Bit of trouble - splice wire in exterior conduit LB?

[TorontoTim]

I had a new dedicated 15A circuit ran from my basement panel all the way up to the 2nd floor bathroom at the opposite end of the house. It was done in exterior conduit as the house is 80 years old and solid brick. No real option for pulling the line inside without major drywall repairs.

It was pulled into the ceiling of the bathroom to supply power to the to-be-installed heated floor. My electrician left 20 feet coiled up to allow it to be run to the thermostat when we got to that point.

Unfortunately my demo guy in his enthusiasm cut the spool of wire off, leaving me with only 3 feet of wire.

Wanting to avoid a hidden junction box (there is no convenient place to put one that would be accessible), I was thinking perhaps the right thing to do is to splice the wire inside the T fitting on the outside of the house and bring a longer length into the room.

It is an LB (?) fitting - a T with an access panel on it that is normally used for pulling wire. Can I splice the wire inside this fitting and be within code? It is the only way to maintain an accessible join.

There is 1 other circuit in the conduit as well, running through this T fitting to feed an exterior GFCI outlet at the roofline to be used for heated cables in my eaves.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

 

[Chris75]

You can splice inside an LB, but i'm more concerned with the wiring method involved, You cant run NM in a conduit outside.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Bob NH]

You can splice it if the fitting has the volume required per the code. I suspect that yours doesn't. The fitting should have a volume or number of wires marked inside if it is large enough for splicing. If you post the size of conduit/LB and the number and size of conductors then someone could probably tell you if it is ok.

If you are using THHN/THWN you could probably re-pull the wire. I assume that you did not pull Romex or UF in that conduit.

 

[TorontoTim]

The wire (as specified by my electrician) is for outdoor use - can't remember exactly - it has a black rubber coating.

I'll have to go to Home Depot to check the LB volume spec. The boxes are 30 feet up the side of my house and I don't have a ladder that tall They're rectangular, about 7x3 inches or so.

 

[TorontoTim]

So the wire (still have a remnant on the 150ft spool) is 14-2 NMWU. He actually threaded each piece of conduit onto the wires and then clamped it into place on my exterior wall, working his way across the 40 foot long span.

The conduit exits the basement, and heads straight up 25 feet or so. There are 3 wires going up that lenght, with one terminating on a GFCI outlet. Then the two remaining wires travel 40 feet across the side of the house and enter the T fitting. One enters the bathroom ceiling directly from the LB (the hole in the wall is behind the fitting) and then the last wire continues for another 8 feet and ends at another GFCI outlet.

Based on the size of this wire, I can't fathom pulling a new length through it. I'd consider replacing the LB fitting with a larger box.

I'm going to measure the length of remaining wire in the bathroom. My wife (sometimes they have good ideas!) suggested putting the thermostat for the heated floor on that exterior wall. The wire then would just come straight down into my newly framed 2x4 wall into the box for the thermostat. It might leave it high off the floor, which is only a design concern. I'd rather it was on the opposite wall.

 

[Alectrician]

Put a jb/blank cover low in the framed wall or high and hang a picture over it.

 

[TorontoTim]

I'll have a look at doing that -great suggestion on the art work covering the box. However I'm not sure I have enough wire to come down the wall in a convenient place to cover with artwork.

I'll have a look though. Was also considering a box for a hard-wired smoke detector, but the bathroom seems a funny place for that.

The compounding problem is whatever I do resulting in a visible artifact will be the first thing you see when you walk in the door. It's directly opposite the entry. I do like the idea of the artwork however - will see if I can manage that.

 

[Mikey]

A full-length mirror would work as well as artwork, and could be hung higher if need be to cover the box.