Two new Dahua Turret Installs

[handinpalm]

I have been procrastinating adding a camera on the other side of the property and at a pinch point gate entrance. Have been looking at camera junction boxes to mount one of the cameras to the house, but none of them have a straight conduit feedthrough. They all have a 90 degree conduit exit point. Why is that? I had a number of 2 gang outside electrical boxes, so decided this is best approach. There was a slight clearance problem with the camera base and electrical box cover, so used the hand grinder to make some clearance slots for the cover screws.





The straight through conduit run from attic to gate camera, then on to the underground run for the other pole mounted camera. The black cable running straight through is direct burial cable running to remote camera. And yea, that is a pull string from the attic, just in case of future proofing.



The Gate cam mounted on side of house. Planning on having house painted this Spring, so the conduit & electrical box will be painted to blend in.






Dug a 50' trench between 2, 100 year old Oaks, and installed a blank 5"x5" white PVC post. I was contemplating using a 4" dia sewer pipe that is already green color for a mounting post, to blend in with environment, but decided it was too much work adding more stuff hanging off a pipe in the future. Mounted camera and bracket to post before installing in ground to make things easier. In the future, there will be another camera mounted on other side of post to see side yard. I will be using one of those ethernet splitter/extenders PFT1300 mounted inside post. So in the mean time, I added an ethernet junction adapter between direct burial cable and 2' patch cable. The direct burial cable RJ45 shroud would not fit in the cameras weather proofing connector. Note the clamp on the inside post top. I will run the enet cable and 12VDC power cable for IR light through it, so I don't have to fish out cable stuck down the post.



Post in ground. Will be replacing the wood fence with white vinyl fence in future, so the cam post will blend in. Junction connections wrapped in Scotch rubber mastic tape for weatherproofing, along with dielectric grease on contacts. Buried 12VDC cabling w/ enet cable to add IR emitters, some time soon.



Final install, who needs tree mounts? Now house is completely surrounded in cameras and I get alerts when someone is within 20' - 130' from the house, depending on location. All this looks a little easy, but it was a PIA, and damn glad it is done. I may be retired, but I am trying like hell to not make this a full time job.

What did you do over the Holidays?

 

[th182]

Very nice! I like the pole idea. I have a corner of my yard with nothing but a utility pole and a 4’ chain link fence. I’d like a camera over there but didn’t want to risk the utility company ripping it down if I put it on their post. I may use your idea, especially since you can run the wire inside the post!


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[paul@austins.tv]

Looks lovely but.... I personally wouldn't have the conduit and cables entering from the top of the external enclosure, which may likely provide water ingress.
Ideally an entry to the external enclosure is to provide a "drip loop" via a preferred bottom entrance or side entrance of the external enclosure.
I'm in the UK and water/rain is always an issue with cable feeds & likely water path for corrosion into any external enclosure.

 

[TonyR]

Great post!
FWIW, I noticed the elastic stop nut under the pole cap to fasten the cable strap........as the son of a since-passed on Delta Airline aircraft electrician for 30 years and an ex-Navy aviation storekeeper myself, I love using those and not having to fiddle with lock washers !

 

[Rob2020]

Very nice, this gives me an idea to do a shorter version, surrounded by a few bushes, and put some kind of custom utility safety sign on so it doesn't attract a second look, like underground utilities, call 811 before digging.

Signs

 

[handinpalm]

Looks lovely but.... I personally wouldn't have the conduit and cables entering from the top of the external enclosure, which may likely provide water ingress.
Ideally an entry to the external enclosure is to provide a "drip loop" via a preferred bottom entrance or side entrance of the external enclosure.
I'm in the UK and water/rain is always an issue with cable feeds & likely water path for corrosion into any external enclosure.

Well, I am in FL, so I can understand your concern. Believe me, there is not going to be water intrusion. I use silicone calk around the camera base also. I should have elaborated, this box is also under a 1m eve. I have spent about 1/4 of my life on irrigation plumbing around the compound here. One more note, there was not enough clearance for a 90 degree adapter. What to do?

