Conduit Fittings problem?

[Charles Krug]

List:

I'm looking at replacing a 30A feed to my garage subpanel with 60A.

I'm killing two birds with one stone here: I need to add a couple of

240V feeders to the garage, and a pair of 20A appliance feeds to the kitchen. Trust me, it's the simplest solution.

Not being too crazy about having that hefty a nonmetalic feeder, I'm looking into running a raceway.

For the amperage and the distance, I calculated that I need 3 #4 wires for current and a #10 ground wire.

Based on 25% fill ('cuz if I can do it faster, it's worth the extra cost), I figure I'll need 1-1/4" conduit.

The run is such that I can use pre-formed fittings for the run, and I'm not required to use any intermediate boxes.

I'd like to use pull elbows at either panel end, and another in the garage where it penetrates the wall to the house. However, neither The Borgs, MSC-Direct, nor McMaster-Carr seem to carry pull elbows in sizes over 3/4" for EMT.

Is that something that simply doesn't exist? What alternatives should I consider?

I've bent EMT in my day. I just would perfer NOT to.

Thanks

Charles

[Doug Miller]

What's wrong with non-metallic conduit? It's Code-approved, after all....

Use 1-1/2" or 2" non-metallic, and it will be even faster -- and cost less, too.

Home Depot, Lowe's, and Menards all sell a variety of non-metallic fittings in sizes up to at least 2".

PVC...

You can field-bend PVC with a heat gun...

-- Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

How come we choose from just two people to run for president and 50 for Miss America?

[Charles Krug]

ENT might be more appropriate in the garage, which is spliced oddly and has a shallow-pitched roof--damp concerns and all that.

My concern is the long run carrying a substantial current. I'd feel warmer and fuzzier with that encased in steel, rather than in plastic.

[Doug]

Charles Krug wrote in news: [e-mail]:

We may be talking about the same thing but, if not, an alternative would be conduit bodies like this one:

They're widely available in different sizes and configurations. I used a bunch of LBs for walls and an LR for going into a panel. Mine were PVC, however.

Doug

[Karl]

Where are you located? I'm in Southern California and just bought 1-1/4" EMT pull elbows a couple weeks ago. They had them up to 2".

[Charles Krug]

NJ. I was VERY surprised that MSC Direct or McMaster-Carr didn't have them, nor any of the local boxes.

Do you know the manufacturer offhand?

I have found some "combination" elbows that are threaded for rigid but also have set screws for EMT, listed in the sizes I need.

Other than that, nary a pull ell to be found anywhere.

It did occur to me that I could use rigid conduit bodies, then thread in a rigid-EMT transition fitting. At the basement end, the conduit body might make a better fit than an Ell because of space constraints.

Charles

[... ...]

Use "L" type fittings ,LB LR .LL . It is a lot easier to lay the wires in an "L" fitting than a pulling Ell . Also an LB will sit closer to the wall giving a better finished look. Bending EMT in sizes larger than

1inch is easier with power benders not to mention that 1 1/4 inch is the largest size hand bender they make. If you use ridgid conduit fittings then simply thread an EMT connector into each end for change over .

Bill

[volts500]

You didn't find a "90 degree pulling ell" larger than 3/4" because they don't exist.......is this what you are referring too?:

if you could find one (1 1/4"), if you are installing larger conduit to ease the pull, the LAST thing that you want to use is a "90 degree pulling ell" (as shown in the above link)..................use a readily available LB conduit body. IMO, installing EMT in the dirt is a big mistake.....at least protect it against corrosion with an asphalt compound. If you have concerns about regular Schedule 40 PVC you can always go with the thicker Schedule 80 PVC.

[volts500]

to

Sorry, if you use the link:

you have to type in "pulling ell" in the search box, then scroll down to Graybar ID 88218017 or 18 and click on that.

[Charles Krug]

I thought that might be the case.

No, this is inside. I may transition to PVC at the garage wall penetration. The garage is an addition and I've had damp problems at the building splice. I'm already planning a dedicated grounding conductor, so that shouldn't be much of an issue.

Is sch 40 ENT permitted exposed in a garage, or must that be sch 80 or a metallic raceway? The raceway will be just below ceiling level, but it would be possible for a tall person to touch it if they stood on the lowest step entering the house, albeit with some difficulty.

I'm mostly trying to eliminate a long stretch of exposed "Stuff that Burns" that a stretch of similar-sized nonmetallic would give me. Just because it would "Meet the code" doesn't mean I'd feel Warm and Fuzzy about it nestled up agains wood framing.

[volts500]

conduit to

Sorry, I didn't catch the inside part. EMT (metallic conduit) would be a good installation......just use regular LB's. PVC has a tendency to sag when ran horizontally once the wires heat up to normal temperature.

Your term "sch 40 ENT" is confusing.......there is no such animal. Don't know if that was a typo. There's either sch 40 PVC (rigid, gray conduit) or ENT (Electrical Nonmetallic Tubing), the blue, pliable conduit (Smurf tubing), sometimes yellow, though. Either can be used, if you want, since you're running it high where it won't be subject to physical damage.

[Charles Krug]

Nah. Just confused as to the terminology for nonmetallic.

So ENT is the corrigated flexible stuff, and both weigths of PVC are termed "conduit?"

[volts500]

Right.