Orange Conduit

[jmellc]

My church wants me to extend wiring across a driveway from a service I installed on island 2 years ago. They had a cable guy doing various jobs & had him bore in a conduit across the drive. It is an orange flexible type, installed with some kind of boring machine. I'm sure I've seen this on spools, installed by cable & phone people. No markings at the stub ends. I have a call out to the installer. Any clues to what grade conduit this is & if it is approved for electrical?

 

[Thepoteet]

Orange Conduit

That stuff is like the blue smurf tubing some job sites require out on the west coast. I know the orange stuff is for the low voltage guys like data, cable, phone, and ect. I don't know the ratings off hand but I'm sure you can find them on the internet somewhere.

 

[Hv&Lv]

My church wants me to extend wiring across a driveway from a service I installed on island 2 years ago. They had a cable guy doing various jobs & had him bore in a conduit across the drive. It is an orange flexible type, installed with some kind of boring machine. I'm sure I've seen this on spools, installed by cable & phone people. No markings at the stub ends. I have a call out to the installer. Any clues to what grade conduit this is & if it is approved for electrical?

It is a HDPE pipe. We use it for electrical when we have directional boring done. take a look at NEC article 353. If you are really concerned about putting electrical wire in this pipe, put your wire in grey pvc and put the grey pvc inside the orange pipe.

http://www.carlonsales.com/pdfs/HDPE/HDPE_Brochure.pdf

 

[jeremysterling]

I'm not sure what you got, but take a look at Art. 353.

Hv&Lv beat me to it!

 

[jim dungar]

That stuff is like the blue smurf tubing some job sites require out on the west coast. I know the orange stuff is for the low voltage guys like data, cable, phone, and ect. I don't know the ratings off hand but I'm sure you can find them on the internet somewhere.

The stuff from Carlon is for low voltage cables in plenums. I cannot imagine it being installed with a 'boring machine'
http://www.carlonsales.com/plenumgard.php

My guess is that it is some type of HDPE conduit (sometimes called inner duct)
http://www.innerduct.com/products/hdpe_innerduct.php

 

[hbiss]

All it is is orange PVC irrigation pipe. Cable companies use it to protect their service cable. It's plowed in with a vibratory plow like the sprinkler guys. No, you cannot use it for line voltage, it is not listed. There are no fittings for it unless you are a sprinkler guy or a plumber.


-Hal

 

[Fulthrotl]

My church wants me to extend wiring across a driveway from a service I installed on island 2 years ago. They had a cable guy doing various jobs & had him bore in a conduit across the drive. It is an orange flexible type, installed with some kind of boring machine. I'm sure I've seen this on spools, installed by cable & phone people. No markings at the stub ends. I have a call out to the installer. Any clues to what grade conduit this is & if it is approved for electrical?

you didn't say what size it is, but can you pull smurf thru it? carlon blue ENT... that's what i'd do.
makes the whole issue moot.

orange is usually reserved for fiber optic...

 

[Hv&Lv]

The stuff from Carlon is for low voltage cables in plenums. I cannot imagine it being installed with a 'boring machine'
http://www.carlonsales.com/plenumgard.php

My guess is that it is some type of HDPE conduit (sometimes called inner duct)
http://www.innerduct.com/products/hdpe_innerduct.php

Carlon makes a lot of different conduits. http://www.internet-security-inc.com/carlon.htm

 

[Hv&Lv]