 

[handinpalm]

Great post!
FWIW, I noticed the elastic stop nut under the pole cap to fasten the cable strap........as the son of a since-passed on Delta Airline aircraft electrician for 30 years and an ex-Navy aviation storekeeper myself, I love using those and not having to fiddle with lock washers !

View attachment 114280

Nyloc Nuts, they are great. I think I have every known stainless steel fastener known to mankind. I worked for a defense contractor. There came a time in past history where China was flooding the market with cheap/subpar SS fasteners. The military came down hard on contractors and stated that if you do not have documented proof of material for the fasteners all the back to the Mine, you could not use it. We had to purge a vast qty of stock, as in throw it away. I helped them throw it away.

I can sure appreciate the aircraft electrician & aviation storekeeper aspect!

 

[CCTVCam]

Looks lovely but.... I personally wouldn't have the conduit and cables entering from the top of the external enclosure, which may likely provide water ingress.
Ideally an entry to the external enclosure is to provide a "drip loop" via a preferred bottom entrance or side entrance of the external enclosure.
I'm in the UK and water/rain is always an issue with cable feeds & likely water path for corrosion into any external enclosure.

I agree Paul. That conduit set up would be standard for an internal installtion but outside you never want a cable entry on the side or top if possible.

It's better to run down the side and come in at the bottom than enter top or side outside. Anywhere water runs, it will find a way in but the rule is it always goes with gravity (unless you have a capillary action which is probably not that likely with a cable entry). The back is often used outside, but it's far from guaranteed you can keep it 100% water tight so where the back is used, I'd always ensure a drain hole or two in the bottom of the box. Unless you're subjecting the enclosure to water jets or hoses, it shouldn't be an issue but will allow anything that gets in from the back a way out. As Paul also said, drip loops so don't take the cable straight from a rear entry across into the camera. Ensure you have a loop downwards and if there's spare cable from the pig tail, make sure the plugs are at the top of the housing above the entry point for best pratice so any water ingress runs away from the joints.

For that particular scenario, I think I'd have looked to see if there was a T joint available in the conduit fittings and maybe run the cable in / out using the T joint mounted below the box. ie run the conduit past the box, T joint across then up intot the box with the other out from the T going straight down to where the cable goes next. It's still a side entry to the conduit but as water can't run upwards, the only way it could have gone is down away from the camera. You're onyl oither consideration then is what the cable does when it reaches the floor as you need to deal with any drips runnign down at that point. As Pauls says a drip loop maybe or if it takes a right under the ground and comes out of the conduit, it might simply drain away where it comes out. Again options depend on what it does and what' below.

Without a T joint available, this is pretty much how I would have done it wiht the addition of 2 elbos to take one of those legs back up the wall as the cable fall:

I'd also drill a small drip hole in the base of the right angles to cope with any water coming down the conduit or penetrating the box and draining.

Just my 2 cents as a non professional but general DIY guy. (For clarity, I'm not an electrician either so always follow the advice of professional or local codes!)

 

[looney2ns]

Great job @handinpalm, looks great!
Is the cam at about 7ft off the ground?

 

[handinpalm]

Thanks Looney, mounted ~6 ft off the ground for good facial rec. In addition to the camera IR light, I have an IR emitter shooting through the above window toward the gate for best results.

Edit: 6' for gate, 7' for post.

 

[sebastiantombs]

I do hope that before you sealed the box up the RJ connector/gland got the dielectric grease/tape treatment.

 

[BeanAnimal]

I agree Paul. That conduit set up would be standard for an internal installtion but outside you never want a cable entry on the side or top if possible.

It's better to run down the side and come in at the bottom than enter top or side outside. Anywhere water runs, it will find a way in but the rule is it always goes with gravity (unless you have a capillary action which is probably not that likely with a cable entry). The back is often used outside, but it's far from guaranteed you can keep it 100% water tight so where the back is used, I'd always ensure a drain hole or two in the bottom of the box. Unless you're subjecting the enclosure to water jets or hoses, it shouldn't be an issue but will allow anything that gets in from the back a way out. As Paul also said, drip loops so don't take the cable straight from a rear entry across into the camera. Ensure you have a loop downwards and if there's spare cable from the pig tail, make sure the plugs are at the top of the housing above the entry point for best pratice so any water ingress runs away from the joints.

