LP locker - airtight fitting for solenoid wires

[summercamp]

I'm re-doing my LP locker and wondering the proper way to pass the wires for the solenoid valve into the locker while maintaining a good seal. I'm using an airtight thru-fitting where the rubber LP line enters the locker. My plan is to pass the wires through this same airtight thru-fitting. With this set up both the LP rubber hose and wires would be using the same thru-fitting. Is this the typical set up?

By airtight thru-fitting I'm referring to something like this one made by Trident
Trident.

[boatpoker]

No rule against it ( I was previously ABYC Standards Certified) but I don't like the idea of electrical conductors in direct contact with propane lines. I did mine separately.

[Fiveslide]

I think a better solution would be to use one for the hose and a smaller one for the wires. However, if they pass thru near the top of the locker and you have a good drain to the outside of the boat, I don't think it would be bad to use the same pass thru. It's probably best to see what ABYC standards have to say, because if something happens, that is likely what the insurance company will look for.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by Fiveslide

I think a better solution would be to use one for the hose and a smaller one for the wires ...

Indeed.
The gland is unlikely to seal well with an asymmetric pass-through (hose & wires).

[summercamp]

Thanks for the reply. What have people used? I'm having difficulty finding an airtight thru-fitting for wires. I found one on an automotive sight used for gas tanks but it was pricey. Maybe I'm missing something. I looked through the usual - West Marine, Defender, Jamestown etc.

Thanks,
Tom

[Suijin]

Mine has never been airtight, but the hose and wires pass through at the top of the box. Been that way for 32 years. That said, when I reinstalled the propane locker after a recent deck refit I just caulked around the hose and wires...more to keep water out of the bilge and prevent chafe than out of any concern about gas infiltration. But I also check the drain once a week.

[Terra Nova]

Use this type.
Newmar DX-3 Feed Thru - Newmar DX-3 - Terminal Blocks Bus Bars & Feed Thrus - Electrical Parts - Electrical - Boatersland Marine

[mitiempo]

Blue Seas makes a series of cable glands:

https://www.bluesea.com/products/cat...23/Cable_Clams

[S/V Alchemy]

Originally Posted by boatpoker

No rule against it ( I was previously ABYC Standards Certified) but I don't like the idea of electrical conductors in direct contact with propane lines. I did mine separately.

If the LP locker is vented overboard via vents on the bottom of the locker, and if propane is heavier than air, would not the only way to possibly have a problem here is if you put the wires in an unsealed conduit at the bottom of the locker? Which is unlikely, given that the shut-off solenoid is typically at the valve, at the top, no? Or am I missing something?

[S/V Alchemy]

Originally Posted by mitiempo

Blue Seas makes a series of cable glands:

https://www.bluesea.com/products/cat...23/Cable_Clams

A lot of places do. I'm installing a Scanmar one for my radar cable into the base of my pilothouse's forward "wall" this weekend. There's also a lot of soft rubber, grooved rings that do the same thing, along with flanged bearings/bushing that a glob of sealant would make effectively water and airtight.

[stormalong]

Trident does not make these, neither does Newmar, They just buy them and mark up the price 2000 percent. They are called wiring glands and are commonplace all over the world except the US. They are available at my Home Depot in some sizes. They are made to pass wires into watertight electrical boxes while keeping the water out.

So, before ordering them and paying shipping for such a small item check out your local home improvement chain store or an electrical supply store.

[Terra Nova]

Originally Posted by S/V Alchemy

...a glob of sealant would make effectively water and airtight.

Classy.

[Kosarchuk]

There are bulkhead feed thru's with heat shrink tube, some with adhesive lining. Check TE Connectivity. They were (and maybe still are) Raychem products.

[basssears]

I have to think any "waterproof" gland would be more than sufficient for propane, especially since (as noted above) the wires tend to go out near the top of the box and any leaking propane will go down not up.

[Terra Nova]

Please do not be so foolish as to presume that a drain cannot become plugged.