Schedule 80 PVC for detached garage feeder

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jeff48356

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Livonia, Michigan
Consider a room addition onto an existing house with a detached garage being built in the back yard. The garage is to be fed using a 40A 240V feeder. A junction box is to be installed in the crawlspace, which will be attached to 3/4" PVC conduit which leaves the crawlspace (above grade), and goes down to a trench 18" deep toward the garage, and back up into it. The PVC will extend all the way into the bottom of the subpanel for a feeder. Which parts need to be schedule 80? Or would Sch 40 be acceptable for the entire run?
 
infinity said:
Unless a portion is subject to physical damage the entire run can be SCH40.
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I would be concerned mainly about the vertical pieces on either side of the run, from the elbow in the bottom of the trench on up to the LB block where it enters the garage and the addition. Potential for damage from weed trimmer?
 
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jeff48356 said:
I would be concerned mainly about the vertical pieces on either side of the run, from the elbow in the bottom of the trench on up to the LB block where it enters the garage and the addition. Potential for damage from weed trimmer?
Click to expand...

My landscaper tried for 15 years to destroy my sch40 with his weed whacker and failed. Unless there is a vehicle impact potential I wouldn't worry about it.
 
Most (probably all) of the inspectors here would require the vertical parts emerging from ground to be sch 80. Usually will allow 40 above 5'.
Although code just says "subject to physical damage" the inspectors know that is subjective and make their own call.
So I just automatically use sch 80 on the vertical portion coming up.
 
Any schedule 40 or 80 will eventually suffer from sunlight damage... in Jamaica we usually surround by concrete rather than leave visible outside, but in UK they seem to have no problems with their version of PVC conduit, which is different from US versions.
so, I wonder what other methods are available for protecting from accidental damage?
 
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