Steve-
All suggestions so far sound plausible. In the category of "what have
you got to lose", I would try first
sealing the conduit and cable combination at the point where it enters your
box at the tower, to cut off
any possibility of the moisture (as you surmised) coming from that source.
A can of Great Stuff foam works good.
Another possibility to consider- if the interior of your house is for some
reason at a negative pressure with respect to
the outside (and assuming the underground conduit enters your house and is
open to it), an un-natural amount of
moist air would be pulled in to the box at the tower, and condensing on the
surfaces. What would cause a negative
pressure inside the house? Any kind of a ventilation fan running, like a
bath fan, range hood, clothes dryer running, etc.
Even a forced air furnace with leaky return air ducting.
Tom
K0SN
On Mon, Oct 16, 2023 at 3:02 PM Steve Maki <lists@oakcom.org> wrote:
> I have multiple conduits coming up though the bottom of a large cabinet
> 2.5' x 2.5' x 4' tall, open on the bottom. Sits on a concrete slab that
> has a hole in it almost as large as the cabinet. Doors on three sides.
>
> One of the doors is well vented - that seems to be enough to keep it dry
> inside, I've never noticed any moisture. I'd try simple venting first.
> Maybe a large 3" or 4" PVC elbow on the side, with a screen to keep
> insects out.
>
> GL, Steve K8LX
>
> On 10/16/23 2:56 PM, Shawn Donley wrote:
> > Hello fellow TowerTalkers,
> >
> > I have an aluminum outdoor electrical enclosure at the base of my
> tower. My underground runs of hardline enter the box through a PVC conduit
> elbow entering at the bottom of the enclosure. The tower coax and rotor
> cables exit the bottom as well. In humid weather, especially this time
> of year when the temperature goes down at night, I get a significant amount
> of condensation inside the enclosure, not only on the enclosure but on the
> outside of the cables within it. Enough water to make one think there's no
> environmental protection provided by the enclosure in the first place. I
> suspect the moist air from the conduit is the source since the underground
> run uses slotted corrugated drain pipe covered with a soil sock rather than
> solid wall PVC. Why ... concerns of long term condensation inside solid
> conduit...another subject thoroughly discussed elsewhere and hopefully not
> again on this thread.
> >
> > Has anyone experienced something similar and has a proven fix? I
> considered a small 12v box fan to circulate some outside air through the
> enclosure but I think the cold box walls would just condense that moist air
> as well. Perhaps a low wattage 12v light bulb inside the enclosure to
> provide some heat to keep the walls warmer? Some water pipe heat tape on
> the outside of the box (but I would like to avoid any 125vac solution)?
> Sealing the entry conduit is problematic with the several cables of
> different diameters. I would not want to "foam" the conduit with expanding
> foam or something like that which would make pulling a new cable much more
> difficult.
> >
> > tnx
> > N3AE
> >
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> >
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