Steel conduit or MICC?

[tom.harrigan]

Hi

My wife is going through her "industrial" phase, which will hopefully pass before I get round to this particular job.

She likes steel conduit, and wants me to use it in certain parts of the house. Seems like a lot of work to me, so I was looking around for an alternative. I found some old posts on this group suggesting that bare MICC can be an attractive solution in some circumstances for surface mounting.

Can you get bare MICC cable, and is it robust enough to cope with average domestic abuse?

T

[dom]

MICC requires special termination, and as you suggest steel conduit will be hard work. Can you compromise on black or white plastic round conduit?

[Dave Plowman (News)]

It's not only a deal of work, but needs considerable skill and a very expensive pipe bender and dies for other than straight runs.

If you can't easily get bare you can strip off the PVC outer. And it is very robust - far more so than surface mounted TW&E. However it also requires skills and special tools to terminate.

IMHO, unless it's a large amount so worth buying the tools and acquiring the skills it might make more sense to use a pro.

[Owain]

Maybe *spraypainted* plastic conduit? - although watch for paint/plastic compatibility

Owain

[Owain]

Could have its advantages, makes it easier to turn the lounge into a shed without her objecting.

Owain

[robgraham]

Things that might have been better expressed !

"and acquiring the skills it might make more sense to use a pro."

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Well, I've installed both MICC and conduit - and did at one time have a conduit bender. It was worth my acquiring the skills for both as they were needed for non domestic work. Of course people vary in how quickly they pick stuff up, but IMHO as regards both those for a small amount of work a pro will work out to be a better deal.

[nightjar]

Straightening it so that it looks good is also a skill in itself. The slightly wavy, off the roll finish that would be acceptable in an industrial application is not going to work here.

Colin Bignell

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Absolutely. One trick is not to twist it but sort of roll it off the coil. Not always possible of course if going through holes etc. All part of the fun, though. It's very satisfying stuff to work with if you're a certain type - but a PITA if speed is of essence or you're forced into using it.