This site is currently under construction. I was just told that the item in the picture is not a catch basin, but an electrical box. Has anyone ever seen anything like this?
We have traffic signal detector loops with circuitry back to the controller cabinet winding through pull boxes that are very similar to those. They're always <5' back of curb. The one in your pic doesn't have a grate on it does it?
Never seen an electrical vault with a grate for a cover.
You'd think they want to keep water out, not in
yes! I always thought it was a vented vault of some type? Jp
paden cash, post: 420819, member: 20 wrote: We have traffic signal detector loops with circuitry back to the controller cabinet winding through pull boxes that are very similar to those. They're always <5' back of curb. The one in your pic doesn't have a grate on it does it?
Yes, it has a grate on it, and yes, we took an invert.
How did you get the invert around all of the conduit and cables?
Yes, we have some neighborhoods that have these; it is my belief that they are small underground transformers. Usu. set on the line of division, so each one services two homes. Retracements are tough because of where they fall.
Tommy Young, post: 420843, member: 703 wrote: Yes, it has a grate on it, and yes, we took an invert.
What was in it? If there were no wires in it it's most likely a catch basin probably for yard drainage.
There are square grated covers on electrical vaults around Seattle. I would never poke anything down in them or open them up. Call the utility service that you suspect owns them.
Lot of older electric manholes in Houston have grated lids
i have seen square buried transformers with grates
maybe thats a round one :confused:
Why in h*** would anyone put a grate on an electrical box?!
The national electrical code requires 3 square inches of ventilation per kVA for underground transformers but I can't recall seeing a lot of buried transformers in suburban settings. It is a high falutin' neighborhood where the rich folks sensibilities would be offended if they had to see above ground transformers as they drove around in their Range Rovers?
Tommy Young, post: 420817, member: 703 wrote: Has anyone ever seen anything like this?
I've seen several in downtown Portland. I have been told that they have something to do with the electrical system, but they are something much more than "electrical box". They are there for ventilation of underground facilities. There is a big old vault under there somewhere.
John Carroll, post: 420855, member: 12602 wrote: Lot of older electric manholes in Houston have grated lids
I was trying to picture that. Are you speaking of the old HL&P manhole lids, similar to this ?
Yup, seen those bad boys a bunch in residential builds in Los Angeles, you're looking at the access cover to an underground transformer from what I understand, just below the grate is the actually access hatch. Getting the inverts for the flow will be a bit tricky.
Underground transformers were common here in 1970s-era subdivisions, but fell out of favor quickly when it became apparent that they tend to explode when they get wet enough. My first house was next door to one, and I remember both the impressive sound of the explosion as well as the 36-hour power outage that followed. Above-ground transformers aren't much to look at, but they perform well with virtually no fuss.
