ECN Electrical Forum - Discussion Forums for Electricians, Inspectors and Related Professionals
ECN Shout Chat
ShoutChat
Recent Posts
Increasing demand factors in residential
by gfretwell - 03/28/24 12:43 AM
Portable generator question
by Steve Miller - 03/19/24 08:50 PM
Do we need grounding?
by NORCAL - 03/19/24 05:11 PM
240V only in a home and NEC?
by dsk - 03/19/24 06:33 AM
Cordless Tools: The Obvious Question
by renosteinke - 03/14/24 08:05 PM
New in the Gallery:
This is a new one
This is a new one
by timmp, September 24
Few pics I found
Few pics I found
by timmp, August 15
Who's Online Now
1 members (Scott35), 273 guests, and 22 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Rate Thread
Page 1 of 2 1 2
#48060 02/02/05 08:24 PM
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 231
R
RobbieD Offline OP
Member
I haven't run conduit in concrete before and I was wondering if anyone out there knew of any good sites to get info? Looking to run it in the slab and walls in new construction.
Any resources would be appreciated.
Thanks Guys!

#48061 02/02/05 09:29 PM
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 132
M
Member
Not much to it, make sure that you fasten the conduit down, or it will "float" during a pour. Also, cement workers can be brutal on anything you put in.

What kind of conduit are you running? PVC or smurf tube seem to be the norm. If using smurf, it's handy to use PVC 90's on your stub ups.

I'm sure others have some other tips to share

#48062 02/02/05 11:32 PM
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 276
T
Member
In my experience, cement workers are nowhere near as brutal to the UG work as landscapers [Linked Image] Smurf can be a pain to fish due to its tendency to run in almost any direction but "straight". For short runs smurf tube is ok, but use sched 40 pvc for the long stuff and try to make gentle bends and turns in straight lengths of pipe rather than 90 and 45 things to death. In an ideal world, you could have just two 90's.. at each end of the run. You will notice a big difference at pull time. This counts double for long runs, where a fish tape tends to want to bunch up in the straight mid section of the run rather than navigate bend after bend. If you are doing a really really long run and anticipate needing some strong pulling force, you might want to use metal 90's, as these are not suceptable to "burn through" from the heat caused by the friction of pullstrings or wires. I have seen this only in extremely long pulls (~100 feet and over), but it is something to consider... Hope that helps.

#48063 02/02/05 11:45 PM
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 276
T
Member
I am kind of "anal" about my work, and I will share one more thing, optional for all but the kooky neatnicks like me- you can use rebar "stakes" driven into the ground and tie wire to keep your conduits straight and level where they come up out of the slab. I have also seen 1/2" emt used to do the same.. In this case I have observed that concrete workers don't care (and really why should they?) where YOUR pipes come up.. if they come up inside the wall or, 3" outside it. It's just one way to ensure that your pipes stay where the plan intends them to be. I have never had a concrete guy not respect my intentions as far as UG pipe goes when I went to the trouble of bracing it so it stands up the right way and in the place it was intended to go.

#48064 02/03/05 07:07 AM
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 40
R
Member
Ditto on the ridgid 90's
buy 12" ridgid stubs
for your uprights
they hold up better to the abuse
and dont break off in the cold

#48065 02/03/05 07:47 PM
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 316
L
Member
Run schedule 40 pvc , use rigid 90 to turn up out of the pour, (I even go as far as putting 6" rigid nipples on the 90 to make sure they end up above the pour) I tried using pvc 90 but they break when some one trips on them or hits them , stake the pipe down - it will float if not plus concrete men will trip on it kick it etc etc
use as few factory 90 in the pour as possible - just " bow " the pipe it will pull easier later on, tie the pipe down, make sure all stub ups are straight by staking the 90 with long peices of 1/2 emt the emt can be cut off /broken off later, oh yeah make sure you tie down the pipe. securing the conduit is importent -one thing I always do is to put my big yellow boots on and be right there when the concrete is poured. Have a box with fittings, glue , tie wire , tools etc etc with you , this way you will be ready if a pipe gets broken. But do not be afraid to
" keep " the concrete men in line ! I have run thousands of feet of pvc in the slab. One more very important item - MAKE SURE NO STONES/ DEBRIS GET INTO THE PIPE.

#48066 02/03/05 08:25 PM
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 231
R
RobbieD Offline OP
Member
Thanks for the great info!

#48067 02/03/05 08:34 PM
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 625
S
Member
Lucky,

By "rigid", are you referring to RMC, or to some variation of PVC (sched 80?)? If RMC, do you just change from plastic to metal with no bonding to ground the RMC?

#48068 02/04/05 12:21 PM
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 80
B
Member
Robbie you should always use PVC for underground work. The acid in the soil will not eat away at it as it would the metal conduits. I also use rebar to support my ppie coming up out of the slab. And I will ALWAYS let at least 2 1/2 - 3 foot of pipe stick above the slab. This will lessen your chances of getting cement into you pipe and the other contractors will see it and not have it as a tripping hazard. When the time comes to trim your pipe just cut the pipe and the rebar flush. I also use a vacuum to suck my pull string through rather then fight pushing a fish tape around the corners.

Good luck, hope these few tips will work for you.

Bert

#48069 02/04/05 03:38 PM
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 751
E
Member
I always used a full 10 foot stick of rigid metal conduit where I came out of the slab. Reason one: at least five feet of metal gives a lot of strength to the sweep. Reason 2: 3-5 feet of riser is noticed, and gives me a chance to straighten the pipe easily if it needs tweaking when it comes time to finish the run.
As far as bonding the conduit, I would depend on the locknuts in the box for the bond.


Earl
Page 1 of 2 1 2

Link Copied to Clipboard
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5