Through wall conduit

Is there a  conduit product recommended for getting video and motion detector cables from the outside of a residence to the inside with the following properties:
 
Large enough to add additional cables in the future (1.25" perhaps)
Keep critters out
Minimal transfer of heating or cooling between the inside to outside?
 
I've been using a 1 1/4" PVC with a rag but there must be a better way.
 
Thanks

I installed an exterior PVC surface mount box where the conduit penetrated the wall in several locations.    From there I either run additional conduit outside, use the screw in rubber inserts for standard size openings or just drill and caulk the hole or just notch around the cover and let the gasket of the cover seal the hole, depending on the size of wire.  For smaller contact wire I usually terminate in the box and run new wire out.

Just as many ways to do it as there are fittings, boxes and the like. I usually don't like going with a big huge PVC enclosure on the outside and then count on being able to drill and redrill that as time goes on....they cook away too much in the sun and once you get to a point, hitting them with a varibit or hole saw is a gamble.
 
You would need to specify and look at the location to see if there is room only for a conduit body or a box. Sealing the enclosure is the easy part. Duct seal, fire caulk and other compounds out there depending on where the sealing needs to be done.
 
The question I'd ask is why are all the cables coming from outside into a single location? That sounds uglier than getting the cables inside the structure as soon as practicable.

Thanks guys, I've had this temp "solution" using an unused sump pump PVC - been holding off doing it right as I knew some renovations were coming up. I'm at that point now and will look and running some conduit/boxes around the perimeter with 2 or 3 penetrations. 

Something like this will give you access to pull cable and to make splices
 
http://www.mayerelectric.com/itemDetailFilterPH.action?codeId=1192823

I believe they use plumbers putty to seal the openings for where the A/C piping/wiring penetrate the foundation. It seems to hold up pretty well. This is in Canada. They might do it different elsewhere.

mikefamig said:

Something like this will give you access to pull cable and to make splices
 
http://www.mayerelectric.com/itemDetailFilterPH.action?codeId=1192823

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Code specifically prohibits any splicing in conduit bodies. What others decide to do is their own perogative, but is a big no-no.

purple_motion said:

I believe they use plumbers putty to seal the openings for where the A/C piping/wiring penetrate the foundation. It seems to hold up pretty well. This is in Canada. They might do it different elsewhere.

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No.
Plumbers putty will eat through the insulation on cabling in the worst scenario, in the best scenario, it's not able to be re-entered.
 
What you are referring to is called duct seal, it's an electrical product.
 

pinballmark said:

Large enough to add additional cables in the future (1.25" perhaps)

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It's been my experience that conduit in wires should not be thought of as a place to change things over time.  You either pull everything you need through it ONCE, or pull it ALL back out and replace it ALL later.  Trying to pull additional wire later is a crapshoot.  The problem is, no matter how hard you try, the cables inside the conduit will almost always end up slightly braided with each other.  This includes any pull string you might have included.  This makes it a hassle trying to pull something else later.  Usually because the friction from the close cabling causes things to stretch and break.  Or, worse, you try to use some sort of hook or other wire tool and end up ripping into the insulation of one or more of the cables inside.
 
It's only when you've got something like a 2" conduit and just a few cables that you stand any chance of adding more without causing new problems.  
 
It's often best to have either some sort of punch-down or other point of connection just inside the wall perforation.  NOT to have long runs leading through other parts of the structure.  So if/when you need to 'make changes' to the contents of the conduit the task of replacing all of the cables doesn't require ripping the rest of the interior apart.

DELInstallations said:

Code specifically prohibits any splicing in conduit bodies. What others decide to do is their own perogative, but is a big no-no.
No.

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Even with this low voltage stuff? I wouldn't feel comfortable with high voltage lines but I used an L shaped junction with an access door like the one I referenced above to splice the gel filled cat6 cable that I buried to the ethernet net cable inside the building. I could have just as easily made the splice in a J-box inside the building but I didn't see the point of an additional box.
 
Why is it a no no? I can't imagine a problem with it.
 
Mike.

The NEC says that you can only splice wires in an enclosure that has its volume marked on it.  Based on the number of cubic inches of space, you are then limited to the number/size of conductors that can be contained in that space.  Since an LB is not marked with its volume, you are not allowed to make splices within it.  Some folks violate this rule, but from a strict legal point of view, you can't do it.
 
The cover plate of an LB is intended just to provide access when pulling wires.  Since you are not supposed to make splices within it, if there is ever a problem with the connection, an electrician would not consider it as a likely place for the problem to be.

Spliced CAT6?  Hmmm, I wouldn't expect to get actual CAT6 performance out of that segment... at least not without using an actual splice designed for the task.
 
The point of a junction box is being an indicator that something is being joined there.  Access panels on pull boxes are not the same thing.  You're doing yourself or anyone else after you a service by not hiding things in places code says not to put them.
 
That said, local enforcement of low voltage wiring is largely non-existent in many areas. 

RAL said:

...but from a strict legal point of view, you can't do it.

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Technically, code is NOT law.  There as some jurisdictions that require following code guidelines for work being done.  But the code itself is not the same thing as legislatively passed laws.

wkearney99 said:

Technically, code is NOT law.  There as some jurisdictions that require following code guidelines for work being done.  But the code itself is not the same thing as legislatively passed laws.

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Not true. All states have provisions in their state statutes for building codes which at minimum, the NEC (or other code book for that trade) is a "minimum acceptible standard" so yes, there are legislatively passed laws. The book itself is not "law" but the state statutes reference the codes (NFPA, ICC, etc.) and the states can't accept less than what is published within those standards, only the choice to adopt or not adopt a particular code or revision (really only for the building codes, not mechanical code). There are areas of the country more lax and lenient as well as those that are strict and require more than normal building code, albeit with special modifications (WDW/Orlando area is a great example) but since there are no alternative codes to the NEC or other mechanical codes, it's pretty cut and dry what standard mechanical system installations must meet as a minimum.
 
I've known of many instances of people that were selling/performing other improvements/buying houses that discovered unpermitted work or work that was permitted but never inspected or signed off on....even after the house being sold, and either an insurance claim arose for whatever reason or it was investigated by an AHJ and guess what, because it's unpermitted or inspected, either open up all the spaces or remove it and put it back to the state of our last inspection/sign off. It's happened with decks, pools, bathrooms, in-law spaces, fences, sheds, what have you. Will they do it for LV, hard to say, but if you put in a fancy-dancy automation system with enough cabling to be the size of your forearms, you bet they'll start looking, same as if there's a single violation found, the fine tooth comb comes out.
 
As far as an LB or counduit body/fitting/pipe, yes, it is true about the volume requirement listing, however a conduit body is only intended and listed for the purpose of pulling cables, not for a junction point, and all junction points must be made within a listed enclosure, panel or fixture. The only item that can be termed "grey" for LV is a box is not necessary, but splices are still supposed to be accessible. If the AHJ is having a bad day, I've seen them fail a rough because the guys used contacts with wire leads for windows and spliced to their home runs with caps and taped and intended to be left in the walls (albeit accessible if pulled through the 3/8" hole) and force them to install screw terminal units or junction boxes.
 
As an aside, there's multiple standards for LV installations, such as BISCI and others, but at the end of the day, those standards are merely a suggestion as to how to install the cabling to meet other standards, but the "law" will always be the NEC.