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Hi all.
Had to repair a underground swa cable at short notice this afternoon so just had what was on my van as wholesalers would be shut.
To get it back going I used some outdoor gland packs and crimped it in a whiska box.
It’s due to be replaced apparently but how good would that connection be underground if I filled it with gel and they covered it or should I just refit it with a torpedo?
 
For sure a Whiska box is not rated for underground use!

I think they might make some products that are suitable, but I would be looking at replacing it with a Birkett torpedo-style joint before the ground is covered up again.
 
Buried should be a resin filled joint

that said i recently dug up some up swa that was buried and it had multiple buried joints using galv through boxes filled With some sort of gel and a gasket lid

they were still perfectly intact and no sign of moisture ingress
 
@Dustydazzler have seen a few underground repairs with through boxes and the old green potting compound in that have done very well considering!
@Retroelectric Wiska box definitely not a long term solution!
I had a digger go through this 35mm 4 core a couple of weeks ago, even out of hours my wholesalers went out of their way to get this out for me! Underground swa joint. IMG_20210519_1244442 - EletriciansForums.net
 
I'd never have guessed what caused the cable damage if you hadn't mentioned it. Whenever there is a bang there is often a smoking water pipe.
 
Had they chopped a water pipe as well?
The poor guy (who I know well) had a terrible day. He started off with a mild leak on a stop cock. (red arrow)
There was a digger on site and he borrowed it. I still don't get why he dug where he did. I was on site anyway for something else.
I get a call from him "you'd better come down to number 2". At same time I started getting calls saying various things had no power.
By time I got there he'd dug a bit more and there was an impressive growing lake. He'd severed the power, and there was an unprotected 22mm copper water pipe he'd also spectacularly mangled up.
It took out an upstream single phase breaker, and the C63 three phase breaker two DB's up.

Underground swa joint. 1624703005217 - EletriciansForums.net
The scene a while later....the trench running towards the house is where he severed a copper water pipe - looking at where the gas cabinet is (blue arrow) I was initially worried he'd managed the triple crown and got all three services!

Underground swa joint. 1624703293097 - EletriciansForums.net

A year earlier, I'd found the two houses pictured shared a neutral on an EICR. 10 months earlier I'd dug a hole 10m upstream and connected a new cable to the one he severed, and ran a new supply to the far house. I wasn't delighted to be back there getting muddy so soon.
 
I've cut through enough live ones by mistake to know you're usually safe if the armour is connected

Was on a job where they dug a trench round the perimeter of a large building for a water main for the fire brigade points

No maps for cabling , they just cut through a load of them with the digger and I repaired each one with 2 resin joints
 

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