coaxial in conduit

[okclumberjack]

i need to run coaxial from house to shop for sat tv it is app 130 ft run will have to cross gravel drives X2, i was wondering why i can't dig this by hand shallow 8-10 inches & put in sch 40 for strength instead of a renting a trencher & digging 18 inches this is private property 2.5 acres codes are kinda laxed where i'am at , the only issue i see is if the conduit gets h2o in it it would freeze in the winter but @ this depth you wouldn't think there would be much of a condensation issue ??? what should i do

 

[JerryK]

I've put them in with a shovel. Dig the trench with a normal shovel down 9-10", then dig down deeper with a narrow 4" wide trench shovel with a long straight handle [ hardware/Lowes/Home Depot has them ]. I'd put them down at least 18". I have never seen any conduit that did not get condensation in it, even down 4'. Another thing, when you run your conduit, run at least a 1". AND, consider running two 1" conduits in the trench for future wires. PVC conduit is relatively cheap, and you will have lots of extra room for running telephone/security alarm/etc. wires the rest of your life... My process is to outline the trench area, remove and store the sod, then dig the trench and shovel the dirt into the FEL bucket. After the conduit is in, or even partially in, you can start replacing the dirt and sod. Water the sod, and you can't hardly tell there was a trench. The driveway is another thing, that might require you to rent a trencher to do the whole project if it is packed like concrete. But you could do a test dig to see if a shovel is going to work. Good luck....

 

[s219]

For coaxial in dirt, I'd just make a slit in the ground and poke the wire down 8-12" (assuming the wire can be direct bury, that is). Crossing the driveway is probably the only part you'd need to dig/conduit.

 

[RalphVa]

Those "trenching" shovels at Lowes or Home Depot have a straight handle but the shovel part has about a 30 degree angle. They're the best trenching shovels.

I wonder about putting coax inside a conduit, whether it meets code. Could be an exercise in getting overheating of the wire inside the coax.

 

[k0ua]

I wonder about putting coax inside a conduit, whether it meets code. Could be an exercise in getting overheating of the wire inside the coax.

Ok. you have got my curiosity up now. How many thousands of watts of RF power do you think he intends to run in his coax?:laughing: I was under the impression it was for Television reception. What exactly would cause the temperature rise.

James K0UA

 

[Code54]

On our land the coax is just in the dirt about 6" deep. The Sat guys used direct burial coax and made a shallow tench and just dropped it in. Seems to work fine, been that way for years and I cut the grass over it with a smaller Kubota every week and even run the my 3/4 ton diesel truck and the MX5100 (maybe around 5k) over it from time to time with no issues. Under the gravel drive we just stuck some 2" sch 40, tossed the wire in and never looked back. Wife drives over it everyday and I have no problems with it.
As for heat, I would not be concerned. No real power going through the line to cause you issues. If you are concerned about it, feel the coax where it comes in from your ant/dish/cable - your line will carry the same load or theoretically less so it would be even "cooler".
Good luck

 

[SSdoxie]

My satellite guy direct buried mine without any conduit across the gravel drive. I plowed a trench with middle buster to about 10" depth and he dropped the lines in. Have been driving over it every day for close to 3 years now, no problem.

 

[Egbert]

I've seen cable tv installers barely crack the soil - maybe 3 inches - and called it good enough. I guess that's what you get by paying minimum wage

 

[Zebrafive]

I've put them in with a shovel. Dig the trench with a normal shovel down 9-10", then dig down deeper with a narrow 4" wide trench shovel with a long straight handle [ hardware/Lowes/Home Depot has them ]. I'd put them down at least 18". I have never seen any conduit that did not get condensation in it, even down 4'. Another thing, when you run your conduit, run at least a 1". AND, consider running two 1" conduits in the trench for future wires. PVC conduit is relatively cheap, and you will have lots of extra room for running telephone/security alarm/etc. wires the rest of your life... My process is to outline the trench area, remove and store the sod, then dig the trench and shovel the dirt into the FEL bucket. After the conduit is in, or even partially in, you can start replacing the dirt and sod. Water the sod, and you can't hardly tell there was a trench. The driveway is another thing, that might require you to rent a trencher to do the whole project if it is packed like concrete. But you could do a test dig to see if a shovel is going to work. Good luck....

Very good idea to run the extra conduit. I wish I had done so when I ran power to my barn.

When I had my driveway done in concrete I asked the installers to put a piece of conduit under the driveway for future use. I thought they would cut a trench for it. They only put it down a few inches. I should have been there to make sure it was put deeper.

 

[Daver1963]

I would go with what Jerry K said, but I would increase it to two 2". Having worked in the communications for 27 years the rule of thumb was to figure out what you were initially going to install and then double the capacity. While you have a trench dug its just as easy to put two in as one.
I would also suggest getting some poly cord and running through each conduit as you connect them to use for pull string. When you pull your conduit in with the pull string make sure you pull a new pull string in along with it.
I would also ask what type of cable you are going to use. If its the standard RG-6 technical limitations for sat dishes are about 100ft. You may be able to get away with 130ft, but you may want to explore using a cable with a lower line loss. This page lists some differnt cables with their line loss. Remember that as you get lower line loss you get higher prices, but if you only want to do the work once it might be worth an initial higher price.
For the condensation/water issue you could always fill the entire length with icky-pick, but that may be going a little overboard especially if you do need to add stuff to that conduit. I would use some fire-block caulk at each end of the conduit.
To help with possible temperature issues, when you get the cable into the conduit don't have it in there piano wire tight. Push some cable back into the conduit so it will be a little wavy inside the conduit. This will help with expansion/contraction issues caused by temperature variations.