Running Electric Service underground with Phone/ Cable Wire

[speedfunk]

Curious as to how close i can run the electric service cable (in 2" plastic conduit) and the phone + Cable lines (direct burrial cables)?  If I remember right the guy who ran electric/phone/cable to our Firstday ran it right on top of the conduit.  We don't seem to be having any issues .   I'm curious as to others thoughts. 

I know that in networking they told us not to run any cat 5 cable across or over any lights..but I saw it done plenty and did not seem to have any adverse effect.  I just dont' want to end up diggin this up EVER!!

Jeff

[John Raabe]

If I remember right we trenched about a 14" wide trough and put water on one side and power and phone on the other. I think they (water and electricity) needed to be 12" apart but no problem with power and phone next to each other.

[speedfunk]

sweet..Thanks John.  I just wondered if the power interferes with the signal strengh of the phone/cable. 

That's will be todays job.  Running the wire and backfilling.

[Redoverfarm]

The local power company requires the same 12" distance.  Generally the power will be at a minimun depth of 36", flagged then 12" fill then telephone flagged and filled to the surface.

[firefox]

The problems come from induction. If the power cable has a big voltage spike it can induct a tiny current into a nearby conductor. Generally not a big deal if you keep stuff seperated by 8 to 12 inches I am guessing.
cat-5 cable laying on top of a flourescent fixture will have stuff inducted into it which will generate errors, but if your software is running over TCP/IP it will correct most of the errors, if not all, and the most you will notice is that things might be a little slower than expected.

So, yes, keep it seperated if you can.

Bruce

[speedfunk]

FireFox:

Thanks for thoughtful response!  I will separate it a bit, however will most likely compromise from the recommended amount to save manual labor.

Jeff

I did not get a chance to bury the line yesterday just b/c the weather was nasty.Ttoday is equally as nice, a mix of snow and cold rain/sleet.. woohoo

[diyfrank]

I've put a lot of utility's in, almost daily. It is different everywhere. Some require 12" separation between anything Storm water communication or gas. It is also common for water to need 3' from power if lay parallel or 12" in depth.  A lot of district only require 2" between power and communication. 12" is likely to be acceptable but I would call your utility's to verify.

[firefox]

I suspect that the 12 inch rule has  to do with safety instead of noise.
If for some reason some accident caused the power cable to be damaged and came in contact with the communication cables. Tree roots, tornadoes, etc.  A live rock concert might take on an entirely new meaning
Bruce

[speedfunk]

Figured it out.  I can do 15" in most places without much more work.  Throw some dirt over and cover with old rug then backfill

Thanks everyone.