RIGID NONMETALLIC UNDERGROUND
CONDUIT, PLASTIC (EAZX)
USE AND INSTALLATION
This category covers plastic types of rigid nonmetallic conduit, including
straight conduit, elbows and other bends, in sizes 1/2 to 6 (metric designators
16 to 155) inclusive, intended for installation underground as raceway
for wire and cable in accordance with Articles 352 and 353 of ANSI/NFPA
70, ??National Electrical Code?? (NEC). This conduit may be: (1) polyvinyl
chloride (PVC) Type A, Type EB or Schedule 40, or (2) high-density polyethylene
(HDPE) Schedule 40, Schedule 80, EPEC A, EPEC B. This conduit is
intended for installation and use in accordance with the following information.
The conduit is intended for underground use under the following conditions,
as indicated in the Listing Mark: (1) when laid with its entire length
in concrete in any location (Type A), (2) when laid with its entire length in
concrete in outdoor trenches (Type EB) and (3) direct burial with or without
being encased in concrete (HDPE Schedule 40, Schedule 80, EPEC A, EPEC
B or PVC Schedule 40). The conduit is intended for use in ambient temperatures
of 50?C or less.
Unless marked otherwise, Type A and HDPE Schedule 40, Schedule 80,
EPEC A, EPEC B conduit is intended for use with wire rated 75?C or less.
Type EB and Type A conduit, where encased in concrete in trenches outside
of buildings, may be used with wire rated 90?C or less. HDPE Schedule 40,
Schedule 80, EPEC A, EPEC B or PVC Schedule 40 conduit, when directly
buried or encased in concrete in trenches outside of buildings, may be used
with wire rated 90?C or less.
Where conduit emerges from underground installation, the wiring method
is intended to be of a type recognized by the NEC for the purpose.
PVC conduit is designed for joining with PVC couplings by the use of a
solvent-type cement. HDPE conduit is designed for joining by threaded couplings,
drive-on couplings, or a butt-fusing process. Instructions supplied by
the solvent-type cement manufacturer describe the method of assembly and
precautions to be followed.


Word of caution... SDR-11 is not recognized by UL.

 

[Cow]

Be sure to use the proper fitting when transitioning from HDPE to pvc. Our inspector looks for these when we run Cable-Con and need to transition to pvc for the stubups, I even found a video on it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFI1N5XknHs

 

[hbiss]

My church wants me to extend wiring across a driveway from a service I installed on island 2 years ago. They had a cable guy doing various jobs & had him bore in a conduit across the drive. It is an orange flexible type, installed with some kind of boring machine. I'm sure I've seen this on spools, installed by cable & phone people. No markings at the stub ends. I have a call out to the installer. Any clues to what grade conduit this is & if it is approved for electrical?

Amazing! I just said what it is yet you guys keep going on and on about all kinds of other stuff that you imagine it might be. :happysad:

-Hal

 

[kwired]

All it is is orange PVC irrigation pipe. Cable companies use it to protect their service cable. It's plowed in with a vibratory plow like the sprinkler guys. No, you cannot use it for line voltage, it is not listed. There are no fittings for it unless you are a sprinkler guy or a plumber.


-Hal

Amazing! I just said what it is yet you guys keep going on and on about all kinds of other stuff that you imagine it might be. :happysad:

-Hal

You claimed it is "orange PVC irrigation pipe". Most others claim it is HDPE. You are probably partially right, but most irrigation pipe is polyethelene and not PVC, and is likely not same grade as this stuff is. Irrigation pipe is usually a thiner wall product - is not normally under high enough pressure a thick wall is needed.

The orange HDPE is probably the same thing as what is normally used for power but the problem may be future identification if someone is excavating - they may think the orange pipe contains communication and not power.

353.6 Listing Requirements. HDPE conduit and associated fittings shall be listed.

Might want to see what listing is on the orange stuff - maybe it is not listed for power, but as others have mentioned maybe you can pull something else through it like a direct burial rated cable or conductors.

 

[dpeter]

hbiss, since it was installed in a manner inconsistant with what you posted it then left the door wide open for further speculation.

 

[Hv&Lv]

Amazing! I just said what it is yet you guys keep going on and on about all kinds of other stuff that you imagine it might be. :happysad:

-Hal

So you have seen it? How do you know you are right and we are wrong?