For that particular scenario, I think I'd have looked to see if there was a T joint available in the conduit fittings and maybe run the cable in / out using the T joint mounted below the box. ie run the conduit past the box, T joint across then up intot the box with the other out from the T going straight down to where the cable goes next. It's still a side entry to the conduit but as water can't run upwards, the only way it could have gone is down away from the camera. You're onyl oither consideration then is what the cable does when it reaches the floor as you need to deal with any drips runnign down at that point. As Pauls says a drip loop maybe or if it takes a right under the ground and comes out of the conduit, it might simply drain away where it comes out. Again options depend on what it does and what' below.

Without a T joint available, this is pretty much how I would have done it wiht the addition of 2 elbos to take one of those legs back up the wall as the cable fall:

I'd also drill a small drip hole in the base of the right angles to cope with any water coming down the conduit or penetrating the box and draining.

Just my 2 cents as a non professional but general DIY guy. (For clarity, I'm not an electrician either so always follow the advice of professional or local codes!)

Hate to dig up something so old while browsing -- Several folks in this thread (pros and amateurs) have pointed at that it is "wrong" to enter PVC conduit into the top of a box, for fear of leaks. It is perfectly acceptable to enter conduit into the top of a box - the joints are solvent welded and waterproof. The box lid is where there may be a leak, but even at that, this is low voltage, and even if it were 120 or 240 a slightly leaky lid has little chance of causing a problem. Wire nutted connections should be cap-up, skirt-down so that the don't accumulate moisture like a cup and corrode the connection. Most (ALL) underground conduit runs FILL with water, no matter how well you solvent weld the joints. Air travels through the conduit, the ground is cold. Condensation forms. Over time the conduit fills. The conductor insulation on THHN and other conductors approved for conduit use are waterproof.

Enjoy.

Have a nice day.

 

[sebastiantombs]

The problem here, with cameras, is that we're talking signal level voltages and currents, not amperes at 120 or 240VAC. Any corrosion that happens will very quickly degrade the connections to the point of signal loss, some times intermittently and sometimes completely. Avoiding any and all possible ingress points for moisture is what is being stressed for this exact reason.

I've worked "both sides", as an electrician and as a low voltage installer. Low voltage, signal level, has to be protected far more than AC wiring. Another problem is people using cable that is not weather or outdoor rated in buried conduit precisely because the conduits tend to fill with water no matter how good the installation of the conduit.

 

[CCTVCam]

There's an old saying, water always finds a way.

The trouble with a top entry is it might be waterproof to start with but over time, seals bonds etc can degrade.

Don't froget the capillary action I mentioned above, When you get only the tinniest of gaps, you can get capillary action where the water is sucked into the gap rather than running in under gravity. As Sebastian mentions, moisture in the box will cause the connections to oxidise or corrode and increase resistance which on low voltage with not a lot of signal to play with, can be more significant than with mains volts. You can feed in anyway you want to a box so long as it's waterproof. It's just don't forget degredation over time and don't forget it's simply makes sense to use a route that offers the least chance of entry ie one where gravity works in your favour. That's why most commercial external fittings even at mains voltages eg floodlights have a bottom cable entry, it's a much safer option for ensuring you don't get water ingress over time.

 

[BeanAnimal]

The problem here, with cameras, is that we're talking signal level voltages and currents, not amperes at 120 or 240VAC. Any corrosion that happens will very quickly degrade the connections to the point of signal loss, some times intermittently and sometimes completely. Avoiding any and all possible ingress points for moisture is what is being stressed for this exact reason.

I've worked "both sides", as an electrician and as a low voltage installer. Low voltage, signal level, has to be protected far more than AC wiring. Another problem is people using cable that is not weather or outdoor rated in buried conduit precisely because the conduits tend to fill with water no matter how good the installation of the conduit.

Hi - thanks for the response. I (honestly) hate to be a guy with 3 posts taking exception to advice given by regular seasoned veterans, but in this case simply can't agree with the common sentiment here that a solvent welded gang or jb with a top entrance is a problem. It is not.

