Buy some Bronze wool at a boat store...
On 2/7/2011 2:54 PM, Rroger (K8RI on TowerTalk) wrote:
> On 2/7/2011 1:55 PM, Peter Dougherty wrote:
>> Hi all,
>> Several years ago I had a run of 4" solid white PVC tubing run on a downward
> Very important...How long is this run and how deep.
>> slope from my basement, under the finished portion of my back lawn then
>> opening out into an un-maintained part of the yard in which my receive loop
>> and 160 TX antennae are located. All was thought to be well until I realized
>> that the lower portion (at the base of a large tree and a small embankment)
>> gets swallowed up by snow and ice after the first storm and stays like that
>> until spring.
> Snow won't hurt, it's just a nuisance.
>
> IF the conduit maintains a grade all the way it won't fill up with water
> and freeze.
> This part I'm afraid to ask. What did you use to block the end in the
> yard to prevent "critters" from turning it into a ready made home?
> Critters that just love to chew on coax and rotator cables. If you use
> foam you need to put in a small drain hose so condensation will not
> collect. Steel wool works great where it stays dry, but not out in the
> elements. Fiberglass insulation works for some, but some mice appear to
> not be bothered by it.
>> After the lines emerge from the conduit they just run over top of the ground
>> to their respective antennae. After a coax failure to my loop, I tried
>> pushing a fish-tape through the conduit in hopes of running a new length of
>> cable but it became obvious that the inside of this conduit had gotten ice
>> or muck inside, so I need to wait until spring to try and remedy things.
> If there are more than a few cables in the conduit and/or it's a long
> run it'll be very difficult to push a fish tape through it once it has
> cables in place.
> If you did not include a pull or messenger cable in the conduit you may
> have a problem. You did say that one coax failed so you could use that
> as a messenger or pull cable to pull in a real messenger. When you
> finish make sure there is a cable in there that you can use to pull in
> additional cables if needed. I use a cable/rope length a bit more than
> twice the length of the run. That lets me make a pull and then pull the
> rope back for another one while always having a messenger in the conduit.
>
> Here are a few of the methods I've used to a tower. You could mount a
> box on a wood fence post just as well.
> the conduit has some small (1/8") holes drilled in the bottom near the
> base of the tower and near where it turns up to go into the box on the
> house. http://www.rogerhalstead.com/ham_files/cablebox.htm
>> This now leads to a few much broader questions.
>> 1) Can I do anything to improve the drainage of the existing 4" conduit
>> (remember, it's already on a downward angle)? Digging up the back yard is
>> NOT an option.
> How deep is it. With cables in the answer is probably not. If the
> conduit is "always" on a grade with no low spots it should not need any
> more drainage.
>
> You could build a box for the cables to exit into at the end of the
> conduit. Put some plastic mesh in it along with a few mothballs to
> discourage critters. BTW Yellowjackets (Nasty tempered little members
> of the wasp family) also like places like that conduit or a box at the end.
>> 2) The coax/control-cables lying on the ground will need to be buried.
> Do you mean the ones coming out of the current conduit?
>> That
>> ground doesn't slope at all, and it fact undulates slightly. How can I put
>> in conduit for this run that drains properly and won't allow ice buildup?
> Have you considered "direct bury" cables? Or something rugged like
> Davis BuryFlex(TM) and just leave it on the surface or buried shallow?
>> 3) Does it matter if I use white drainage PVC pipe or grey electric conduit
>> (all low-voltage)?
> Not really.
>> 4) Anything that I haven't mentioned here that I should consider doing, or
>> potential gotchas?
> Critters using the conduit for a home and a messenger cable!
>> Thanks in advance!
>>
> Good luck es 73.
>
> Roger (K8RI)
>
>> ---------------------------------------------
>> 73 and Good DX
>>
>> Peter,
>> W2IRT
>
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