 

[hbiss]

Yes, I've used it for cable company UG service installations, it's used frequently here. You can get it empty or with your choice of cable already pulled through it. And I stand corrected, it is polyethylene not PVC. The stuff I have used is the same as regular black 1" poly pipe only orange and can be installed the same way- in a trench, pulled through a bore under pavement or with a vibratory plow directly in the ground. Hence the orange color to serve as a warning since it's often not that deep.

-Hal

 

[Hv&Lv]

Yes, I've used it for cable company UG service installations, it's used frequently here. You can get it empty or with your choice of cable already pulled through it. And I stand corrected, it is polyethylene not PVC. The stuff I have used is the same as regular black 1" poly pipe only orange and can be installed the same way- in a trench, pulled through a bore under pavement or with a vibratory plow directly in the ground. Hence the orange color to serve as a warning since it's often not that deep.

-Hal

Isn't that what we have been saying? HDPE ( High-density polyethylene)

 

[kwired]

Yes, I've used it for cable company UG service installations, it's used frequently here. You can get it empty or with your choice of cable already pulled through it. And I stand corrected, it is polyethylene not PVC. The stuff I have used is the same as regular black 1" poly pipe only orange and can be installed the same way- in a trench, pulled through a bore under pavement or with a vibratory plow directly in the ground. Hence the orange color to serve as a warning since it's often not that deep.

-Hal

Orange color is a warning for what? That it is going to cost you to have it repaired and maybe for loss of service if you damage what is inside?

I may be wrong but I think the orange color is to identify it as containing communications. I don't think there is a code requireing it to be orange but is just an industry practice. Kind of like how they started putting colored jackets on nonmetallic sheathed cables a few years ago.

HDPE may be same thing as polyethelene water pipe but from my quote in previous post 353.6 requires it to be listed. So you can not use any poly pipe you want for electrical it must be one that is listed. There may be some difference and one is listed and the other is not.

 

[Hv&Lv]

Orange color is a warning for what? That it is going to cost you to have it repaired and maybe for loss of service if you damage what is inside?

I may be wrong but I think the orange color is to identify it as containing communications. I don't think there is a code requireing it to be orange but is just an industry practice. .

Orange happens to be the most popular color now because of its use in communications. I have power in orange as there isn't a code on pipe colors, yet. The NESC has turned down several code changes mandating that pipe colors align with locating colors.

I buy it black, black with a red stripe, and red for three phase bores. this way I know which phase I am dealing with when I get to it midspan.
When I get in a rush, and the directional boring contractor has orange, I tell him to use that. Besides, phone and cable isn't usually 5-20 ft deep.

I could also buy it in yellow, but I won't...

 

[kwired]

Orange happens to be the most popular color now because of its use in communications. I have power in orange as there isn't a code on pipe colors, yet. The NESC has turned down several code changes mandating that pipe colors align with locating colors.

I buy it black, black with a red stripe, and red for three phase bores. this way I know which phase I am dealing with when I get to it midspan.
When I get in a rush, and the directional boring contractor has orange, I tell him to use that. Besides, phone and cable isn't usually 5-20 ft deep.

I could also buy it in yellow, but I won't...

I understand that. My point was that orange is preferred by communications to identify it as communications, but not necessarily a requirement. HDPE is likely used more by communications companies than it is for power hence the reason contractors that install it only have orange readily available. Around here with long runs across crop land to irrigation equipment you do see some HDPE. Most of it has conductor already inside when purchased. I have not seen any of these products in any color other than black.

I have seen communications 15 feet deep but you don't see that very often. I think in that case they were installed with directional boring and they probably wanted to be deep enough to miss everything else in the area. The communications line in question was all that was in area I was excavating but 50-100 feet away along a cross street was about every utility you can imagine and this line crossed that street.

 

[WIMaster]

Just my 0.02 you guys can argue about it all you want!
If this was installed with directional boring it is most likely HDPE as was stated in post#3.
HDPE is used for MANY systems MV cables HV cables LV cables even Natural gas in my area.
If someone ASSumes it is for a particular system it is their own "Fault"/problem and probably the people near by.