Over the last 30 years I have worked both sides as well with experience from communications in underground coal mines and 3-phase high voltage to structured cabling and commercial electrical. 30+ years (sadly). I am also an avid microelectronics hobbyist (both discrete and mCPU) and tube amplifier (high volt) builder. None of that really matters to the point at hand.

I will stand pat that a solvent welded conduit connection will not leak and as such, can be safely position in any orientation. If there is going to be a leak it will be the box cover that fails. not the solvent welded joint. We can argue about cable glands needing to be on the bottom with a drip loop - as the cable type plays more of a role than the packing in the gland. Even then a proper drip loop IN the box will prevent corrosion as long as the outer sheath is cut short to drain down and the conducts looped to point up. As long as the box does not fully flood, there will be no corrosion any more than a dry box would have. Boxes that fully flood are another story.

I see dielectric grease and tape mentioned. Tape always makes a mess for future changes or repairs and NEVER solves moisture problems. It is misused almost 100% of the time. Save it for pulling wire and wrapping 120v receptacles that go into tight metal boxes

Dielectric grease - Also almost always misused. Silicone Dielectric grease is an INSULATOR not a a conductor or "contact protector". Smearing it on contacts or squishing it into a connector is NEVER a good idea. You may get lucky and contact pressure or contact interference may push enough out of the way to allow metal-to-metal contact... but the proper use is on the perimeter of the male connector mating surfaces prior to assembly, where it will not be squished into or interfere with the connection's contacts. The product is to prevent moisture from easily entering the connection, not protecting the contacts themselves.

 

[sebastiantombs]

I don't remember ever saying that a solvent welded joint isn't waterproof. I will say that the best choice is a bottom entry if it's possible, just one less thing to go wrong.

In terms of dielectric grease, I guess I, and everyone else that uses it on outside connections, are all very lucky. I haven't had problem one with connections since I started using it on RJ connectors. Yes, it is an insulator, but it is also mechanically wiped out of the way, between the contacts, when the connector is inserted. The objective is to keep moisture from all the other exposed area to prevent creeping corrosion. I have moved cameras around after using dielectric grease that have been installed outside for five years. The contacts of the male and female connectors look as new as the day they were installed. In short, it works and does the job that is needed. Remember the connector, in this case, is the connection.

I guess we can agree to disagree, but my experience, based over almost 50 years of working with AC, RF and data connections, both inside and out, have shown me that a properly taped connection that is also protected with dielectric grease remains solid and serviceable for a very long time.

 

[RUMBLESTRIP]

It's pretty funny how we do things so differently. I use dielectric grease for two things, sparkplug boots and O rings in oxygen service. I use no-ox-id for any electrical connection that needs it. I almost never use electrical tape for any permanent sealing, and if I do I wrap it sticky side out first and only stick it to the ends. Even then, that tape is probably over the top of butyl tape.

I'm not certain what "duct seal" is but if it cleans up easily that means it isn't adhered very well and capillary action will be king. Personally I use butyl tape because it sticks to everything well. Basically, easy clean = not sealed.

I rarely use RTV silicone to seal anything involving electricity because the acetic acid formed by the curing of your typical acetoxy RTV is very corrosive to copper.

 

[sebastiantombs]

Trust me, Duct Seal works well and does adhere. It's meets code for sealing service entrance cable for example. The "secret" is that it doesn't dry like silicon/RTV and remains full pliable, evendown well below zero.

 

[RUMBLESTRIP]

Trust me, Duct Seal works well and does adhere. It's meets code for sealing service entrance cable for example. The "secret" is that it doesn't dry like silicon/RTV and remains full pliable, evendown well below zero.

Anything that isn't rated for outdoor use is just not going to do it for me. Trust is not the issue, the manufacturers recommendation is my issue.

Duct Seal Compound - 1 lb Pugs

This compound seals conduit openings against drafts, dust moisture and noise. It also protects terminal boxes, pot heads and bushings from corrosive elements and deadens switch gear panel noise. The dough-like compound is easily "thumbed" over holes and gaps. It will not harden or form a skin...

www.gardnerbender.com

 

[sebastiantombs]

And it is used outside and has been used outside for sealing for years. Do as you please. Silicon seal will be a total disaster if you ever try to remove it. As I said, it meets code to seal service entrance cable and fittings.