Cob: electrical

[David Knowlton]

excellent reply! thanks.

get some of that yellow goo to lube the wires


>From: Dorothy Bothne <dbothne54 at yahoo.com>
>Reply-To: Dorothy Bothne <dbothne54 at yahoo.com>
>To: coblist at deatech.com
>Subject: Re: Cob: electrical
>Date: Fri, 12 Sep 2003 09:01:57 -0700 (PDT)
>
>I think he was worried about uneven heat dissipation, hot spots or areas 
>where the heat would be held around the wires.  (And he does have the 
>credentials - over 30 years designing electrical and lighting systems for 
>commercial and residential buildings.)  The conduits open to the j boxes, 
>and the jboxes are open to the room, so the air can move through the 
>conduits and vent to the room. This would remove any heat build up much 
>quicker than conduction through the cob wall.
>In the earlier posting, I was referring to pulling wires (#12 green, black 
>and white for 15Amp outlets on a 20Amp breaker) through the conduit not the 
>Romex (much easier to pull wire through the conduit than pulling Romex 
>through it).  Exterior grade Romex (not interior) works great buried in 
>cob, but it's too much trouble if for some reason you have to change out 
>the wire.  You'd have to abandon the romex in the wall and find another way 
>to connect the new wire.  The conduit gives you a little more flexibility 
>if you change your mind about what is connected to the circuit or if the 
>wire goes bad and has to be replaced.  And, you're limited in the wire size 
>that is readily available in the exterior grade Romex.
>Also, I think the wire is a little easier to work with than the Romex.  
>I've found it pretty easy to route the blue "smurf tube" where I want 
>outlets, lights and switches.  Sometimes pulling the wire through has 
>gotten a little tricky, and the whole system's not connected yet.  I'll 
>post the results to the list when I get the area dried in and connect the 
>electrical panel.
>I've done all the electrical rough in myself.  The first building I did, I 
>only had to have an electrician help me connect the breaker box.
>Dorothy
>
>
>David Knowlton <pilot1ab80 at hotmail.com> wrote:
>i have no credentials here, but why would air dissipate heat better than
>cob? again - no research available. common sense tells me the cob
>would be a better heat sink than air. romex is extra insulated - the
>coating is real tough stuff - and if it works in the ground - why not
>in the 'earth' that is cob? Air is an insulator, solids are better
>conductors
>in general. just thinking out loud.
>
>david
>
>
> >From: Dorothy Bothne
> >Reply-To: Dorothy Bothne
> >To: coblist at deatech.com
> >Subject: Re: Cob: electrical
> >Date: Fri, 12 Sep 2003 06:06:31 -0700 (PDT)
> >
> >Mary,
> >I've handled electrical systems in two different ways. In the first
> >structure I built, I used Romex (available at Home Depot) rated for 
>outside
> >(direct burying). I buried it directly in the cob. the structure had 3
> >outlets and 2lights and 1 exhaust fan. everything works fine. I'm
> >working on my second structure now. I consulted with an electrical
> >design engineer and he recommended that I use a conduit buried in the 
>wall
> >and pull the wires through the conduit in lieu of direct burying the 
>Romex.
> > He also suggested that I use the blue "smurf tube" because it's flexible
> >enough to bend around curves and you need fewer fittings.
> >The reason that he said to use conduit is that the wire needs the air in
> >the conduit to dissipate heat. also, you can replace the wire in the
> >conduit easier if repairs become necessary.
> >Dorothy
> >
> >Mary Hooper wrote:
> >Will someone tell me something about installing electrical systems. Do 
>the
> >wires go outside the wall or are they embedded? that sort of thing. I 
>have
> >not bought a how-to book yet. This interests me as my honey would not put
> >an
> >outlet in the basement (concrete floor) bathroom unless it had a ground
> >fault interrupter.
> >The solar panels have to connect to inside somehow. Maybe it's wired like 
>a
> >"regular" house?
> >thanks
> >Mary
> >
> >
> >
> >
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