Wood conduit??

[tonype]

Apparent wood (or other material protecting unsheathed conductors. Never saw anything like this. Any insights would be appreciated.

 

[gadfly56]

Is that actual conduit or is the wiring installed behind the molding?

 

[al hildenbrand]

To my eyes, this looks like Wiremold 2100 Series metal raceway and receptacle. The receptacle is the correct shape and has "anchor feet" that squeeze into the U-shaped recessed metal raceway. The two screws in the receptacle tighten / loosen the anchor feet. The U-shaped base was, if I recall correctly, 1-1/8" wide by 7/8" deep. A flat cover snaps into the base to close the base between devices.

The OP photo seems to show older TW insulated conductors.

The Wiremold 2100 Series was largely discontinued in the '90s. In its day, it was a sleek plug strip that could be built into baseboards and counter backsplashes, though it was a high labor install.

 

[al hildenbrand]

In my days I have run into legacy installations of genuine wooden conduit, however it is very old. That is. it fell out of use in the first decades of the 1900s, roughly a century ago. The conductors were old rubber / cloth insulated.

 

[coffeebean]

I worked at plant in Trenton NJ many years ago, that was at least 100 years old. It had wooden troughs and Colt 45 disconnect switches

 

[macmikeman]

I purchased 14 8 foot sections of wood mold from the local supply house, and ran it over nm cables run along the top of 1x3 baseboards in middle week ofJanuary 2021, got it inspected and passed with flying colors. Makita Cordless pin nailer and electric miter saw. Bada Boom.

 

[acin]

300 .4.a 1 ? exception 1

 

[LarryFine]

 

[al hildenbrand]

Nice document, Larry. That is exactly what I was describing as "wooden raceway".

 

[Fred B]

I purchased 14 8 foot sections of wood mold from the local supply house, and ran it over nm cables run along the top of 1x3 baseboards in middle week ofJanuary 2021, got it inspected and passed with flying colors. Makita Cordless pin nailer and electric miter saw. Bada Boom.

How can just wood be used as wire molding when if you put NM though a wood framing it has to be back 1.25 inches or have metal protection plating? Is it listed? Is wood simply overlaying a metal wireway? I see nothing in 300.4(A)(1) exception that would allow an unprotected wood wireway.

 

[hbiss]

Actually that doesn't look like wood at all but plastic raceway that has been butchered. Notice the conductors running behind what looks like laminated sheetrock. The hole may have even been patched with Bondo before it was painted.

-Hal

 

[tonype]

Is that actual conduit or is the wiring installed behind the molding?

Not sure... I did not want to screw around with it.

 

[Knuckle Dragger]

I've seen quite a bit of it for K&T in my field.

 

[Eddie702]

I have an old 1937 Electrical Code Hand Book. It talks about wooden conduit

 

[al hildenbrand]

Actually that doesn't look like wood at all but plastic raceway . . .

Did you ever install the Wiremold V2100 Series metal raceway? I did quite a bit of it back in the Eighties. Below is the packaged receptacle shown in the OP photo. Notice how the mounting feet go around the outside of the raceway base, and compare it to the divot in the white patching along the top edge of the metal raceway (raceway that is recessed into the drywall).