Conduit plug for protecting electrical wires
A sealant assembly for sealing a conduit, the conduit carrying electrical wires, between inside and outside of an enclosure such as a railroad control box. The sealant assembly may include a plug dimensioned for an interference fit with the conduit and with a bore in a body thereof. The body of the plug may have a slot allowing one to open the bore for inserting electrical wires thereinto. A sealant such as a cure-in-place polymer mix or a cured tape may be used to fill the conduit around the electrical wires. Such a sealant assembly will help keep moisture and harmful critters such as mice, from getting into the enclosure.
1 . A device for engaging a conduit and further engaging one electrical wire or an electrical wire assembly, the conduit having a diameter, the device comprising:
an at least partially frustoconical resilient body having a top, a bottom and a sidewall, at least one bore therethrough and at least a slot through the top, bottom and sidewall connecting the bore and the sidewall, the slot manually openable but biased in a closed position;
an elastomer sealant contacting at least some of the walls of the body;
wherein the body has a hardness of Shore OO 10 to Shore D 70 and includes a critter resistant chemical;
wherein the elastomer sealant includes the critter resistant chemical; and
wherein the top of the body has a diameter greater than the diameter of the conduit, wherein the bottom of the body has a diameter less than the diameter of the conduit.
2 . The device of claim 1 wherein the sidewall is smooth.
3 . The device of claim 1 wherein the sidewall has circumferential ribs.
4 . The device of claim 1 wherein the slot is perpendicular to the top wall.
5 . The device of claim 1 wherein the slot is angled with respect to the top wall.
6 . The device of claim 1 wherein the elastomer sealant is a tape or a mix.
7 . The device of claim 1 further including a lubricant on at least some of the sidewall of the body.
8 . The device of claim 1 wherein the slot is a first slot and the bore is a first bore and wherein the body includes a second bore and a second slot, the second slot connecting the first bore to the second bore.
9 . The device of claim 1 where the hardness of the body is in the range of Shore A 30 to Shore A 100.
10 . The device of claim 1 wherein the diameter of the top of the body is between 1″ and 6″.
11 . The device of claim 1 wherein the body includes a removal member.
12 . An assembly for protecting an electrical wire or wires enclosed in a conduit, the conduit having a diameter, the assembly comprising:
a first plug comprising an at least partially frustoconical resilient body having a top, a bottom and a sidewall and at least one bore there through and a slot through the top, bottom and sidewall connecting the bore and the sidewall, the slot manually openable but biased in a closed position;
wherein a composition of the body comprises a hardness of Shore OO 10 to Shore D 70 and includes a critter resistant chemical;
wherein the top of the plug has a diameter greater than the diameter of the conduit, wherein the bottom of the plug has a diameter less than the diameter of the conduit;
an elastomer sealant having the critter resistant chemical;
wherein the electrical wire or wires fit within the bore of the plug; and
wherein the elastomer sealant is disposed between the wires in the bore and the inner walls of the bore.
13 . The assembly of claim 12 wherein the body includes a critter resistant chemical.
14 . The assembly of claim 12 wherein the slot is a first slot and the bore is a first bore and wherein the body includes a second bore and a second slot, the second slot connecting the first bore to the second bore.
15 . The assembly of claim 12 further including a second plug, the second plug adapted to engage the conduit and the wire or wires.
16 . The assembly of claim 15 further including a cured elastomer mix in the conduit between the first and second plugs.
17 . A method for protecting an electrical wire or wires running through a conduit of an enclosure, the method comprising the steps of:
providing an elastomer;
providing a plug, the plug comprising an at least partially frustoconical, elastomeric body having a top, a bottom and a sidewall and at least one bore there through and a slot through the top, bottom and sidewall connecting the bore and the sidewall, the slot manually openable but biased in a closed position, wherein the plug body has a hardness of Shore OO 10 to Shore D 70, wherein a composition of the body comprises critter resistant chemicals, wherein the top of the plug has a diameter greater than the diameter of the conduit, and wherein the bottom of the plug has a diameter less than the diameter of the conduit;
opening the slot in the plug;
inserting the electrical wire or wires into the bore;
forcing the plug, bottom first, into the conduit; and
placing the elastomer into the bore such that it contacts the inner walls of the bore and the wire or wires.
18 . The method of claim 17 further including the step of coating at least part of the plug with a lubricant.
19 . The method of claim 17 wherein the elastomer of the placing step is a cured polymer tape.
20 . The method of claim 17 wherein the elastomer of the placing step is an injectable, two-part, cure-in-place polymer.
21 . The method of claim 17 wherein the plug of the providing step has more than one bore.
22 . The method of claim 17 wherein the forcing step includes the step of hammering the top of the plug.