columbus27 Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 How does everyone get power across the sidewalk to that little piece of land that the city owns. I normal run an extension cord across and duck tape it. This works OK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k6ccc Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 Several years ago the city replaced about a 20 foot section of the sidewalk in front of my house due to the tree (theirs) damaging it. One crew removed the old concrete one day and a different crew poured the new concrete the next day. On the evening in between I installed 4 pieces of PVC pipe under the sidewalk - 2 for sprinklers and 2 for power. I had no definite plans for the power, but I now have conduit there. As part of my major landscaping project, the sprinkler pipe will actually get used for sprinklers, and the power conduits terminate in one of the brick columns on my side of the sidewalk that I am using as a large junction box.If I didn't have those conduits, I would try very hard to overhead a power cord to avoid a tripping hazard. One end is easy - the tree, but the other would be a challenge at my house - there is nothing tall enough on my side of the sidewalk anywhere near the tree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scubado Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 At a seam, take a hand grinder with a diamond wheel and cut a deeper, wider groove if needed to lay your cord(s) in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
columbus27 Posted November 6, 2012 Author Share Posted November 6, 2012 I have a 4" grinder and I did cut out some of that expansion fiber board. The issue is that I am running extension cord and it's not perfectly straight. What I was thinking of doing was to get that led plastic channel and screw it down into the fiber board and then tape over.Several years ago the city replaced about a 20 foot section of the sidewalk in front of my house due to the tree (theirs) damaging it. One crew removed the old concrete one day and a different crew poured the new concrete the next day. On the evening in between I installed 4 pieces of PVC pipe under the sidewalk - 2 for sprinklers and 2 for power. I had no definite plans for the power, but I now have conduit there. As part of my major landscaping project, the sprinkler pipe will actually get used for sprinklers, and the power conduits terminate in one of the brick columns on my side of the sidewalk that I am using as a large junction box.If I didn't have those conduits, I would try very hard to overhead a power cord to avoid a tripping hazard. One end is easy - the tree, but the other would be a challenge at my house - there is nothing tall enough on my side of the sidewalk anywhere near the tree. I wish. Only if my wife would let me too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckeyelights Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 I've done the duct tape method. Works ok at best. Laid the cord in the control joint, anchored the cord on each side of the walk, tons of duct tape, and laid a rubber mat, kind of like a welcome mat over the duct tape. Obviously rain and snow are problems. And of course when shoveling snow I've pulled it up. And kind neighbors with a snow blower that have come down the street, don't know it's there. They do make a shovel with a long narrow blade that's good for digging a tunnel under the sidewalk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
columbus27 Posted November 7, 2012 Author Share Posted November 7, 2012 The guy that fertilizes my yard said there is a way to attach a hose to pvc and you can make a water canon to dig under the pavement. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownTown Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 I've done the duct tape method. Works ok at best. Laid the cord in the control joint, anchored the cord on each side of the walk, tons of duct tape, and laid a rubber mat, kind of like a welcome mat over the duct tape. Obviously rain and snow are problems. And of course when shoveling snow I've pulled it up. And kind neighbors with a snow blower that have come down the street, don't know it's there. They do make a shovel with a long narrow blade that's good for digging a tunnel under the sidewalk.For sidewalk tunneling, you could use a garden hose attached to a long section of PVC pipe. Duct tape or tie wrap a nozzle (a straight one) to the end of the pipe. Dig a hole at each side of the sidewalk where you want the tunnel to be, and then turn on the hose full blast, and use the water jet to tunnel out a path for your conduit. Might be messy, but out in the yard, does it really matter?D.T. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
columbus27 Posted November 7, 2012 Author Share Posted November 7, 2012 JeffAre you saying that you screw a P trap upside down on each end during the show, then a screw cap any other time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Push Eject Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 I've done the water cannon method too; works quite wellIf that's not possible here's another idea: http://coolglow.com/1/427/427/Light-Up-Pathway-Arch--8ft-/4817/Light-Up-Pathway-Arch--8ft-/ I picked up one of those at Target after Halloween years ago for about $19. Pulled all the lights off and use it for running power and air hose over the path. Works great, no fuss, breaks down for storage.Cheers,pe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 The guy that fertilizes my yard said there is a way to attach a hose to pvc and you can make a water canon to dig under the pavement.Works great till you come to a rock or a tree root. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scubado Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 If you want to stick with using the crack, if the fiberboard is loose enough, try this: Keep the extension cord indoors to warm it up to be plyable to lay correctly, you can also use small stiff wire to anchor the cord midway in the crack to anchor it down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlarson Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 I put up candy cane tunnel that people can walk thru. This way I can get lots of power to the other side.http://forums.lightorama.com/index.php?/topic/20509-my-tunnel/page__hl__tunnel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-klb- Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 For 1 inch PVC, Home Depot usually sells a nozzle and hose fitting set to use with your own pipe. I think it is usually in the sprinkler section..At the fire station, we had a 3" PVC electrical conduit bored under the alley way.. A little extreme for most sidewalks though... The first two years, we had that thing full. The last few years, it has a few Cat5 cables only.. Thankfully here, you only need to be about 2 inches deep to be below the frost line.. I'd really recommend that any conduit under the sidewalk be below the frost line, because it is just as difficult to keep water out of the conduit as it is the electrical connections. We vacuum out all the water in our signal conduits before pulling Cat5 every year, and get gallons. We usually vacuum them out again before pulling the sealed up ends of the cable back through at the end, and get quite a bit more then as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
columbus27 Posted November 8, 2012 Author Share Posted November 8, 2012 My frost line is at 36" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
columbus27 Posted November 19, 2012 Author Share Posted November 19, 2012 What I ended up doing is duct taping my extension cord to a piece of 3/8 rebar and D/T it down. Next summer I'm going to run a trench. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmkooiman67 Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 I use duct tape but before I put it down I spray the sidewalk with 3m spray adhesive then put the tape down. Never comes up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
columbus27 Posted November 20, 2012 Author Share Posted November 20, 2012 I use duct tape but before I put it down I spray the sidewalk with 3m spray adhesive then put the tape down. Never comes up. Wow didn't think of that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike C. Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 Last year around November I had my gardener put in a piece of 2" PVC pipe with a couple 90 degree's. He used some type of fitting on my garden hose to make the pilot hole. As he’s working I’m thinking “Man, I could have done that”. Now I know how it’s done so next time I’ll do it myself, but he only charged me $100 bucks total. Plus he cleaned everything up so it was money well spent. The first picture shows how I had the SPT-1 cord running from side to side. The other shows me breaking it down and capping it until I need it again in November. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike C. Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 Quick note if you install the PVC pipe leave a guide wire in there as you working. I forgot to put one in there and I had a hell of a time trying to get the SPT-1 cord across to the other side. Before I capped it I left a piece of cable in there so I can just pull the cable across next time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-klb- Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 Quick note if you install the PVC pipe leave a guide wire in there as you working. I forgot to put one in there and I had a hell of a time trying to get the SPT-1 cord across to the other side. Before I capped it I left a piece of cable in there so I can just pull the cable across next time.We don't keep pull strings in our 1" signal conduit. We pull the pull string through with a wet shop vac, and a small piece of paper towel tied to the end of the pull string.If I am only pulling one cable, I'll often just cover the connector in a thin plastic bag zip tied to the cable, then cut the bag off in about a 2 inch circle around the cable tie. This usually makes a good enough seal that I can just pull hte cable through with the vacuum.It does help that I have a power tool dust collector attachemt for the vacuum that fits great in the 1 inch conduit for a great seal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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