[mazzonetv]

HI all,

Unfortunately Hurricane Sandy decided to dump about 3' of water into my basement a few weeks ago. We have gutted the finished basement, but now I am getting conflicting reports from two electricians. I decided that I want to move all of my outlets in the basement to "switch height" just in case this ever happens again. One electrician is telling me I can simply cut the BX cable (which comes from the ceiling) shorter, strip it and install new boxes and devices. Another electrician is telling me that once the end of the BX cable is exposed to saltwater, I have to replace the entire cable all the way back to the panel. Sounds like overkill to me, but obviously I want to do what is right. Another electrician told me that I should replace all of the armored cable with Romex, but I can't get a straight answer on if that is legal in Staten Island, NY or not. I would love to hear opinions on what I should do here..

thank you

 

[joed]

If it was my house I would cut the cables to the required length and inspect for signs of water. Then I would determine if the cables need replacement. Any sign of moisture on the remaining cable and it gets replaced. Saltwater is killer for electrical.

 

[electures]

The NJ DCA has provided a lot of information for dealing with flood damaged electrical systems. Check out this post and follow all the links;


http://www.diychatroom.com/f18/hurricane-sandy-information-new-jersey-164280/

There is also a lot of information provided in this thread.

 

[gregzoll]

Saltwater and Copper, even Saltwater & aluminum do not mix. You are going to have to have all new wiring pulled, since that wire can no longer be used, nor meets code at this point.

 

[eclark]

Last I heard, no romex in the 5 boros

 

[electures]

HI all,

Unfortunately Hurricane Sandy decided to dump about 3' of water into my basement a few weeks ago. We have gutted the finished basement, but now I am getting conflicting reports from two electricians. I decided that I want to move all of my outlets in the basement to "switch height" just in case this ever happens again. One electrician is telling me I can simply cut the BX cable (which comes from the ceiling) shorter, strip it and install new boxes and devices. Another electrician is telling me that once the end of the BX cable is exposed to saltwater, I have to replace the entire cable all the way back to the panel. Sounds like overkill to me, but obviously I want to do what is right. Another electrician told me that I should replace all of the armored cable with Romex, but I can't get a straight answer on if that is legal in Staten Island, NY or not. I would love to hear opinions on what I should do here..

thank you

UL addressed this at our last IAEI Electrical Inspectors meeting. Their stance is that any wiring or equipment exposed to water that is not rated for wet locations has to be replaced. In your case only the portion of wiring that was submerged. Check with your local electrical inspector/building department to find out what they require.

 

[mazzonetv]

Thank you all!!

Only the bottom foot (at most) of wire was exposed to saltwater for a matter of hours. I was going to cut the bottom three feet or so of wire off. I guess I should check to see if there is any moisture whatsover in the cable where I cut. If there is, I will replace all of the wire, if not, I'm thinking I can leave it alone. Does that sounds like a good plan?​

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[electures]

Thank you all!!​

Only the bottom foot (at most) of wire was exposed to saltwater for a matter of hours. I was going to cut the bottom three feet or so of wire off. I guess I should check to see if there is any moisture whatsover in the cable where I cut. If there is, I will replace all of the wire, if not, I'm thinking I can leave it alone. Does that sounds like a good plan?​

Sounds good.:thumbup:

 

[joecaption]

I've lived on boats and have lived through 3 named hurricanes and have seen what salt water can do to untinned wires.
As long as the wires have been cut back at least 6" I'm just not seeing an issue with what your suggesting.
Just no way the salt water can get inside the insulation.
I've seen many times where corrosion has worked it's way up untined wire over years but never for that short a time or that far up.
I've done the exact same thing as your suggestion after hurricane Isabel in my area and many years later everything is still working.

 

[mazzonetv]

Thank you all again!

Happy thanksgiving

 

[Speedy Petey]

Last I heard, no romex in the 5 boros

Last I heard this limitation was removed, and this was a while ago.