1/2 inch stinking pipe

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billdozier

Senior Member
Location
gulf coast
Hey guys had to go help another electrician out today. Needed to pull in some wires on a unfinished garage floor with sheetrock on interior hallways. The origional building had been piped in by another ec with 1/2in shed 40. We had the privelage of pulling 8-9 #12s through these pipes. Had to do this for a 4 way system and a 3 way system on different lights. Needless to say complete p.i.t.a.
My question is how many of you guys still run 1/2in conduit for anything? And if you do for what and why?
 
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Cow

Senior Member
Location
Eastern Oregon
Occupation
Electrician
We use 3/4" as a minimum aside from 1/2" emt. If I have to use 1/2 pvc or rigid, there had better be a good reason! That stuff is just about worthless.
 
ibew441dc

ibew441dc

Senior Member
billdozier said:
My question is how many of you guys still run 1/2in conduit for anything? And if you do for what and why?
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IMO, 1/2 PVC is a bad idea, especially underground.....It would have to be a unique situation for me to use 1/2 PVC for anything. 3/4 Minimum, even if the prints show 1/2.

1/2 FMC, LTFNC, LTFMC, ect. I use all of the time. Good for branch circuits, fixture whips, equipment whips, ect.

1/2 RMC and IMC are pretty common in industrial settings, roof tops, outdoor areas......ect.

EMT is not a Conduit;) but 1/2 is very common.
 
peter d

peter d

Senior Member
Location
New England
1/2" PVC has a place, especially for single circuit applications as Larry mentioned. Also, if you are doing exposed work with bell boxes or PVC FS boxes, the difference in price between the 1/2" KO boxes and the 3/4" boxes is substantial.

In my experience, 3-4 # 12's will fly through 1/2" PVC like greased lightning.
 
ultramegabob

ultramegabob

Senior Member
Location
Indiana
I dont run 1/2 very often, I did run some the other day to go from a surface mounted switch box to a strip light on a ceiling, It is the first piece I had used in a very long time....
 
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Karl H

Senior Member
Location
San Diego,CA
Single circuit, I'll use 1/2",anything more than that is 3/4" min. I never
run 1/2" conduit underground even if it is a single circuit.
 
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billdozier

Senior Member
Location
gulf coast
So glad to hear the pros saying the same thing I said today. I can understand 1/2in from a switch to a plug. But these hacks (sorry Peter) ran 1/2in for everything downstairs. Feeders 3ways the whole nine. It was as if thier pm said well we wont get this job so lets screw the next company over. Of course this is the same guy I worked for at his company who made us run 1/2 for fire alarm. You can imagine the nightmares we had. As for lube yep we snotted the wires something fierce. We tried to use gravity on every pull to make it easier. Still a nightmare. Three 90s in 10ft was a true p.i.t.a.
 
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danickstr

Senior Member
3 90's in 10 feet of 1/2 " pvc is just plain evil. When ever I see anyone "helping" set up runs, they always use a bunch of 90's in short distances. I come in and tear them out with a shake of the head and a smile.
 
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wireguru

Senior Member
I had an office where some idiots ran 1/2in PVC in the slab for the phone/data runs. I had to yank out what was there and repull to suit my needs, (they ran cat3+cat5, i needed all cat5 because of IP phones). It was a NIGHTMARE. I had one run about 20ft in a straight line, and it took almost 100ft of wire :rolleyes:
 
tom baker

tom baker

First Chief Moderator & NEC Expert
Staff member
Location
Bremerton, Washington
Occupation
Master Electrician
My ship electrician neighbor asked me what size conduit and wires to run about 30 ft UG to his garage. Reply - 1" PVC with 8 AWG, three at that time. Then he calls me down to help him with the comment, how do you get the wire in the conduit? (He hand not backfilled the ditch!) He ran 1/2" PVC with 3 #10 solids. What happened to the 1", I asked. Answer: it was expensive.
We got it in, and I commented that he might as well run UF.
PS Most shipyard electricians don't run raceways- ships are nearly all armored cables.
 
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