jonhenderson10401
New Member
Alright, so I know exactly what you’re asking, and don’t listen to “just put it through the top,” or “that’s just another point of failure.” The real answer is one that you do have to CONFIDENTLY KNOW EXACTLY what you’re doing/be a licensed electrician. Anything with quotations, you NEED to look up and study before you do anything.
One, I DO cut the cable. That way it fits through my cable gland, makes an airtight seal and it looks much more organized. With that said you need some form of splice to reconnect the wires, and it too HAS to be airtight. That splice getting wet will create a very bad problem for you, so I use a “mesh-solder” technique, seal that with hot glue and while the glue is melted, quickly put a heat shrink over that as well. Once every wire is connected, I cover my entire splice-area with silicone and while it’s uncured, I put a heat shrink over that. They also make waterproof junction boxes that have cable glands, so you could splice in that. If you’re not using the junction box, only use types of wire connectors that you can put heat shrinks over. Also ensure that your device is inside the container first and that your splice is ALWAYS outside the container and not close to your bulkheads .
As for the container’s cable gland, you need “IP68 rated cable glands” that are sized PERFECTLY for the cable/wire you plan to use. IP68’s are rated for continuous use under pressure, but if you use the wrong size then you’re almost bound to over/under tightening the thing. First tip; the locking nut goes OUTSIDE of the container. You also need to drill a hole in your container that’s just big enough to thread the bulkhead side. Before threading (and splicing anything), I put a ring of JBWeld ‘WaterWeld’ around the INSIDE of the hole and cover the entire thread area of the bulkhead side with a little bit of silicone. I also cover the locking thread and claw in silicone before I lock it. For me, it’s usually easier to lock/seal the cable into the gland before installing it, just pay attention because you don’t want to waste them and it’s a bad idea to reuse them. Oh, and before putting silicone over any threads, put a loop or two of pipe-thread tape.
I do not advise you to do anything you’re not confident in and haven’t done your own research on after reading this. I did however make a canister filter out of a five-gallon bucket, with my heater and an internal pump and most importantly, no leaks. It has water siphoning down, with the pump at the bottom. I can show you tomorrow, I can’t get to it to take photos right now. Also, I apologize for the tone in my typing, but I cannot stress how important it is to be safe with electrical connections and damp locations. Learn how to solder, then learn how to mesh solder, and learn about the types of cable gland. You need to know exactly what you’re doing, why you’re doing it, how you’re doing itand why you’re doing it that way before taking on the task. I’ve attached some photos to help.
Also, I just gave you the exact answer to what you asked from lil’ ole’ West Virginia. That’s some hillbilly irony right there!
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