Same conduit for return

Merry Christmas
Zyb

Zyb

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Location
Maine
Occupation
Design Engineer
I'm running conduit outside for the disconnect. Can I used the same conduit for return? Thanks
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That's fine to do. Is the conduit metallic or not? Watch out for "single wire transformer rule" where conductors can heat up when singled out in metallic conduit. I had an ordeal in Oklahoma where I used 3 separate PVC runs in a UPS backup power system and the inspector threw a fit. He didn't understand that its perfectly fine to do in non-metallic pvc.
 
steve66 said:
Isn't that not only allowed, but also a requirement? At least if the conduit is ferrous?
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If there's only one switched conductor going to the disconnect, then yes. If it's both hots of a single phase 120/240, for example, then they could go in one conduit and return in another.
 
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jaggedben said:
If there's only one switched conductor going to the disconnect, then yes. If it's both hots of a single phase 120/240, for example, then they could go in one conduit and return in another.
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In the latter case, if those hots supply any L-N loads, the associated grounded conductor would also need to go in one conduit and return in the other.

Cheers, Wayne
 
jaggedben said:
If there's only one switched conductor going to the disconnect, then yes. If it's both hots of a single phase 120/240, for example, then they could go in one conduit and return in another.
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right it's illegal to "double pass". This was an issue years ago with rural poco meters. Guys were using the same 2" EMT to hit the meter and go back up to a service drop, like to a house or barn.
 
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herding_cats said:
right it's illegal to "double pass". This was an issue years ago with rural poco meters. Guys were using the same 2" EMT to hit the meter and go back up to a service drop, like to a house or barn.
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That was normal for rural POCO provided meter loops. They didn’t stop that practice here until soon after I found one that the utility line down had shorted to a load side up. Pulling the meter did not remove all power. We were allowed to remove meters at that time. That farmer had been getting some free kWh for a while.
 
In Stillwater, Oklahoma, I left the electric cooperative in 2013. At that time, they were still using "5-wire meter loops" with incoming and outgoing wires in the same conduit, and I never heard any discussion of changing that. Until just now, I thought all rural cooperatives still used them.
 
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