code mind-bending but I think it is compliant.

Further I am suggesting wiring ran inside the pole would not be Code permitted because it is not a listed wiring method. the elevated second boundary seal would be beyond 10 ft of the boundary.

Am I wrong?
 

petersonra

Senior Member
Location
Northern illinois
Occupation
engineer
Why two boundary seals? Coming in from ug?

I don't see any reason why you can't run the conduit up the hollow center of the pole, if you can get the seals inside and pour them
 

Natfuelbilll

Senior Member
Underground conduit coming out through top of concrete pedestal. I don't see how to install a boundary seal for the boundary that is 15' above grade. I get your point though, two do not make sense. Maybe I need to force use of a cable?
 

petersonra

Senior Member
Location
Northern illinois
Occupation
engineer
Underground conduit coming out through top of concrete pedestal. I don't see how to install a boundary seal for the boundary that is 15' above grade. I get your point though, two do not make sense. Maybe I need to force use of a cable?
I don't see how a cable would change anything unless there's some kind of special rule for this situation. You would still need two boundary seals. I think your idea of running the rigid up the side of the pole is about the best you can do.
 

Natfuelbilll

Senior Member
Does the boundary start at or above grade at the pole? If it starts above grade, you could use a 20' length of conduit that passes completely through the Division 2 area, avoiding any seals.

501.15(B)(2) Exception No. 1

I would need to preinstall a 20 ft length of conduit 12" into the concrete pedestal and sticking up 19 ft above top of pedestal. I can envision that. The contractor will prolly save enough concrete for my new shoes.....
 

petersonra

Senior Member
Location
Northern illinois
Occupation
engineer
Part II. Wiring
501.10 Wiring Methods. Wiring methods shall comply with
501.10(A) or (B).
(B) Class I, Division 2.
(1) General. In Class I, Division 2 locations, all wiring methods
permitted in 501.10(A) and the following wiring methods
shall be permitted:
(5) Type MC, MV, TC, or TC-ER cable, including installation
in cable tray systems. The cable shall be terminated with
listed fittings.

So yes, you can use both cable trays and tray cable in a C1D2 area.

However, 392.18 (E) would seem to prohibit putting cable trays inside a pole, so i retract my previous statement about this issue.

Tray cable pretty much has to be in some kind of raceway so you might need to run some kind of raceway inside the pole.
 
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Natfuelbilll

Senior Member
So TC won't work. By open wiring I (incorrectly) meant a cord that would be in free air connecting at the fixture. Problem with a cord is that they're not listed for use in C1D2.

Where is rbalex when needed......
 

epelectric33

Member
Location
SD
Occupation
Electrical Consulting/Inspection/Master
Make sure the light fixture is rated for C1D2 (and best if it is internally sealed so that it wouldn't require an external seal). The pole in this instance acts as the raceway so run the TC and use a C1D2 rated CGB to the light fixture. Would this work for you application?
 

petersonra

Senior Member
Location
Northern illinois
Occupation
engineer
So TC won't work. By open wiring I (incorrectly) meant a cord that would be in free air connecting at the fixture. Problem with a cord is that they're not listed for use in C1D2.

Where is rbalex when needed......
I don't think you are going to find a way to use cord, even though the code does have an allowance for the use of extra hard usage cord in C1D2 areas where needed for flexibility.
 

epelectric33

Member
Location
SD
Occupation
Electrical Consulting/Inspection/Master
410.30 Supports.
(A) General. Luminaires and lampholders shall be securely
supported. A luminaire that weighs more than 3 kg (6 lb) or
exceeds 400 mm (16 in.) in any dimension shall not be supported
by the screw shell of a lampholder.
(B) Metal or Nonmetallic Poles Supporting Luminaires. Metal
or nonmetallic poles shall be permitted to be used to support
luminaires and as a raceway to enclose supply conductors,

provided the following conditions are met:
(1) A pole shall have a handhole not less than 50 mm ×
100 mm (2 in. × 4 in.) with a cover suitable for use in wet
locations to provide access to the supply terminations
within the pole or pole base.
Exception No. 1: No handhole shall be required in a pole 2.5 m (8 ft) or
less in height abovegrade where the supply wiring method continues
without splice or pull point, and where the interior of the pole and any
splices are accessible by removing the luminaire.
Exception No. 2: No handhole shall be required in a pole 6.0 m (20 ft)
or less in height abovegrade that is provided with a hinged base.
(2) Where raceway risers or cable is not installed within the
pole, a threaded fitting or nipple shall be brazed, welded,
or attached to the pole opposite the handhole for the
supply connection.
(3) A metal pole shall be provided with an equipment
grounding terminal as follows:
a. A pole with a handhole shall have the equipment
grounding terminal accessible from the handhole.
b. A pole with a hinged base shall have the equipment
grounding terminal accessible within the base.
Exception to (3): No grounding terminal shall be required in a pole
2.5 m (8 ft) or less in height abovegrade where the supply wiring
method continues without splice or pull, and where the interior of
the pole and any splices are accessible by removing the luminaire.
(4) A metal pole with a hinged base shall have the hinged
base and pole bonded together.
(5) Metal raceways or other equipment grounding conductors
shall be bonded to the metal pole with an equipment
grounding conductor recognized by 250.118 and sized in
accordance with 250.122.
(6) Conductors in vertical poles used as raceway shall be
supported as provided in 300.19.
 
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