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thinwall or pvc conduit

glennster

glennster

Well-known Member
need to run some pipe in the pole barn. thinwall was generally the ticket, but pricing this pvc conduit, its about half the cost per stick. what the good,
bad and ugly on pvc. the shop side is 30x60. the unheated side is 60x90. i was thinking on using romex on unheated side for a few led lights. it will be
up in the trusses. or just run conduit. exploring ideas at this point. i do have half a dozen 500 ft rolls of #10 solid core insulated copper, so i can always
run that too.
 
The biggest reason for conduit is it's resistant to sunlight. Used indoors there isn't any reason you couldn't use pvc for conduit.
 
You can use PVC.

Regular sch 40 or the gray conduit will work. The long sweep 90's and offsets will fit both.

The down side, it will only make straight runs unless you have the means and skill to heat and bend it (I don't!). It has to be well supported, lots of straps or it will sag, especially in the sun or heat. It's good for underground and corrosive locations.

I still like regular EMT though. Bend it, offset it, make it do whatever you want, no glue, no sagging over time.

It just looks more professional when done.
 
PVC goes up a lot faster and easier than emt. I would not worry about rodents chewing on it. Rule of thumb for conduit vs romex is 1' above reachable height. I usually but it up to about 9 or 10 feet, then do with romex....Just my opinion and the way I do it. No need to tell me how little I know, I get that from everybody at work and club I am in....
 
Each have their advantage and disadvantage. PVC is better in a high moisture environment. EMT is better in a high heat environment. PVC can sag on long unsupported runs where as EMT will stay straighter on the same run. Price wise PVC is less expensive compared to EMT . If you have a heat gun PVC is easy to bend/shape (sch.80 takes a little more work than sch.40). To bend EMT you need a pipe bender. PVC is easier to cut than EMT.

If the PVC conduit is labeled "sunlight resistant" it won't get UV rot. The JM Eagle brand sold at Lowes is "sunlight resistant".

That's the pros and cons and didn't answer your question.
 
PVC works well, if you don't have any livestock to chew on the conduit. If you do, use either rigid or EMT. You can't run Romex (tm) in any conduit; if you use Romex (tm) outside of the conduit, you have to have a box to transition to something that is permissible inside conduit. I am looking at a similar situation in my barn, but I have nosey horses; I will use EMT in places they can reach (about 10' high), and PVC elsewhere. I generally run individual THHN/THWN wires in all my installs. Rodents and other things like Romex (tm), I hear; no personal experience with that, though. But it's your barn, so you can do what you want, unless you need an inspection by the powers-that-be. zuhnc
 
i was concerned with rodents chewing on romex. not sure if the new romex uses soy based plastic insulation like automotive wiring. i will prolly end up
running thinwall, i didnt consider the pvc being so flexible and needing extra support. i do have half and three quarter inch conduit benders, so thats not
a problem. id like to do it right the first time, so i dont have a re-do.
 
PVC can sag and look bad going down a wall horizontal. Emt you can bend anyway you want.PVC will need way more straps. Depends if you have a pipe bender too.
 
There are no code violations for running romex sleeved in conduit .It is common to run UF in rigid pipe for gardens etc.
 
In my shop I had rodents completely strip the insulation off romex wire where I had an 8' length of three bare wires. Don't see how they did it without getting zapped are at least trip the breaker. Never was a problem, just found it one day.
 
My vote would be for steel over plastic as the plastic never looks straight on long runs. Though any shed that stays open to the elements on one or more sides would get plastic for the weather resistance.

Another benefit to EMT is not having to run ground wires as its all grounded thru the conduit.

Have you thought about using MC cable? Easy to run and roden proof as well. Use conduit for the runs you want to look nice and MC for the long hauls or will be hidden stuff.
 
i thought about armored cable, ihave some in a few other buildings. i am kinda leaning more toward thinwall now, all things considered.
 
We did my late buddies shed in armored, you can trunk and bundle so it looks real nice.

I stand by my statement, steel anywhere there are rodents.
 
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